Gurkha veterans can Settle in England at Last

(This entry was originally uploaded on May 2009.)

It should have been done long ago. Still, better late than never. At last, the former Gurkha soldiers who served British Army will be able to settle in England. The British government has given in on the face a successful campaign led by celebrity actress Joanna Lumley.

BBC reported:

Under the measures outlined in the House, Gurkhas will be allowed to settle in the UK with their spouses and dependent children under 18.

Ms Smith said she expected to welcome 10,000 to 15,000 applications from Gurkhas over the next two years.

She added that some 1,400 outstanding applications for settlement currently before the UK Border Agency would be processed on the basis of the new policy “as a matter of urgency” before 11 June.

This news gives me immense happiness because it could at last bring some equality for the Gurkha soldiers who worked under British government for many decades. Many of them risked their lives and indeed died while fighting for England.

Gurkha Pension to Increase but Discrimination to Continue

First of all, I am very happy and excited with this news. No, I am not a Gurkha. I am just a Bangladeshi blogger. I am happy because this is something the ex-Gurkha soldiers really deserved for a long time. These soldiers worked as hard as any soldier in British armed force but when it was the matter of pension then they were deprived. Well, there is nothing to be that much excited about because the 14.1% increase has happened merely to keep up with high inflation rate of Nepal. They still wont be treated equally and fairly despite the fact that they risked their lives for the safety of England.

Still, many ex-Gurkha soldiers will be surely happy with the increase in pension. The former soldiers aged 80 or more will be benefited most as they would see an increase of almost one third of the amount of pension they receive now. It should be mentioned here that in 2008, many Gurkha soldiers protested in England against discrimination in pension.

I am also happy to see that there is a growing call in England to put an end to this discrimination. Let us hope that it will happen sooner rather than later.

(This entry was first published in March 2009 and based on the context of that time.)