Gurkhas win pension boost after long-running campaign

12 April 2012

Ministers announced plans to boost pension payments to veteran Gurkha soldiers by a fifth yesterday - but campaigners fighting for equal rights dismissed the rise as inadequate.

Retired members of the legendary British Army unit, which recruits exclusively from the hills of Nepal, receive less than a third of the pension paid to their UK counterparts and have been campaigning for years for equal treatment.

The Ministry of Defence has consistently refused on the grounds that living costs in Nepal are far lower than in the UK, and citing the terms of a treaty signed at the time of Indian independence in 1947, pegging Gurkha pay and conditions to those of the Indian Army.

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The decision follows a long-running campaign for fair treatment

Recent concessions mean that Gurkhas who retired after 1997 are now entitled to UK citizenship and the same pay and pension rights as British soldiers, but campaigners continue to push for the same rights for thousands of older veterans living in Nepal.

Junior defence minister Derek Twigg unveiled the 'significant' pension increase for that group yesterday, amounting to a 19 per cent rise for those who retired at the rank of Corporal or below.

The pensions boost, which will raise the bill to the British taxpayer by £6million a year to around £39million, was forced on the MOD by a recent 10-yearly increase in Indian Army pensions, which Britain is obliged to follow.

Mr Twigg said: 'It has always been our policy to ensure a fair deal for the 26,500 Gurkha pensioners, mainly living in Nepal, who will receive an increase in their pension rates.

He added: 'This increase sustains Gurkha service pensions at a fair and appropriate level and demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to the retired Gurkha community in Nepal.'

But former Gurkha officer Tikendra Dal Dewan, Chairman of the British Gurkha Welfare Society, said: 'We are still pushing for parity of payment.

'We receive only around one third of the pensions of retired British soldiers, and we believe it would be fair to have one rule for all.'

Campaigners point out that Gurkhas share the same dangers as their UK counterparts on operations.

The soldiers - famed for their use of the curved Kukri fighting knife and their diminutive stature - have one of the proudest fighting histories in the British Army, with a reputation for ferocity and endurance in battle which is second to none.

They are one of the Army's most highly-decorated and respected units, winning an unequalled 26 Victoria Crosses.

Links with the United Kingdom date back to 1814 when British forces fought a fierce war against Nepal, during which the adversaries developed a deep mutual respect and admiration. Realising they were unlikely ever to defeat the hill warriors, British commanders began to recruit them instead.

In the Second World War no fewer than 112,000 Gurkhas fought with the British forces, and their successors distinguished themselves during the 1982 Falklands Conflict.

Despite the controversy surrounding pensions, becoming a Gurkha carries enormous kudos, and last year 15,000 young Nepalese men applied for the 230 places available.

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