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Kathmandu Saturday March 17, 2001 Chaitra 04, 2057.
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Get involved
Gaeso, the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s
Organisation, organised a conference last year to publicize British discrimination against
the Gurkhas, and a similar conference just this past week or so. Gaeso is evidently
determined to bring the British to book. Its grievances are many, but they all boil down
to lack of equal treatment in pay, perks and conditions between Gurkha soldiers serving in
the British army and British servicemen. This disparity has now been given a human rights
colouring. So far the British have generally reacted with restraint. But if Gaeso goes all
out in its dispute with them, the British government might loose its cool. His
Majesty’s Government of Nepal should step into the picture before things spin out of
control.
Gaeso does have a case, although the argument is
not all one sided. There is substantial disparity. But the British have always argued that
they are bound by the tripartite accord involving themselves, India and Nepal, which pegs
the pay scale for British Gurkha servicemen to that of the Indian army. It now transpires
that Nepal had not been a proper signatory to that accord and therefore may not be bound
by it. The issue is further complicated by the fact that service periods for British and
Gurkha servicemen are significantly different. But what really goes to the heart of the
matter is that while Gurkha servicemen are little more than a good bargain for the
British, for many in the hills of Nepal service in the British army is a lifeline. It is
also a significant source of foreign exchange for the Nepalese economy. If the British
were to stop recruiting in Nepal, it would hurt Nepal more than it would hurt Britain.
The curious thing about this whole issue is the
hands off attitude that His Majesty’s Government seems to have adopted. This lack of
concern, if it is real, is decidedly wrong in view of what is at stake. Service with the
British forces is important for Nepal both financially and for the social stability it
helps bring to society in the hills. A good example of this is the village of Barpak in
northern Gorkha district. Barpak, a community of some six thousand souls divided almost
equally between the Ghale and Gurung communities, is prosperous because almost every adult
male has served or is serving with the British or Indian army. It would be very hard for
the Maoists to make inroads into Barpak.
The Gurkha connection may also be one of the
reasons why Britain ranks high among donor countries active in Nepal. There is a lesson to
be drawn from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s inability to persuade the French
recently to assume outrightly a similar role in Nepal. HMG should make its own position
clear, including to what extent it is willing to back Gaeso, and approach the British on
that basis to seek redress for Gaeso’s gripes. It should also make clear once and for
all whether Nepal was in fact a proper signatory to the tripartite accord. What HMG should
definitely not do is let the dispute shimmer until the very last minute, as it did with
the stand-off between hotel owners and workers.
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