. Basanta Bhujel
Our country has not yet formulated a concrete policy to solve the problems faced by the people in our country working abroad. It is seen that some initiatives have been started only after the introduction of foreign employment in the Gulf countries, but such initiatives are not enough.
It was only after the opening of the Gurkha recruitment center that ordinary Nepalese living in the caves of the hills got to see the face of money. After some army officers, including Balbhadra Kunwar, who was dissatisfied with the Sugauli Treaty joined the Punjab Army, the way was paved for a Gurkha recruitment center. The British have a history of setting up Gurkha recruitment centers in their colony of India to keep the war-torn Gurkhas in check. A recruitment center was recently opened in Lahore, Pakistan. Therefore, those who were going to join the Gurkha army were called Gorkha soldiers. That is still the case today. Nowadays, whatever you go abroad to do is called the Gorkha soldier. The Gorkha soldier has become a word brand.
At a time when colonialism was prevalent in the world, Britain was known as a country where the sun never sets. The Gurkha army on the mainland was behind Britain’s success in the war. Britain won many wars with the Gurkha army. At the same time, the British relied on the Gurkha army to protect the territory they had won. In World War, I and World War II, millions of Nepalese joined the Gurkha army and fought on the side of the British. Millions died in World War I. At that time, Nepal’s population had declined.
What is interesting here is that the Rana government used to take royalties from the British by counting the heads of Nepalese working in the Gurkha army. But that royalty was deposited directly in the personal coffers of the Rana rulers. The palaces built by the Rana during the reign of Jahaniya Rana for 104 years were the product of the same royalty. Similarly, the British government had opened a school in the corner of the hill to enable its recruits to read and write, at least at home, and to read letters from home. Apart from the Brahmins-Chhetri, Nepalese of other castes have had the opportunity to recognize the alphabet since that time. Until then, the rulers of the country were not aware of the need for education except for the hill villages and the Chhetri- Brahmins.
Similarly, it is the Gurkha soldiers who introduced modern civilization in the villages of Nepal. Until then, it was not customary to have tea in the village, and the villagers had never seen soap, toothpaste, or brushes. He had never seen a razor blade or a machine. Torch lights and lanterns and menthol were not seen. The spices (cumin) in vegetables were not known. There was no question of seeing coconuts. Most people here have never even looked in the mirror. However, after the opening of the Gurkha recruitment center, the villages of Kuna Kandra in Nepal were directly connected to Europe. In other words, those who joined the Gurkha army settled down with the Europeans. In this process, they brought the learned civilization to the village. After retiring and going to the village, they made the house tidy. He also taught them how to keep the road and yard clean, plant fruit trees, cultivate vegetables, play sports, and exercise. In a way, the Gurkha recruitment center proved to be a boon for Nepalese. Because at that time settlement and farming were not possible due to malaria in Terai and most of the areas. Grain produced on the steep slopes of the mountains was not enough to eat all year round. Therefore, regardless of their lives, Nepalese joined the Gurkha army. Honestly, the former served.
The British ruled the world because of the service rendered by the Gurkhas, but what did the Gurkhas get to make Britain the ruler of the world? The answer to that question is very painful. How many Gorkhalis were recruited in the First World War? How many were killed? How many were mutilated? It has no record, no accounting. But World War II has a small record, an audit. Trying to understand this record and accounting brings tears to the eyes of many Nepalese. The whereabouts of those killed were not known. The dog died. No record was kept of those who fled. After the end of the war, about two-thirds of the population was sent away empty-handed. The pension facility was not even provided. Those who worked for the entire period were given a nominal pension. Discrimination was so severe that the Gurkha soldiers were paid 50 times less than the white soldiers working in the same post. Former Gurkha soldiers raised their voices against this injustice.
During the Panchayat period, there was no scope to raise a voice. After the change of 2046 BS, an environment has been created to raise a voice. But the government of that time did not care, that is, the leaders of the political parties at that time did not understand that the ex-Gurkhas were in such a predicament. They took it in the opposite sense. If dissatisfaction is expressed even with such a good facility, will the Gurkha recruitment center be closed tomorrow? The fear was seen in the leaders of that time. Because no matter how much discrimination was done, the facilities of Nepalese working in the Gurkha army were many times more than those who were going to become gatekeepers in Gulf Malaysia and India. Therefore, the government did not try to understand reality. The scandal could have erupted if the British government had been formally informed that the Gurkha army had been discriminated against. But those in government did not dare. Going to the UK, the Bhupu Gorkhas began to speak out, defeating MPs, civil society leaders, and ministers.
Famous British actress Johanna Lumley has read the news of such discrimination against the Gurkha army. This news has burned her stomach. Because her father was also in the front line of the Gurkha army and fought against Japan in Burma. During the battle, he fell into the trap of the enemy. When the enemy was about to kill him, Lachhuman Gurung, a jawan of the Gorkhali army, rescued him. Joanna Lumley was born after this incident. That is why she prefers to call herself Gorkhali’s daughter. He used to say, “If it weren’t for Gorkhali, my father would have been killed at that time. I would not have been born.”
After finding out that there was discrimination against the Gorkhali army, she postponed her acting work and joined the campaign day and night to provide equal facilities. She filed the lawsuit in a British court on her own. The Minister of Defense, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, and even the Queen were informed about this discrimination. Only after this has the service facility of Gurkha soldiers increased. The victims of the Second World War and its aftermath have received justice, albeit in small numbers.
Respectively
(Bhujel is a retired engineer in the British Army)
