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News Archive
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-What is Gorkha ? - Introduction - History - Army Camp --UK-India-Hong Kong - Real Gorkha (Profile) - Medals/Victory - Veteran Gorkha - News from War Zone - Kosovo - Kargil -Rawanda -Folkland -Bosnia -Sierra Lieon - Army Links
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Ex-servicemen
demands equal pension KATHMANDU, Dec 17 - Nepal Ex-Servicemen’s Association has handed over a memorandum to the British Embassy on Tuesday demanding pensions for Gurkhas at par with their British counterparts. At a press conference organised here to inform about the hand over, President of the Association Major Dipak Gurung said the retired Gurkhas of the British army were paid their pensions at the level of pensions paid to Gorkha Ex-servicemen of the Indian army. This is unfair, he added. He also informed that the British Government had assured during the Ex-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to the United Kingdom that the pension of the Gorkha ex-servicemen would be reviewed. In the same way, the British Embassy had assured the association eight months ago that the pension of the retired Gorkhas would be raised effective from April. Gurung said that another association named Gorkha Ex-Army Association had tried to harm the cordial relationship existing between Nepal and the United Kingdom by persuading the disciplined people like the retired Gurkhas to take to the street to oppose the British government for the selfish interest of the particular political party. "The Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-UML) has been making various efforts to bring about split among the retired Gurkhas," Gurung said in reply to a query of the journalists. "We are forced to think that the UML has done this to implement its thinking already declared by it in the past that the Gurkha Recruiting Centre in Nepal should be closed. He also mentioned that the Gorkha Ex-army Association had collected donations from the Gorkha army in Brunei in the name of fighting a case in Britain for increasing the pension of the retired Gorkhas and had incited them against the Brunei Government. Stating that 11 Gorkha army men had been dismissed from service by Brunei Government on the charge of groupism against Brunei and inciting the Gurkhas to revolt against the Brunei government he also claimed that the Gurkha Ex-Army Association had hatched the conspiracy to end the opportunity being received by the retired Gurkhas to be re-employed in Brunei. Two
companies of Gorkhas cornered in Sierra Leone High level sources here confirmed that the Indian peacekeepers have been cornered at a place near Kalahum town for an undisclosed length of time and exit points have been blocked by armed rebels. The group includes 213 Indian soldiers of all ranks and 11 UN observers of unknown nationality. While spokesmen of the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence ruled out any danger to their lives, they did not disclose the state they are in. It is claimed that the rebels are not preventing food and other rations being reached to them. "But the message is clear - if they want to leave they will have to fight their way out", sources said. This puts the Indians on the brink of a precipice. As they are peacekeepers on UN duty, they cannot force a confrontation. If there is bloodshed , the already sensitive position of the Indian commander of the over 11,000 multinational peacekeeping force, Major General V. K. Jaitly, may be weakened. The west African countries neighbouring Sierra Leone, led by Nigeria, are pressing for the replacement of Maj. Gen. Jaitly by a regional general. Till date, the Army headquarters has consciously tried to downplay the import of this "standoff". The only admission made is about the 23 soldiers "detained" for over five weeks now in the RUF's "brigade headquarters" in Pendenbu where they were moved two days back after being kept near Kalahum. Despite assurances of an early release, the RUF has done nothing to end the ordeal for the Indians. For the second consecutive day today, the Indian battalion company commander at Kalahum raised the subject of the release of the 23 "detainees" with a RUF commander. Yesterday, Brigadier Isa Sase of the RUF had assured the Indians that he would take up the subject of their release with the commander of Pendenbu into whose jurisdiction the "detainees" had passed. But there was no sign of the RUF honouring its promise. A spokesman of the MEA said the general situation in the eastern part of Sierra Leone where the Indian peacekeepers had been deployed is peaceful. A joint team of Defence, Army and MEA officials, comprising among others the Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General N. C. Vij, is in Freetown for the past two days taking stock of the situation for the Indians. Meanwhile, diplomatic confabulations are in progress with the governments of Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries to persuade them to dilute their stand on the Indian commander. The spokesman denied reports of lack of agreement between MEA and Defence officials on the Sierra Leone situation. There is also no chance of India withdrawing its nearly three battalions of troops and other elements. "India's long expertise in UN peacekeeping missions is recognised by all countries and therefore the implicit faith in the professionalism of the Indian Army whenever the UN decides to send peacekeepers anywhere", the spokesman said. British
Army to recruit more Gorkhas According to the announcement made by the Ministry of Defense, the Gorkha recruits will be stationed at the Royal Engineers Unit at Maidstone in Kent, about 40 miles (64 km) south of London. Britain is once again looking at Nepal as a happy hunting ground to recruit troops. For every one Gorkha recruited to the British Army, an estimated 50 are turned away. The new recruitment comes along with other restructuring among the Gorkhas. The Gorkhas left their oldest home in Britain Sunday as the British Army moved to reorganize their Gorkha troops. The Royal Gorkha Rifles moved out of their headquarters in Fleet, a little town about 50 miles (80 km) west of London. Colonel of the Regiment Brig Peter Pearson presented a 'kukri,' the traditional angled knife of the Gorkhas, to the local town council for their hospitality. "Fleet was like home away from home for the Gorkhas," Brig. Pearson said. "Sturdy hill men, they came from the foothills of the Himalayas and found a second home here," Pearson said, adding, "The people here took them to their hearts and gave them a fantastic welcome whenever they returned from service abroad, whether in Cyprus, the Gulf, the Falklands or Kosovo. We thank Fleet." Fleet in turn thanked the Gorkhas by presenting them a cheque worth 1,000 pounds. While the size of the Gorkha regiment is being enlarged it is not expected to climb back towards the earlier strength. The number of Gorkhas in the British Army has been cut steadily in recent years. About a quarter of a million Gorkhas fought alongside the British in the two World Wars, but now their numbers in the British Army are around 3,400. Between 1967 and 1972 the Brigade reduced from some 14,000 to 8,000 men. In 1974, the Gorkhas were deployed to reinforce the British Sovereign base in Cyprus when Turkey invaded the island. A battalion took part in the Falklands campaign and Gorkhas were deployed in the Gulf War, Bosnia and more recently in Kosovo. The four Rifle regiments of the Gorkhas have now disbanded to form a large regiment - - the Royal Gorkha Rifles and the three Corps Regiments have reduced to squadron size. Prince Charles is colonel-in-chief of the Royal Gorkha Rifles. WRIT PETITION FILED AT SUPREME COURT BY AN EX-BRITISH GORKHA SOLDIERA retired British Gorkha solider, Gyan Raj Rai, has filed a petition at the Supreme Court on Tuesday demanding that the Court ask the Nepal government to take diplomatic or legal initiative to ensure appropriate service regulations to serving and ex-British Gorkha soldiers on humanitarian ground, Kantipur daily reported today. Rai has also demanded that the Court order the government to enter into a bilateral agreement (with the United Kingdom) to this effect. A 1947 tripartite
treaty between Nepal, India and the U. K. governs recruitment and
facilities to Gorkha soldiers recruited in the Indian and British Army.
The writ petition has been filed amidst ongoing campaign by a section of
ex-British Gorkha soldiers who demand that the British government pay
equal pension and benefits to them vis a vis the British soldiers. The
British government has maintained that there has not been any
discrimination against Gorkha soldiers serving in its army. Nepal
Govt. Welcomes British Govt's Decision The Nepal government has welcomed the recent announcement by British Prime Minister Tony Blair about the substantial increase in payments to the families of Gorkha soldiers killed in service. According to the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister K. P. Bhattarai had requested his British counterpart during his recent visit to London to make the pensions and benefits to the Gorkha soldiers serving in the British army equitable on par with their British colleagues. The Nepal government has also expressed belief that the British government would also give favorable consideration to the issue of pensions to ex-British Gorkha soldiers. The British premier had announced on Wednesday "substantial increase" in payments to the families of British Gorkha soldiers who die while in service. Leading
dailies report Oct. 29. WRIT PETITION FILED AT SUPREME COURT BY AN EX-BRITISH GORKHA SOLDIERA retired British Gorkha solider, Gyan Raj Rai, has filed a petition at the Supreme Court on Tuesday demanding that the Court ask the Nepal government to take diplomatic or legal initiative to ensure appropriate service regulations to serving and ex-British Gorkha soldiers on humanitarian ground, Kantipur daily reported today. Rai has also demanded that the Court order the government to enter into a bilateral agreement (with the United Kingdom) to this effect. A 1947 tripartite
treaty between Nepal, India and the U. K. governs recruitment and
facilities to Gorkha soldiers recruited in the Indian and British Army.
The writ petition has been filed amidst ongoing campaign by a section of
ex-British Gorkha soldiers who demand that the British government pay
equal pension and benefits to them vis a vis the British soldiers. The
British government has maintained that there has not been any
discrimination against Gorkha soldiers serving in its army. British Gurkhas to get equal salaries, FM says Kathmandu, July 29 (RSS): Minister for Foreign Affairs and Housing and Physical Planning Kamal Thapa told the House of Representatives today that His Majesty’s Government has from time to time requested the British Government to reconsider the demands concerning the pension of Nepalese serving in British Gorkha Army and other related matters. During question hour, Minister Thapa said as a result of the high level talks held during the visit of the then Prime Minister to London in November, 1997, the British Government has agreed to provide some additional facilities to British Gorkhas from July,1997. As per the additional facilities, Nepalese serving in British Gorkha Army will be entitled to equal salary and facilities as being enjoyed by their British counterparts, those serving in posts higher than of sergeant will be allowed to take their families to their duty station during their term of office, those serving in lower posts will be given this facility once in three years and the children of British Gorkhas will be provided educational allowance, Foreign Minister Thapa said. The British Government is considering as to what kinds of additional facilities can be given to British Gurkha under the tripartite agreement signed between Nepal, India and the u.k. in 1947, he added. No delegation has been sent to the u.k. to hold talks with the British Government on matters concerning British Gorkhas, he said in reply to a supplementary question. Despite the expiry of the agreement concerning pasture land with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in 1991, Nepal is enjoying the pasture facility and renewal of the agreement in under way, he said. The mp, ddc Chairman and Vice Chairman of the concerned district can make recommendation for providing a person with a passport, he said in reply to a question. When requested for India’s cooperation for dignified repatriation of Bhutanese refugees, the Indian Prime Minister during his recent visit to Nepal said India does not want to involve itself in the resolution of the bilateral problem between Nepal and Bhutan, he said, adding Nepal is confident that the Bhutanese refugee problem will be solved through bilateral talks and mutual understanding. To a question concerning the Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning, Minister Thapa said there is a programme for supplying drinking water at ward nos. 8 and 9 of Lekhnath municipality of Kaski under the Kurlung Khola drinking water project. The government is taking necessary measures to solve the problem facing the Pelkachaur drinking water project in Syangja and implementing drinking water project in Kolhua and Narayani vdcs of Nawalparasi. Feasibility study will be carried out for implementation of drinking water projects at Chandi Bhanjyang, Alamdevi, Sherbam, Tindobato and Shirsekot of the same district, he said, adding as it is quite a large project, the Bhojpur Homtang Ranibas drinking water projects could not be included in this year’s programme. He was replying questions of Khagaraj Adhikari, Dhruba Raj Lamsal, Majhilal Tharu Thanet, Mahendra Thapa, Chakra Bahadur Dagaura Chaudhari and Dhanaharka Rai of cpn-uml. meanwhile, taking part in the discussions on the appropriation heads pertaining to the Education Ministry at the Lower House meeting today, nc’s Ramhari Joshi stressed the need to provide special grant to Tribhuvan University for promotion of modern educational pattern, abolish i.sc. level and promote 10+2 classes and appoint teachers in schools and colleges on the basis of their qualification. cpn-uml’s Padma Bhandari said negligence on the part of teachers has led to degrading educational standard in the villages, conducive environment should be created for enabling government schools to compete with private schools and measures should be initiated to establish a medicine campus in Ilam. nc’s Hemraj Dahal pointed out a number of problems facing education sector and demanded that the n.d.s. programme be revived and the increase in the tuition fees for the engineering students be reconsidered. Lila Shrestha Subba of cpn-uml stressed the need to improve the existing educational pattern and arrangements should be made to provide education in mother tongue. Kul Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress said that as our educational system is based on old policy and is impractical, even knowledge on reading the temperature of a thermometer cannot be provided here. As there are only public schools in the mountainous areas and private boarding schools in the urban areas, there is a wide gap between the students of these two categories of schools, he added. Som Prasad Pandey of the cpn-uml said that emphasis should be laid on vocational education to produce skilled manpower, and the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training should be made effective. As there is infrastructure for education in Palpa district, c.m.a. and Anami campus should be started again, he added. Bishnu Raj Acharya of the Nepali Congress said that the standard of education from primary to higher level is declining, there is lawlessness in Tribhuvan University, and the conduct and activity of the teachers unsatisfactory and attention has not been given to the process of inspection and follow-up. Himanchal Bhattarai of the cpn-uml said that education policy has not given attention to technical education and there is wide gap between education provided in the private and the government owned schools. Attention should be given to employment generating vocational education, he added. Rajendra Bahadur Shaha of the Nepali Congress said that the education system is not in line with the changing context. Attention should be given to resolve the problems of the education sector instead of merely delivering speeches. A provision for education service commission should be made for the appointment of teachers. Yam Lal Kadel of the cpn-uml said that c.m.a. campus at Surkhet is not running properly though it has property worth hundreds of millions of rupees. The primary education project and the informal education has not been able to reach the villages. Therefore attention should be given to the implementation aspect. Hari Prasad Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress said emphasis should be given to primary and basic education, open a Sanskrit University in Dang district and provide reservations for higher education to the Tharu community. Dhanaharka Rai of the cpn-uml said the education policy is not in commensurate with the changing time and neither any commitment has been made for it. The budget allocated for upliftment of language and culture of communities is very low. Ram Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress said the education sector is in a state of confusion, the budget for education council is not sufficient and the government should have a clear view of the private schools. Kashiram Tharu of the cpn-uml demanded for provision of free education in Tharu language for the Tharu community and drew the attention of the government towards the establishment of agriculture campus in Bardia. Amarraj Kaini of the Nepali Congress said the education policy is not in commensurate with the needs and demand of the nation. he expressed the view that the education sector should be kept aloof from politics. Likewise, mps Tanka Prasad Pokhrel, Mahendra Thapa, Kamal Raj Shrestha, Trilochan Sharma Dhakal and Dhruva Raj Lamsal of the cpn-uml and Tirtha Raj Bhusal and Purna Bahadur Khadka of the Nepali Congress also took part in the discussion.
KARGIL HEROES RECALL EPIC BATTLE KARGIL WAR New Delhi, August 14 (Soni Sangwan) Crawling up a craggy mountain, 22-year-old Lt Pradhan of 2 Engineers had cleared 125 landmines. But as he searched for the 126th, it went off. Enemy fire made it impossible to evacuate him. For six hours, he lay bleeding, ultimately losing both hands and an eye. For 48 hours, Major Jaggi of 5 Para lay with his left leg blown off. Only on the third night could the enemy be neutralised. "Don’t inform my parents, they are heart patients," he told the doctors. Amol Kalia was killed in intense hand-to-hand combat, and his body lay with those of six others. "Retrieving them became as important for morale as capturing the feature," says Maj V Pathak. "In the dark, while others gave me covering fire, I put the bodies in sleeping bags, tied them together and slid them down the cliff. When we returned, each man was carrying a body." Maj Vikas Mehta of 12 J&K Light Infantry spent 30 days atop a snowclad peak at 17,000 feet. The enemy was on a facing peak, and constantly engaged them. Contact with base came once a day through the food carriers. When shelling was too heavy, even this was not possible. "Sacks of puris and aloo sabzi, carried in plastic shell casings, were our meals. Civilian porters and troops climbed all night to reach us before daybreak. They also brought letters from home," recalls an officer. The infiltrators were well supplied. When Gorkhas took Point 5287, they found fresh meat ready for cooking. They did it full justice. "You never had to wake up - because you hadn’t gone to sleep. You attacked at night, did sentry duty and completed your ablutions before daybreak," says an officer. Over the 10 weeks, many fell victim to diarrhoea. Living in holes in the cliff faces, even brushing teeth was a luxury. "The single source of water, the stream, soon became contaminated. Chilblains and pulmonary oedema also affected some," he says. Not realising that chilblains can degenerate into frostbite and gangrene, the troops of 1/11 Gorkha Rifles would not report them as they thought it cowardly. Officers had to physically check each soldier’s feet. Leading these men was Lt Manoj Pandey, who destroyed four bunkers and killed 11 before falling himself. Commanding officer Col Lalit Rai suffered injuries but held on for 25 hours. When ammunition fell short, khukris flashed. And so the war was won. Courtsey HINDUSTAN TIMES-British
Gorkha soldiers step up fight for equality
After years of informal protests on the issue of pension parity in the British army, a former Gorkha soldier has knocked on the doors of Britain's judiciary. Hari Thapa, 37, a former British Gorkha soldier, appeared before an employment tribunal in the Welsh city of Cardiff accusing the Ministry of Defense of discrimination and raising the expectations of Gorkha ex-soldiers living in Nepal. While many Gorkha ex-soldiers here do not approve the extreme step Hari Thapa has taken, they agree with the principle of the matter. Britain's Secretary of State for Defense Geoffrey Hoon is visiting Nepal for two days beginning Wednesday to ascertain the intensity of the campaign in this Himalayan kingdom that led the former soldier to file the embarrassing lawsuit. Hoon will hold talks with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Defense Minister Mahesh Acharya and Foreign Minister Chakra Bastola and visit the headquarters of the British Gorkhas Nepal and the Gorkha Welfare Scheme. Maj. Deepak Gurung, a retired British Gorkha major and now president of the Nepal Ex- Servicemen's Association (NESA), says while the soldiers are thankful to the British government for the employment opportunity, they feel their pension should be equal to that of their British counterparts. "The British government has already increased our pension from 100 to 190 percent in April 2000 after our peaceful campaign, but we still will request them to make it equal with the British. But everything should be done in a peaceful and diplomatic manner rather than irritating them," Maj. Gurung said. "A few of our friends are taking a radical way to fight with the British government by going to the extent of filing a case in the court. The intention behind it is just to spread anti-British sentiment in Nepal. But all these issues can be solved in a diplomatic manner," he told India Abroad News Service (IANS). The Gorkhas will deliver a memorandum to Hoon during his stay in Nepal through foreign minister Bastola and defense minister Acharya. "We would try to meet him if he will have time," Maj. Gurung said. Gorkhas began their campaign for pension parity in 1996, with the ex-servicemen's organization alleging their contribution to the British army was being minimized. They came up with a "Kathmandu Declaration" to express their protest. Comparing their situation with other Gorkhas who formerly worked for the Indian and Singaporean armies, an ex-soldier told IANS: "India and Singapore have never discriminated the Gorkhas from their own citizens working in the army. Gorkhas got facilities equal to what their own citizens got." These martial men trace their origin to the mini-state of Gorkha in the central hills of present-day Nepal. The people of Gorkha, who were then subjects of Hindu Shah kings, were known as 'Gorkhali.' After taking over Kathmandu Valley in 1769, the Gorkhalis launched a series of military campaigns. The Gorkhali army expanded both in numbers and in regional and ethnic sway. By 1814 the army, then controlling territory from the Teesta to the Sutlej rivers, was no longer confined to men from Gorkha. The first of three Gorkha regiments, as they are known today, was founded in 1815. From 1910 to 1917, there was a massive recruitment drive for World War I. Then prime minister Chandra Shumser personally campaigned to persuade the hill peasants of Nepal to enlist in the imperial army. The number of Gorkha army men rose from 26,000 in 1914 to 200,000 within a couple of years. When World War I ended, two Nepalis had won the Victoria Cross and 20,000 had lost their lives. In World War II 10 Nepali soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross. More than 10,000 Gorkha soldiers were killed and 23,655 wounded or disabled in that war. Following this the Gorkha battalions were increased in number to 51 from 20. The annual subsidy to Nepal was raised to Nepali Rs.2 million, together with a few British medals for the then prime minister, Juddha Sumser. A tripartite agreement of 1947 signed by Britain, India and Nepal says: "In matters of promotion, welfare and other facilities the Gorkha troops should be treated on the same footing as the other units in the parent army. These troops should be treated as a link between two friendly countries." Gorkhas Stand Tall Even Here Ibl-E-Saqi {Lebanon}: Dec. 18: There is something about the sight of the Tricolour and the Ashoka Chakra that brings on a fission and pleasure even in a forgotten corner of a foreign land. The national flag does not merely float from a pole in this remote village in the south-eastern corner of Lebanon nor has it been raised by the obscure indophile. It is emblazoned on signboards, roadside warnings and message boards in the Indian Army’s friendly way of announcing its presence.Number 4 Battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon {UNIFIL} is India’s contribution to the multinational peacekeeping force. Since November, the Fifth Battalion of the Ninth Gorkha Rifles {5/9 GR} has been serving as "IndBat", the name UNIFIL has given it. This is the third infantry unit to serve with UNIFIL, after 2/4 Gorkha Rifles, which was here in 1998-99, and 2 Madras, which left in November. These units served on a mission that is military in form but more diplomatic in content. It is a delicate assignment. The Indian units, which were all based at Ibl-e-Saqi, are at the farthest end of UNIFIL’s deployment. When 2/4 Gorkha Rifles and 2 Madras were in UNIFIL, their area of operation {as of other UNIFIL units} was right inside the zone that Israel had occupied in southern Lebanon. Israel pulled out in May and the area has nominally reverted to Lebanon. But it has not yet ordered its security forces to guard its borders and neither do its police forces have a marked presence here. In effect, UNIFIL continues as a buffer between the two nations that have not declared an end to hostilities. Since UNIFIL does not have the mandate to physically separate forces on the two sides or prevent them from fighting, its job has been one of monitoring and reporting violence. After Israel’s withdrawal, this task boiled down to one of reporting border violations and of interdicting contraband, including weapons and drugs, on the Lebanese side of the border. At present, IndBat could be said to have the most sensitive task since there are two spots along the line of deployment where the border question has not been conclusively settled. There is a different atmosphere in the area where 5/9 Gorkha Rifles operates and this is not mere patriotic bias. Its patrols are more frequent and its checkpoints guarded with far more seriousness than areas under the charge of other units. There are units from Western and former Soviet bloc armies in UNIFIL. But even the short period in which they have had to measure their professional competence against other armies has been sufficient to enhance 5/9 Gorkha Rifles’ pride in its own and the Indian army’s abilities. Along with its responsibilities in UNIFIL, 5/9 Gorkha Rifles also needs to maintain its abilities as an effective fighting force. A relatively young unit—it was raised in 1963—it has a glorious history. Within just two years, it won its first battle honour in the Indo-Pakistan war by capturing in frontal assault the road and rail junction of Phil Lora in the Sialcot sector, thus opening the breach for an armoured thrust. More recently, it has won the Army chief’s citation in the Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir. Col. Rakesh Virmani, Commanding Officer of the Battalion, and his officers are about to start their annual training cycle mindful that the unit has asked for another assignment in Kashmir after their return in late 2001. They also have the time and opportunity to hone their skills in the art of "winning hearts and minds". Building on the earlier work done by 2/4 Gorkha Rifles and 2 Madras, 5/9 Gorkha Rifles has extended the services of its medical and dental detachments to the locals. Its veterinary services, administered by an attached unit of Remount and Veterinary Corps, is popular. Currently, 5/9 Gorkha Rifles is working on improving the water supply to this relatively arid area and exploring the viability of building an indoor stadium for the villagers. Many Indians, especially in areas wracked by upheavals, both natural and human-made, look up to the Army for succor. Now, people in foreign countries too do the same. Gorkhas to ward off piratesWASHINGTON, FEB. 22. Gorkha warriors would soon take on a new assignment to protect ships from pirates in the Asia-Pacific region. More than 300 of the tough Nepalese warriors, who were demobilised from the British Army when Hong Kong was returned to China, may now be put in groups of four to eight soldiers as guards to ward off pirates, a report in Washington Times quoting Sunday Telegraph, said yesterday. - PTI Gorkhas In Kargil-Gorkhas incited: ZTV Even as the Indian mass media has finally come around to admitting that Gorkhas are heavily involved in the Kargil military operations, it has turned to disseminating the long standing canard that ISI is operating against India from Nepalese soil. (That pat theory, incidentally, was shot down by Foreign Minister Mahat at a press conference last week -- see separate story and also editorial. Now, apparently the target for the Indian media's ire -- no doubt reflective of its political masters' wishes -- has moved. In its latest change of gears, it has targeted sections of the Nepalese media that have had the temerity to raise fundamental issues related to this country's foreign policy and sovereignty by indicating that the continuing recruitment of its nationals in the Indian -- and British -- army is inconsistent with Nepal's independent status as a fully sovereign country and one that proudly proclaims its non-aligned credentials. (Incidentally, that begs this query: would India permit its nationals to be recruited and deployed in the armed forces of another country -- say, that of Pakistan's or China's, if the latter were interested?) For example, in a programme by its Kathmandu-based correspondent, repeatedly broadcast on Sunday, ZTV criticized such Nepalese media by accusing it of "inciting" the Gorkhas against India. Among other things, it quoted an Indian official in Pokhara who waxed long and eloquent about the "unique" system that allowed pensions to be distributed to Nepalese ex-Gorkhas even in remote areas of the kingdom. It then showed two ex-Gorkhas who lauded their past association with the Indian army and its military operations (which, of course, has been directed in the past not only against Pakistanis but also the Chinese and Sri Lankan Tamils.)
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EPAL's
Gorkhas, who have earned a reputation for unmatched loyalty and courage
in military service, have stepped up their struggle for equality within
the British army.