Gurkhas lose pensions battle

by Dave Keating | July 3, 2008 at 02:12 am | 120 views | add comment

british gurkha army history & document ( part-1 )

british gurkha army history & document ( part-2)

A brigade of Gurkhas has lost a legal challenge to a pension scheme plan being offered to them by the UK government. Gurkhas are Nepalese soldiers serving in a group of units of the British army. They were one of the people designated as a "Martial Race" by the British in the Raj, and were recruited and drafted as soldiers in the British military. After India's independence and partition in 1947, six Gurkha regiments joined the Indian army and four joined the British army. Since then those regiments have been stationed in British territory around the world and are fully integrated into the British military. In 2006 these Gurkhas were given the right to British citizenship. In Britain they are well-regarded for their military skill, particularly by members of the royal family.

The Gurkhas who filed the lawsuit served in Hong Kong until the colony was transfered to China in 1997. They then moved to the UK.

Gurkha veterans yesterday lost a high court battle over a government pensions deal which they say has left them struggling to survive. Three retired soldiers, Kumar Shrestha, Kamal Purja and Sambahadur Gurung, all in their late 30s and retired through ill health, failed in a legal challenge which affects thousands of others.

The government last year made concessions over pensions for serving and recently retired Gurkhas but not to those who enlisted before July 1997.

The Gurkhas claimed the new pension arrangements discriminated against them on the grounds of age. However, Mr Justice Ouseley said the Ministry of Defence had acted reasonably.