As the ex-Gurkha community is pressurising the government, Nepal wants to review a military deal with the Britain.
The deal allowing Nepali citizens to be enlisted in the British army needs to be reviewed before a planned recruitment of Nepali women in the Brigade of Gurkhas – for the first time in two centuries – according to the foreign minister.
According to the British media, the first Gurkha women could begin their training in the British army in 2020, though it is not clear how many Gurkha women Britain plans to enlist. In 2007, Britain announced plans to recruit Gurkha women for its elite force, adding however that issues such as recruitment and selection standards needed to be settled.
Britain has been enlisting Nepali Gurkhas – popularly known for their fierce combat skills – since 1815.
An agreement between New Delhi, London and Kathmandu following India’s independence from colonial rule in 1947 allowed India and Britain to share and recruit Gurkhas but fight for equality by the ex-Gurkha in recent years has made Kathmandu rethink on the deal that – according to the agitating ex-Gurkha – is unfair to the Nepalis as it treats Gurkhas as second class citizens.
Nepal now wants the 72-year-old tripartite deal renegotiated since that accord does not allow Kathmandu to play any role in the recruitment process of Gurkhas by foreign armies, foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said.
The new agreement should also address ex-Gurkha grievances including pensions and other benefits, which retired servicemen say are not at par with their British counterparts, Gyawali added.
Currently, there are about 3,000 Nepalis in the Brigade of Gurkhas.
The deal allowing Nepali citizens to be enlisted in the British army needs to be reviewed before a planned recruitment of Nepali women in the Brigade of Gurkhas – for the first time in two centuries – according to the foreign minister.
According to the British media, the first Gurkha women could begin their training in the British army in 2020, though it is not clear how many Gurkha women Britain plans to enlist. In 2007, Britain announced plans to recruit Gurkha women for its elite force, adding however that issues such as recruitment and selection standards needed to be settled.
Britain has been enlisting Nepali Gurkhas – popularly known for their fierce combat skills – since 1815.
An agreement between New Delhi, London and Kathmandu following India’s independence from colonial rule in 1947 allowed India and Britain to share and recruit Gurkhas but fight for equality by the ex-Gurkha in recent years has made Kathmandu rethink on the deal that – according to the agitating ex-Gurkha – is unfair to the Nepalis as it treats Gurkhas as second class citizens.
Nepal now wants the 72-year-old tripartite deal renegotiated since that accord does not allow Kathmandu to play any role in the recruitment process of Gurkhas by foreign armies, foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said.
The new agreement should also address ex-Gurkha grievances including pensions and other benefits, which retired servicemen say are not at par with their British counterparts, Gyawali added.
Currently, there are about 3,000 Nepalis in the Brigade of Gurkhas.
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