Nepal’s Gurkhas battle to stay in British military
HI GUYS THIS IS SURAJ WANT TO TELL SOME NEWS ABOUT THE GURKHAS BRITISH MILITARY
New rules gave Gurkhas serving after 1997 the same benefits, pay and
pension as their British counterparts and the right to live in Britain.
KATHMANDU, NEPAL—Deo Man Limbu sat in a veterans hall lined with
pictures of old soldiers and reflected on his years of service, his
battles and his dreams. The retired major with Britain’s legendary
Gurkhas faced the Argentines in the 1982 Falklands War, when being a
member of one of the world’s most-feared fighting forces had its
advantages.
Well before hostilities started,
British military planners encouraged photos of Gurkhas sharpening their
fearsome curved knives — no one seemed to ask why you would bring a
knife to a gunfight — and media stories about their fighting prowess.
The day before the final battle,
loudspeakers warned the Argentines that the Gurkhas were coming. “We
fired one or two shots and they all flew away,” said Limbu. “It was very
effective.”
Other conflicts were not as easily
won. Limbu tells of Gurkhas who were decorated in the First and Second
World Wars, saw action in Borneo and died in Afghanistan in the 1980s,
as well as in the last decade.
“We fought many enemies,” said Limbu,
60, who has the air of a dapper gentleman in a blue blazer, checked
dress shirt and well-pressed brown pants. “But our politicians in Nepal
are the worst.”
Today, the Gurkhas’ proud two-century
tradition with the British army is under siege. Some in the
communist-led Nepalese government object to the Gurkhas being hired guns
for a former colonial power and are proposing to ban the practice, just
as the British government makes deep cuts in its defence spending.
Britain’s connection
with the Gurkhas dates to 1815 when, having barely
defeated them in battle, the British decided that if you can’t beat
them, have them join you. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Gurkhas
have served under the Union Jack in peacetime and in war. For much of
that history, Gurkhas did a lot of heavy lifting but earned less than
British soldiers. After a headline-grabbing campaign in 2009, new rules
gave Gurkhas serving after 1997 the same benefits, pay and pension as
their British counterparts and the right to live in Britain. But those
who served previously continue to receive a fraction of that, creating a
two-tier system that has led to squabbling among Gurkhas.
Of course, even the lower pay is good by Nepalese standards: last year, more than 6,000 applicants competed for 176 positions.
Hopefuls aged 17 to 21 must do 70
sit-ups in two minutes and run uphill for 40 minutes carrying 32
kilograms of rocks to qualify. If they’re too old, some forge documents
and dye their hair to mask their age, a little subterfuge that
occasionally comes off in the rain. Others have been caught using
steroids for endurance.
Gurkhas derive their name from the
Nepali hill town of Gorkha. They’re blessed, according to legend, by the
eighth-century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath, who gave them their
famous knife, the
kukri.
Gurkha loyalty, fighting skills and
determination in the face of near-impossible odds are legendary. Former
Indian Army Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once famously said: “If a man
says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha.”
But some Gurkhas say these glowing compliments mask a relationship based on condescension.
“The British like Gurkhas very much,
until the Gurkhas cross the line and try to compete as equals,” said
Deepak Bahadur Gurung, a pre-1997 soldier. “As long as you’re under them
and you’re very loyal, they like you.”
British officers counter that
pre-1997 Gurkhas knew the terms and pay when they signed up. “Given the
understanding at the time, they’re looked after well,” said Col. Andrew
Mills, defence attache at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal’s
capital.
The Gurkhas have their share of
myths, especially involving the evil-looking kukri. One holds that the
45-centimetre tapered blade can serve as a boomerang. According to
another, it must taste blood once unsheathed, even if a Gurkha has to
cut himself.
These stories sow fear, aiding in
psychological warfare that worked against the Germans and Japanese
during the Second World War and helped turn the tide in the Falklands,
military experts say.
Gurkhas are frequently called on to
guard VIPs, given their reputation for loyalty after siding with Britain
during the 1857 Indian Mutiny. During a year spent in Buckingham Palace
protecting Queen Elizabeth II, Gurung attended 150 cocktail parties.
Among the dignitaries he observed,
then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was particularly impressive, he
said. “She was as tough as a Gurkha.”
Although the pull is still strong,
some military analysts are questioning the Gurkhas’ future. Britain will
take just 126 this year and has seen 400 Gurkhas lose their jobs,
reducing to 3,200 the number in active service, a tiny fraction of the
200,000 during the Second World War.
“If you took them down much further, you’d risk ruining the mix,” said Chris Bellamy, a military historian and author of
The Gurkhas: Special Force.
Recently, British officers and Gurkha
veterans groups have emphasized the extent to which Britain and India
contribute to Nepal’s economy — up to 25 per cent, by some accounts —
through pensions and funding for Gurkha hospitals, schools in Gurkha
communities and other welfare programs. (India employs more Gurkhas than
Britain, although they’re not as well paid.)
“The government would have to think pretty long about turning that down,” Mills said.
Such arguments, and the fact that 3
million other Nepalis work overseas because of the weak economy at home,
appear to have silenced for now any move to block overseas Gurkha
postings. But veterans groups fear the idea could resurface.
Some say the real reason the
communists have floated the idea of a ban is because the former rebel
fighters are jealous of Gurkha training, pay and professionalism.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, a politburo
member with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal, says working for
foreigners in effect makes Gurkhas mercenaries.
“Yes, Nepal has unemployment, but
joining someone else’s army isn’t a good solution,” he said. “And, no,
the Communist Party does not envy Gurkhas.”
As Limbu wrapped up a story about
fighters squabbling over canned rations in the Falklands, he reflected
on returning home after so many years abroad.
“The problem with people like myself,
we spend much of our life outside Nepal and when we return we don’t
have the respect for things we once had,” he said. “If our government
created jobs at home, we could talk about banning recruits from going
overseas. But without making these preparations, they should stop
talking about this idea.”
IF U LIKE THIS POST SO GUYS PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS POST...............
