A newspaper is reporting that two centuries of Gurkha service in Britain’s armed forces could be threatened, after Nepalese MPs backed an end to the recruitment of Gurkhas abroad
A newspaper is reporting that two centuries of Gurkha service in Britain’s armed forces could be threatened, after Nepalese MPs backed an end to the recruitment of Gurkhas abroad.
A parliamentary report setting the Himalayan state’s foreign policy, said the recruitment of Gurkhas to fight in foreign armies should be ended.
According to the Daily Telegraph, its authors complained that since Britain granted retired Gurkha troops the right to remain in the United Kingdom, the amount of income Nepal earns from the arrangement has declined.
Those who support a ban say the recruitment of poor young men to fight other country’s wars hurts Nepal’s national image.
A ban would break a bond which dates back to 1815 when the East India Company’s officers defeated a Gurkha Army in the Anglo-Nepal but admired their warrior skills and spirit.
Their heroics in battle with the British and British Indian Armies soon inspired fear around the world. When Hitler prepared for the Second World War, he sought to sabotage Britain’s Gurkha recruitment by offering lavish gifts to Nepal’s Rana royal rulers.
They have since then fought in most of Britain’s major conflicts, including Afghanistan where a number of Gurkha troops have lost their lives.
Today there are still 3,800 Gurkhas serving in British forces around the world, while more than 30,000 serve in the Indian Army. Singapore and Brunei have their own Gurkha forces.
Potential recruits are put through gruelling physical endurance tests, in which they must be able to run up mountains carrying packs weighing 77 lbs. Nepal’s parliamentarians now want to end the relationship and use their talents at home.
Padam Lal Bishwakarma, chairman of Nepal’s Parliamentary International Relations and Human Rights Committee, last night told the Daily Telegraph he wanted the recruitment to end but not until the country could offer the men alternative jobs which matched its pay.
“We should have that target that one day we should be able to employ all these youths. Then we will have to stop this recruitment,” he said. “Our youths are compelled to go abroad because of our lack of opportunities in our own country,” he added.
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday sought to allay fears of any imminent ruling on the issue and stressed the committee’s report had simply been distributed throughout government.
“The government has not said anything about this. There is no need to panic,” said spokesman A.B Thapar.
Britain’s defence attaché in Kathmandu, Col Andrew Mills, who oversees Gurkha recruitment and welfare in the country, said the current arrangement contributes so much to the Nepal economy that he doubts there will be any change.
“We bring a lot of benefits without which the place would grind to a standstill. I pay directly into Nepal, not including remittances, £87 million a year and that is very closely matched by the Department for International Development. The net swag is eight per cent of Nepal’s GDP.
No sane government would stop that, there are no jobs here,” he said. (British Forces News)
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