Allow Gurkhas who served in British Army to stay in United Kingdom

Pressure is mounting on United Kingdom (UK) to let all retired Gurkha servicemen stay in the country. This after UK government put up strict conditions to settle in Britain for those Gurkha servicemen who left the army before 1997.

The Gurkhas have been a unique part of the British Army for two centuries and their history with the British Army begins with colonization of India by Britain. Most of the Gurkhas are Hindus and are famous for their bravery. More than Forty-three thousand Gurkhas died in two world wars fighting for UK.

The Economist reports

The Gurkha saga has been going on for years, with pay, pensions and immigration rights the main battlefields. The grievance now at stake is that Gurkhas who retired before July 1997 are not granted an automatic right to settle in Britain, on the grounds that they were based in Hong Kong until 1997 and were therefore unlikely to have strong British ties. Newer Gurkha recruits, who are based in Britain, and Commonwealth recruits (who make up more than 6% of all soldiers) may settle after just four years of service. In September Britain’s High Court ruled that the discrimination against older Gurkhas was unlawful.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was simply immoral for UK to deny these former servicemen to settle in UK, who had been sacrificing for Britain for the last two centuries and served the country with courage and loyalty..

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that UK must show appreciation to Gurkhas who risked their lives for UK, fighting some of the fiercest battles world over and reportedly receiving 13 Victoria Crosses.

BBC reports

Some 36,000 Gurkhas - a brigade of Nepalese soldiers who serve in the British Army - have been denied UK residency because they left before 1997.

Ministers recently introduced rules allowing more of these older soldiers to settle in the UK based on long service, medals received, and injuries suffered in battle.

The Home Office said the change would allow about 4,300 in, but the Gurkha Justice Campaign said it would be just 100.

These are men who gave their youth, sweat, blood and tears for the country and they dropped their happiness willingly so that people in United Kingdom can live peacefully and happily. Such men of valor and courage should not be put in the category of ‘use and throw’ by any civilized government.

Image courtesy dailmail.co.uk