Battle Cry

Gordon Brown tastes ‘defeat’ as Gurkha soldiers and veterans fight for a right to settle in the country they defend

Gordon Brown tastes ‘defeat’ as Gurkha soldiers and veterans fight for a right to settle in the country they defend

THE BATTLE CRY OF ‘Ayo Gurkhali’ by soldiers brandishing gleaming khukris has always sent shivers down the spine of their enemies. No wonder that when a tall, white woman with blonde hair dressed in a natty black trouser suit shrieked the blood-curdling words waving the dreaded khukri at a massive demonstration in London’s Trafalgar Square, the ‘enemy’—politicians sitting in Parliament just down the road—were quaking in their boots.

The woman is none else but former Bond girl and iconic actress Joanna Lumley, who has taken on the British Government in a no-holds-barred battle to win the legendary Gurkha warriors the right to settle in the United Kingdom. Lumley’s determined campaign has not only made her a national heroine, with demands that she be given a damehood, it has embarrassed Gordon Brown’s government which was defeated in a debate over the issue in the House of Commons.

‘Better to die than be a coward’ is the Gurkha warrior motto, and it is said that once a khukri is drawn in battle it has to ‘taste blood’ no matter what, even if its owner has to cut himself, before returning the blade to its sheath. Lumley has made it her mission to ensure it tastes the government’s blood before she puts it away.

Gurkhas are fearsome Nepalese fighters who have formed the backbone of the British Army for nearly 200 years. But even now, these soldiers and their families do not have the right to live in the country for which they fight and die. Once their service is done, they are simply sent back to Nepal with a pension that is four times lower than that received by other British soldiers.

The warrior potential of Gurkhas was realised by the Victorians whilst they built their empire. They were identified as a ‘martial race’ with the qualities of toughness, loyalty and amenability to discipline. After Partition, an agreement was signed between Nepal, India and Britain, whereby four Gurkha regiments from the Indian Army were transferred to the British Army and eventually became the Gurkha Brigade. Since then, Gurkha soldiers have fought for British interests all over the world, receiving 13 Victoria Crosses among them. More than 200,000 Gurkhas fought in the two World Wars and 43,000 men lost their lives. These men have also fought in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cyprus, The Falklands, Kosovo, and more recently, Iraq and Afghanistan.

A few months ago, Lumley had cried in public when she hugged the wheelchair-bound, 87-year-old Gurkha Tul Bahadur Pun—her childhood hero. Lumley’s father Major James Lumley had fought alongside Gurkhas for 30 years and the actress grew up with a photograph of Pun in her home. “My father would be absolutely overwhelmed with shame and fury that we have behaved this way with the Gurkhas, our most loyal and constant friends,” said Lumley.

Born in Srinagar, the 63-year-old long-legged beauty considers herself a daughter of the regiment. Lumley came to the forefront in the Gurkha battle in September last year when five veterans took the Home Office to court and won their right to settle in the UK. In a historic ruling, the High Court judged in favour of Gurkha soldiers and veterans, ending a two-year-long legal wrangle. The government had been refusing settlement visas to Gurkhas who retired from the regiment before 1997, arguing that they did not have ‘strong ties’ to the UK.

“To say this is to ignore the history of the Gurkhas,” said QC Edward Fitzgerald, who argued their case in the High Court. “However distant their country of origin, whatever the location of their headquarters at a particular moment in history, however remote the battlefields on which they fought and risked their lives and shed their blood, all the Gurkha soldiers past and present were fighting for this country. This gives them all equally ‘strong ties’ to this country—to its life and history,” added Fitzgerald. Till date, Gurkhas who join the army touch the Union Jack and swear allegiance to the British sovereign.

The Home Office argued that as Gurkhas had their regimental headquarters in Hong Kong until its independence in 1997, those who retired earlier did not develop significant ties with Britain. Critics called the Home Office stand shameful. “We accept hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the four corners of the earth, but we can’t find a home for a mere 36,000 former soldiers who have served this country,” said Stephen Glover, political commentator.

Defeated in court, the Home Office formulated new criteria in April allowing more soldiers to settle in the UK, based on length of service apart from medals and injuries received in battle. The UK Government claimed that around 4,000 Gurkhas and some 6,000 spouses and their children would benefit from these new guidelines, but Gurkha supporters remained sceptical, saying only a hundred more would be allowed in.

Lumley was furious. “The Gurkhas cannot meet these new criteria. This has set us back in its obtuse lack of understanding of any of the problems facing these men,” she said, going on to accuse ministers of scare tactics in claiming that all 36,000 retired Gurkha soldiers would come to live in Britain if settlement rights were granted.

Lumley and her fellow campaigners lobbied and got both the main opposition parties, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, on their side. On 29 April, the Liberal Democrats tabled a motion in the Commons to allow equal rights of residence to Gurkha soldiers, and the government suffered a shock defeat with MPs voting 267 to 246 in favour. This was the first time in three decades that the government lost an opposition day debate, and the first defeat for Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. Besides the Liberal Democrats and Tories, 27 Labour rebels voted in favour.

The Commons vote was not binding, but it was a huge embarrassment for Brown’s government. Ministers promised to issue revised rules for Gurkha admission by the end of July.

So why has the plight of 36,000 Nepali ex-soldiers captivated the imagination of Britons? Lumley and her battle have begun to symbolise people power, its values and limits. While those in office have appeared slippery, she has been steadfast in her fight for what is just. In her inner dignity, she embodies the collective sentiments of all those who want the UK to abide by values of decency and fair play.

The final outcome of the government’s Gurkha policy is yet to be heard, but the battle in the minds and hearts of British citizens has already been won, and that could be decisive.

About The Author

Sajeda Momin