Notes
Introduction
1.One example of such PMSCs is the Gurkha Security Guards. This company provided ex-Gurkhas as security forces in Sierra Leone in order to both deliver training for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and to offer protection for Sierra Rutile, a mining company that oversees US-Australian mining activities (Zack-Williams 2012).
2.Kathmandu and Pokhara—these are the two main areas in Nepal that comprise sizeable Gurkha settlements (Chisholm 2016). In the United Kingdom, I carried out fieldwork in Eastleigh, Farmsborough, London, and Winchester.
3.These terms are commonly used to refer to the children of Gurkhas, with the former term referring to nephews, and the latter referring to nieces (Kiruppalini 2016).
1. Constructing a Gurkha Diaspora
1.One problem might be that of recruits who were outlaws and fugitive criminals who managed to “pass themselves off as genuine Gurkhas” in entering British service. Without the Government of Nepal’s cooperation, their identity could not be ascertained (Banskota 1994).
2.The Himachal Punjab Gorkha Association is one of the oldest associations in Dharamshala. Established in 1916, the main aim of this organization is to provide financial assistance to Gurkha widows and orphans, as well as to preserve Gurkha language and culture, and to create employment opportunities for Gurkha pensioners through seeking government assistance (Purthi 2011).
3.Interestingly, Farwell (1984, 81) points out that most British officers were prejudiced against “line boys”—the sons and grandsons of soldiers who were born “in the family lines of a Gurkha battalion in India or Malaya” and who therefore had attended school and picked up foreign or non-Nepalese ways. The British officers felt that these young men did not possess the hardy virtues as compared to those from the hills, and they had also grown too clever for their own good (see also Bolt 1967).
4.Ruchika Uniyal, “Why Kathmandu Wants a Relook at Gorkha Pact,” Times of India, 2 August 2020, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/why-kathmandu-wants-a-relook-at-gorkha-pact/articleshow/77310714.cms.
5.Ranjit Rae, “View: Nepal Must Think Before Testing Gurkha Traditions,” Economic Times, 12 August 2020, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/view-nepal-must-think-before-testing-gurkha-traditions/articleshow/77475715.cms.
6.The recruitment takes place in Nepal, which is administered by HQ British Gurkhas who act on behalf of the Singapore government. The enlistment age spans between sixteen and twenty-one years of age, where Gurkhas may serve up to no more than forty-five years of age, or to opt for early retirement with a reduced pension—see letter by Hugh Davies on “The Gurkhas in Singapore,” dated 19 June 1979—File DEFE 24/1818, “Loan Service and Trg Teams: Review of Singapore Gurkha Contingents,” National Archives, Kew, UK.
7.For other works on the Gurkhas written in Nepali, see Thapa and Mainali 2002; Jhalak 2012; Rai 2015; Sangroula 2019; Surendra 2062 V.S; and Rai 2070 V.S. “V.S.” following the year of publication in this list refers to the Nepali calendar. This calendar is approximately fifty-six years and eight months ahead of the English/Gregorian calendar.
8.“Gurkhas Are the Public’s Great Friends,” Sunday Standard, 22 April 1951.
9.“Taj Goes to School,” Straits Times, 31 March 1950.
10.“Prison Gurkha Unit to Join Police Force,” Straits Times, 30 March 1981.
11.“These 37 Wives Don’t Go Out,” Straits Times, 31 March 1950.
12.“Bartley School’s Gurkhas,” Singapore Monitor, 19 April 1985. In 1993, it was reported that Gurkha children formed more than half of the four hundred students at Elling Primary School. These Nepalese children “joined the school without knowing a word of English.” However, their “fighting spirit helps them learn English within two months,” according to the Principal—indicating here, perceptions of the Gurkha community’s resilience and hardiness that are usually associated with Gurkha soldiers. “Primary 1 Pupils Helping their Nepalese Classmates in English,” Straits Times, 17 May 1993.
13.File DEFE 24/1818 “Loan Service and Trg Teams: Review of Singapore Gurkha Contingents,” National Archives, Kew, UK.
14.“Gurkha Recruitment,” https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/.
15.“Gurkhas for Defence of Brunei,” Straits Times, 25 June 1964.
16.“Deployments: Brunei,” https://www.army.mod.uk/deployments/brunei/.
17.“Hive Information Centres: Location Overview Brunei,” https://www.army.mod.uk/media/1578/lo-brunei-june-16.pdf.
18.Many retired Gurkha servicemen had acquired land in Manipur and had gone into dairy farming. Specifically, the area of Kanglatombi Kangpokpi became the main locale in which Gurkha retirees toiled as dairy farmers. Other retired Gurkha settlements that practiced dairy farming are found in Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh (Nath 2006).
19.The Gurkhas were relocated from their training depot in Sungai Petani, in the Kedah state of Malaya to Hong Kong (O’Neill and Evans 2018). They were at that time combating communist insurgence threats posed during the Malayan Emergency (1948–60) (Kiruppalini 2016).
20.Smith (1973, 161) writes: “The cold winters in the New Territories reminded Gurkhas of their native land and undoubtedly had beneficial effects on the health of their wives and children in the unit family lines.”
21.Gurung (2020, 139) further elaborates that at the end of the two-year tour of this battalion, the Gurkhas returned to Malaya, while their families had to stay behind in Hong Kong. This was because the tented camps back in Malaya were not yet ready to house them altogether. It was only after six months’ time that these families could join their Gurkha kin. Over this period of time, this group of sixty-five families were housed in a Kowloon hutted camp, previously a “Japanese prisoner-of-war cage.” This scenario was probably one of the earliest instances of Gurkha families being located in Hong Kong in forming part of the broader Gurkha diaspora.
22.Minami (2007) notes that a number of Nepali associations began to spring up in Hong Kong in the 1990s. They include the British Gorkha Ex-Servicemen’s Association which was founded in 1994, the Hong Kong Adivasi Sangha (Hong Kong Indigenous People’s Association), the Far East Overseas Nepalese Association, the Hong Kong Nepalese Federation, the Hong Kong Gurkhas Forum, the Hong Kong Nepalese Women’s Association, as well as the Association of the Gurkhas’ Sons and Daughters Hong Kong, among others.
23.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 427, British Library, London.
24.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 427.
25.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 427.
26.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 427.
27.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 427.
28.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 428, British Library, London.
29.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 430, British Library, London.
30.IOR L/MIL/7/7054, No. 430.
31.According to Forbes (1964) who had served with the Gurkhas in the British and Indian Army. Forbes writes about his tour in Singapore in 1963 after the Malayan Emergency and singles out his visit to Alexandra Grammar School. This former elementary school was refitted into a Grammar School for children of army personnel of the British and Indian Armies, as well as the Singapore GC. The author notes that Gurkha boys were admitted to the school, where they stayed in a nearby boarding hostel. These students “were studying in a language that was not their mother tongue.” Given the medium of instruction, this led Forbes to ponder: “By bringing them up in a British school, are we turning them into something that is alien from their own homeland? Will those who do not join the army get completely out of touch with Nepal, and turn their backs on their native country, or will they take their knowledge and savoir-faire back there to benefit their own people as best they can?” (1964, 153). A similar school, Bourne School was set up in 1954 in Kuala Lumpur to provide education for children of the British armed forces in Malaysia, including the Gurkhas (Bennett 1958).
32.This would relate to what Useugi has pointed out with regard to state “instigation of immigrants’ transnationalism” (2007, 403).
2. The Warrior Gurkha
1.“Gurkhas—The Mighty Atoms!” Straits Times, 18 October 1953.
2.Legend has it that the term Gurkha is taken from Guru Gorakhnath, an eight-century Hindu warrior-saint. There was a teenager by the name Bappa Rawal who was on a hunting expedition with friends in Rajasthan. The group chanced on the warrior saint who was then in deep meditation. Bappa Rawal chose to stay behind to care for the saint. When Guru Gorkhnath awoke, he was impressed with the devotion of Bappa Rawal. He then gave Bappa Rawal the kukri, and told Bappa that “he and his people would henceforth be called Gurkhas, the disciplines of Guru Gorkhnath, and their bravery would become world famous” (Purthi 2011, 92–93).
3.Historian David Omissi calls the recruitment differentiation of the various clans in Nepal as an “atomizing ethnographic enterprise” which essentially produces not individuals but “specimens” (Omissi 1994, 31).
4.Taken from “British Gurkhas Nepal: Pre-arrival Pack Booklet I,” June 2009, 16–17.
5.Cross (2009) suggests that the genesis of this motto may be traced to a letter written by Kaji Amar Singh Thapa to the king of Nepal, dated 2 March 1915. He wrote, “If we are victorious we can easily adjust our differences, if we are defeated, death is preferable to a reconciliation of humiliating terms” (2009, 23).
6.This motto is said to be quoted by “many old soldiers to their young sons as they set out to enlist in the British army” (Smith 1973, 175). Interestingly, when Des Chene cited this motto to a group of Gurung lahures, not only had they not heard of it, but that they responded in this way: “Perhaps it is better to be clever than dead” (1991, 234).
7.See Lee Hsien Loong, Facebook, 10 April 2019, https://m.facebook.com/leehsienloong/photos/a.344710778924968/2383177671744925/?type=3&source=48&__tn__=EHH-R.
8.Lee Hsien Loong, Facebook, 10 April 2019.
9.“The Gurkha Contingent, an Elite Security Force, has been Stationed in S’pore before S’pore was Born,” Mothership, 12 June 2018. In particular, one media report utilized the Gurkhas’ sense of dependability in association with organ donation. It was reported that their renowned traits of “loyalty and dependability” became evident when they had “voluntarily pledged their kidneys to the National Kidney Foundation.” These 630 Gurkhas were at first concerned over their colleague who had renal failure and who had to be placed on kidney dialysis for close to two years (“630 Gurkhas Pledge their Kidneys,” Straits Times, 25 June 1988).
10.“Gurkhas in New York,” Today, 1 October 2004; “Maintaining a Proud Tradition,” The New Paper, 22 January 1996; “Gurkhas Are Here to Stay,” Straits Times, 14 March 1987; “In a Globalised World, Focus on Our Similarities,” Today, 25 September 2014; “Gurkha Wife Gets a Star,” Straits Times, 5 August 2014; “Gurkha Contingent Did Well to Contain Riot,” Today, 16 December 2013; “Gutsy Gurkhas Will Let Their Legs Do the Talking Again,” Straits Times, 15 April 1993; “Exhibition on Sentosa Salutes the Hardy Gurkhas,” Straits Times, 1 February 1987; “The Small Men with Great Courage,” Straits Times, 2 April 1978; “Tradition of Gurkhas Fading Away,” New Nation, 28 April 1976.
11.See also, Stirr (2017) on how Nepali songs, or dohori, both celebrate military masculinity as well as lament familial separation of Gurkhas from their loved ones, including the inevitability of death for some.
12.“ ‘Scuffles’ in Gurkha Camp Over Pay Issues,” Today, 21 June 2008.
13.“Gurkha Stole ATM Card,” Straits Times, 1 June 1985; “Six-Death Army Driver Is Fined $150,” Straits Times, 18 February 1967; “Civilian Gurkha on Hurt Charge,” Straits Times, 26 October 1950; “Gurkha Cop Jailed Nine Months over Clarke Quay Brawl,” Straits Times, 24 May 2012; “Kidnappers’ Motive Was Revenge: Police,” Today, 7 April 2009; “Home Guards Surprise Gurkha Deserter and Siamese Girlfriend,” Straits Times, 27 October 1958; “Two-Hour Manhunt for ex-Gurkha Officer,” Straits Times, 26 June 2012; “Gurkha on Arms Charge,” Straits Times, 2 November 1949; “Mutiny Ringleader is Jailed for 10 Years,” Straits Times, 27 June 1963; “Jail for 5 Gurkha officers involved in unlicensed cross-border money transfers,” Today, 5 September 2024; “Gurkha to Hang,” Singapore Standard, 11 August 1950; “Insane, He Murdered an Officer,” Straits Times, 13 August 1952; “I’m Not Mad But I’ve Shot Him,” Straits Times, 25 January 1956.
14.Gurkha Security Services, Farnborough, UK, https://gurkhasecurityservices.co.uk/contact-us/.
15.See Gurkha Security Services, Management Team, Farnborough, UK, https://gurkhasecurityservices.co.uk/about-us/management-team/.
16.See Gurkha Security Services, Management Team, Farnborough, UK.
17.See Gurkha Security Services, Management Team, Farnborough, UK.
18.Gurkha Security Services, Management Team, Farnborough, UK.
19.See “History of the Gurkhas,” https://gurkhasecurityservices.co.uk/history-of-gurkhas/.
20.“History of the Gurkhas.”
21.See “Gurkha Security Services: Testimonials,” https://gurkhasecurityservices.co.uk/testimonials/.
22.“Gurkha Security Services: Testimonials.”
23.See “Standard-Gurkhas (G3s) Security Services Ltd,” https://www.gurkhasgroup.com/security.
24.See personnel profiles, Gurkhas Group, https://www.gurkhasgroup.com/our-people.
25.See “Q&A: Ex-Gurkhas in Hong Kong,” https://www.gurkhasgroup.com/q-a-ex-gurkhas.
26.“Q&A: Ex-Gurkhas in Hong Kong.”
27.See “Who Are The Gurkhas? 10 Quick Facts,” https://www.gurkhasgroup.com/who-are-the-gurkhas.
28.“Who Are The Gurkhas?”
29.“Who Are The Gurkhas?”
30.Gurkha International Security Services, https://gurkha-asia.com/special-security-operatives/.
31.Gurkha International Security Services, https://gurkha-asia.com/.
32.Gurkha International Security Services, https://gurkha-asia.com/bodyguards-and-vvip-escorting-team-guard-force/.
33.For another example of a Malaysian security company that builds on the Gurkha reputation, see Sri Waja Security Services, https://www.sriwajasecurity.com/gurkha-guards.html.
34.Chico Force, https://www.chicoforcesecurity.com/?page_id=356.
35.Chico Force, https://www.chicoforcesecurity.com/?page_id=1842.
36.Chico Force, https://www.chicoforcesecurity.com/?page_id=1842.
37.Chico Force, https://www.chicoforcesecurity.com/?page_id=1842.
38.See for example, “G4S Macau—Gurkha Service,” https://www.g4s.com/en-mo/what-we-do/services/gurkha-service; though now defunct, see Open Corporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/nz/4596939; see Gurkha Security, https://www.gurkha-security.com; see, for example, http://www.gurkhasecurity.org.np/site/index.php; and Gurkha Max, https://www.gurkhamax.com/programs/gurkha-security-guard-training/; IDG Security, which operates in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Somalia, traces its heritage to the “culture, expertise and values of the Brigade of Gurkhas of the British Army.” See https://idg-security.com/about-us/.
39.Farwell (1984) briefly discusses the unknown extent of homosexuality in Gurkha regiments. Through the autobiography of John Morris (1960), who was a junior officer with the Brigade of Gurkhas (2/3rd), Farwell mentions how Morris had chosen Umar Sing, a “handsome teenaged boy in his company” to be his orderly. This Gurkha orderly had apparently slipped into Morris’s bed after consuming liquor. Morris eventually “succumbed” to Sing’s “loosened inhibitions” (Farwell 1984, 130). Limbu (2015), a Gurkha sergeant who had taken operation tours in Afghanistan learned about the tea boys who were a source of sexual satisfaction for Afghan men in lieu of the high costs of getting married. Limbu then notes that in his village, boys who were good friends would at times “walk around with their arms over each other’s shoulders,” though “sex between men was completely unheard of” (2015, 123).
40.Hutt (2012) ventures an explanation as to why Nepali writers appear to adopt a censorious approach when it comes to crafting narratives about the Gurkhas. He suggests that as the Nepali language and its literature have over the years translated important components of an integrated national culture, Nepali writers are in this context and climate, “inherently nationalistic” (2012, 24). For those writers whom he has discussed, he is of the view that they have combined their “instinctive nationalism with an avowedly Marxist approach,” which run counter to national ideology (2012, 24).
41.A Gurkha child studying in Singapore was reported to have been helped by his local classmates to learn the English language. Rabin Pun said: “It was difficult for me to learn English, but not as difficult as chasing cows and climbing mountains in Nepal.” “Primary 1 Pupils Helping Their Nepalese Classmates in English,” Straits Times, 17 May 1993.
42.“Gurkha Contingent Donates Kidneys,” Straits Times, 23 June 1988.
43.In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, some Gurkhas donated blood as part of an emergency appeal from the Kuala Lumpur Blood Bank (“SOS for Blood and Bank Is 13 Pints Richer,” Straits Times, 8 December 1959).
44.“Gurkha Wife Helps to Mellow Warrior Image,” Straits Times, 5 May 1973.
45.“Gurkha Wife a Heroine in Her Community,” Straits Times, 4 March 1973.
46.Caplan (1995b) identifies at least four different forms of Gurkha literature. They range from regimental histories, memoirs, autobiographies, and diaries to coffee-table picture books, and books that relate the Gurkha story for general readership.
47.See Caplan (1991, 591) for detailed examples of how Gurkhas have essentially been portrayed as similar to the image of a British public schoolboy; not unlike Woodyatt (1922) who describes the Gurkhas as cheerful public school boys. Compare these with Gould who suggests that the Gurkhas are a “cheaper version of Europeans” and for which the former were equal to the latter in terms of “courage and fidelity” (1999, 110).
48.It has been argued that where Nepali poetry prior to the twentieth century either celebrated war as an “embankment of the state” or championed the Gurkhas as a “valorous race,” poets at the turn of the next century have become disillusioned with such “discursive constructs.” Instead, these Nepali poets seemed to have come to the realization that Buddha’s message of universal peace wielded more significance than war and its destructive nature (Paudyal and Baral 2021, 12).
3. The Migrant Gurkha
1.There are two recruitment centers in Nepal—at Dharan in the east (established in 1953; Subba 2007), and at Pakhlihawa in the west. Parker (1999) notes that these centers are “magnificent oases of British military life” given the barracks, excellent sports facilities, and training grounds that were located in the “midst of the spectacular landscape” accompanied by their own communications and transport, not to mention a “first-class hospital fully staffed by British medical teams and made available for community use” in the case of Dharan. Recruitment was “met as always by thousands of willing and eager young men” (1999, 183).
2.See for example, Ku et al. (2010) who talk about the lives of South Asians living and working in Hong Kong, including the Gurkhas.
3.The application for British citizenship includes tests such as for English language ability, as well as the “Life in the UK” test—evaluations that reflect how “national identity values enter the application process” (Prabhat 2018, 14). Such values are requisite for foreign born migrants-turned-citizens, as they also “affirm or swear their allegiance to the Queen and pledge their loyalty to the UK” as part of a citizenship ceremony (Andreouli and Dashtipour 2014, 100).
4.Nepal has undergone periods of democratic politics and armed conflict since the 1990s. The country has seen its fair share of constitutional changes occurring in 1990, 2007, and 2015, two major popular movements taking place in 1990 and 2006 that championed for democracy, including the Maoist People’s War (a civil war that broke out between the Maoist Communist Party and the government of Nepal) which spanned a decade from 1996 to 2006. By November 2013, Nepal saw the election of a new Constituent Assembly, with a coalition formed between the Nepali Congress and the Nepal Communist Party. In the 2017 national elections, these two parties campaigned together and took majority votes and formally merged after the elections (Hutt 2020).
5.Rob Andreouli, “The Race to be a Gurkha,” The Telegraph 8 March 2014, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10677559/The-race-to-be-a-Gurkha.html.
6.The possibility of Gurkha women joining the army was already raised in the 1950s. Two Gurkha women (Bimala Dewan, eighteen, and Radha Rawat, twenty-two) were selected to attend a three-year training course in England in order to qualify as State Registered Nurses. If they had completed the training successfully, they would have been the first Gurkha women officers to join the British Army (“They Want to be the First Gurkha Nurses in History of Nepal,” Straits Times, 1 March 1957).
7.Haley Dixon, “Gurkhas to Recruit Women for First Time,” The Telegraph 15 July 2018, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/15/gurkhas-recruit-women-first-time/.
8.Dixon, “Gurkhas to Recruit Women.”
9.“Nepalese Women Set to Join Gurkha Regiment of British Army,” Economic Times, 16 July 2018, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/nepalese-women-set-to-join-gurkha-regiment-of-british-army/articleshow/65010875.cms?from=mdr.
10.Some concerns include the possibility of having to reduce combat training standards for male Gurkhas so as to avoid potential legal suits of sexual discrimination when females join. Additionally, if female enlistees were to be restricted to noninfantry units, which was in line with the army’s policy on all women recruits (now revised), and still to serve alongside their male counterparts, that would also lead to a legal problem as it is illegal to both recruit and train women and men differently to do the same job. See Matthew Hickley, “Hiring Gurkha Girls Will Weaken British Army, Warns Top Brass,” Daily Mail, 24 October 2008, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1080104/Hiring-Gurkha-girls-weaken-British-army-warns-brass.html.
11.This parallels Enloe’s discussion whereby the domain of military service was thought to be a male preserve, and where it was assumed to ought to be “run by men and for men according to masculine ideas and relying solely on man power” (1983, 7; emphasis in original).
12.Sunita Gurung, GAESO Kathmandu District Committee, https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/british-army-s-elite-gurkha-regiment-to-welcome-women-recruits-in-2020/50000263-3696843.
13.In 2007, hundreds of Nepalese women, many of whom were Maoist rebels, had already begun training in hopes of joining Gurkha service through this pilot entry scheme when the British Army begun considering changes in their recruitment policies. See Dan McDougall, “Women Set to Join the Gurkhas,” The Guardian 24 July 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/24/gender.uk.
14.Asmita Manandhar, “Who Wants to Be a Gurkha? Women,” Kathmandu Post, 18 Feb 2019, https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2019-02-18/who-wants-to-be-a-gurkha-women.html.
15.Manandhar, “Who Wants to Be a Gurkha?”
16.Manandhar, “Who Wants to Be a Gurkha?”
17.“India Opens Vacancies for Nepali Women in Military Police,” Times of India, 5 July 2021, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-opens-vacancies-for-nepali-women-in-military-police/articleshow/83534371.cms.
18.Pratichya Dulal, “British Army’s Plan to Recruit Nepali Women Draws Mixed Reaction,” SBS Nepal, 20 March 2019, https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/nepali/en/article/2019/03/20/british-armys-plan-recruit-nepali-women-draws-mixed-reaction.
19.Manandhar, “Who Wants to Be a Gurkha?”
20.Dulal, “British Army’s Plan to Recruit Nepali Women.”
21.“Girl Gurkhas,” Nepali Times, 23 July 2019, https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/girl-gurkhas/.
22.Hannah King, “Talks Continuing Over Allowing Women To Join Gurkhas,” Forces.net, 8 March 2021, https://www.forces.net/news/talks-continuing-over-recruitment-women-gurkhas.
23.“Phase 3 (Final Selection) Gurkhas,” https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/.
24.“How to Apply to Become a Gurkha,” https://www.gurkhabde.com/becoming-a-gurkha/.
25.Audrey Gillan, “The Great Gurkha Race,” The Guardian, 6 December 2005, https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/dec/06/military.audreygillan. The total number of candidates who applied for Gurkha recruitment in 2005 was 15,106. Out of these, 572 qualified for the central selection round in competing for the 307 available positions.
26.Rob Blackhurst, “The Race to Be a Gurkha,” The Telegraph, 8 March 2014, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10677559/The-race-to-be-a-Gurkha.html.
27.“Phase 3 (Final Selection) Gurkhas,” https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/phase-3-final-selection/.
28.“Phase 3 (Final Selection) Gurkhas,” https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/recruit-registration/.
29.Audrey Gillan, “The Great Gurkha Race.”
30.Blackhurst, “The Race to be a Gurkha.”
31.Blackhurst, “The Race to be a Gurkha.”
32.Gillan, “The Great Gurkha Race.”
33.For example, the Gurkha Brothers Training Academy is located in Lalitpur and is described as the “leading pre-British Army and Singapore Police Training Centre in Nepal.” See “Gurkha Brothers Training Academy,” https://www.facebook.com/gurkhabrothersacademy/about/?ref=page_internal.
34.Comparatively, in a 1948 press report, a Gurkha soldier has been described as such as he learns English in Malaysia: “With his sten gun on the desk beside him, a Gurkha Corporal toils in the Basic English Class at the Gurkha School of Education at the FARELF Training Centre in Johore.” “Basic English for Gurkhas,” Straits Times, 20 November 1948.
35.On the converse, it has also been reported in Hong Kong news media that some Gurkhas who were stationed there—be they single or married—found romantic companionship in Filipino domestic workers. See “How Hong Kong’s Gurkha Soldiers Found Love—and a Chance to Choose—with Filipino Domestic Helpers,” South China Morning Post, 9 May 2022.
36.In general, young brides of Gurkhas who were away from Nepal usually spent substantial amounts of time in their natal homes. Among the Limbus, aside from a number of constraints, a young woman in her natal residence is free to associate with other young men at the dhan nac, or “rice dances,” that are held frequently. If she were to choose to enter into a relationship with a man there, she was actually able to do so, so long as jarikal (compensation) was paid either by herself or her new beau (Caplan 1995b).
37.Some retired Gurkhas had also played fairly influential roles in Nepal politics (Coburn 2018). For example, a good number of these retirees who were associated with the Nepali Congress pushed for more political rights in agitating against the monarchy (Karki and Seddon 2003).
38.I have found through my archival research, a number of job advertisements in Malaysia and Singapore (between the 1950s and 1970s) for watchman, security guards, or drivers that request for ex-Gurkhas. Examples include “Wanted: An Able Bodied Gurkha or Pathan Watchman for an Estate in Kedah,” Straits Times, 9 September 1964; “Required Young, Energetic, Khaskura-speaking Gurkha Watchman Preferably Gurung or Magar for Oil Palm Factory … ,” Straits Times, 30 September 1964; “Wanted: Reliable Handyman Driver … Ex-service Gurkhas Acceptable,” Straits Times, 28 January 1967. In Hong Kong, ex-Gurkhas have been recruited in security services in the private sector: “Banks Hire Gurkhas to Beef up Security,” South China Morning Post, 24 October 1993; “Former Gurkha Soldiers in Demand to Keep Hong Kong Secure,” South China Morning Post, 7 July 2004; as well as the airport site, “Call to Use Gurkhas at Airport Site,” South China Morning Post, 23 October 1994.
39.Chisholm (2016, 145) points out in her research on ex-Gurkhas working as security contractors in Kabul that they are known as TCNs (third country nationals)—men who work in security who come from the Global South.
40.Such a course used to be called a “rehabilitation programme”: “Rehabilitation Programme for 8,000 Gurkhas,” Eastern Sun, 7 February 1968.
41.See Singapore Gurkha Polyclinic, https://singpoly.com.np/.
42.Singapore Gurkha Polyclinic.
43.This is a pseudonym that I use for purposes of anonymity.
44.Where post-1997 Gurkha retirees were granted UK residency in September 2004, a landmark policy reform in April 2009 saw the British Parliament vote to grant Gurkha veterans residency so long as they have fulfilled a minimum of four years of service (Pariyar 2020).
45.Through my archival research of media reports, I found an article about a Nepalese boy, Megh Bahadurgurang, who donated SGD$5 from Singapore to Nepal via the Malaysian Red Cross Society. This was for the earthquake of 1966 that occurred in Nepal. The report writes that donations such as these would be “one way in which Malaysians could repay the friendship and bravery of the Gurkha soldiers during the Emergency.” “More Donations for Nepal Homeless,” Straits Times, 3 September 1966.
46.When an earthquake hit Nepal in 1988, the Singapore government dispatched ten Gurkha police officers together with thirteen officers from the Civil Defence to Kathmandu for relief support. The dispatch included supplies comprising ground sheets, blankets, and dahl. “Singapore Sends Supplies to Quake-hit Nepal,” New Paper, 3 September 1988.
47.“Nepalese in Singapore In Touch with Families,” Straits Times, 27 April 2015.
48.“Nepalese in Singapore In Touch with Families.” Furthermore, three women who were daughters of retired Singapore Gurkhas—Anita Rai, Himalee Pun, and Shashikala Pun—heard about the Singapore Armed Forces’ plan to set up a clinic in Gorkana and volunteered to help as translators for the medical team. “Daughters of Gurkhas Lend a Hand,” TODAY, 25 May 2015.
49.“Red Cross, Mercy Relief Appeal for Urgent Donations,” Straits Times, 27 April 2015. Gurkha outfits in Brunei, namely, The Gurkha Palace Restaurant and Gurkha Jewellery, both offered themselves as collection points for donations of medical supplies and daily necessities to be sent to Nepal. “JUST IN: Gurkha Palace Restaurant Collecting Donations to Help Nepal Earthquake Victims,” http://www.bt.com.bn/bookmarks-breaking/2015/04/26/just-gurkha-palace-restaurant-collecting-donations-help-nepal.
50.See “School with Close Ties to Nepal Raises $20k,” https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Overseas-Mission/Geneva/Mission-Updates/2015/05/press_201505080.
51.“Nepal Earthquake: British Army Send 100 More Gurkhas to Help with Relief Effort,” http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/nepal-earthquake-british-army-send-5669463.
52.See “Nepal Earthquake Appeal- Fundraiser,” http://www.gofundme.com/BGNCW.
53.“Comment: It’s Britain’s Turn To Fight For The Gurkhas,” 28 April 2015, http://forces.tv/38337240.
54.Interestingly, Pariyar (2016) argues as to how certain Nepali customs such as house warming rituals, death rites, or Dashain cannot be carried properly in the ways that they can be done back in Nepal. Therefore, some Gurkha immigrant communities overseas are not able to forge closer connections with their deities and consequently experience “isolation from their spiritual realms” (2016, 276).
55.Another factor that ex-Gurkhas take into consideration in terms of citizenship application is that Nepal does not allow dual citizenship (Sharma 2021).
56.See “County Council Support for Gurkha 200 Year Celebrations,” http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2015/03/26/county-council-support-for-gurkha-200-celebrations/; see also Robin Cottle, “200 Years of Gurkhas Marked with Arctic Expedition, Everest Climb and Launch of Gurkha 200,” Daily Star, 10 April 2015, https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/200-years-gurkhas-arctic-expedition-17334379; see Man Aman Singh Chhina, “The Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army to Turn 200,” Indian Express, 21 April 2015, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/the-gorkha-rifles-of-the-indian-army-to-turn-200/ and https://sandbag.asia/?event=the-sandbag-gurkha-200-dinner.
4. Gurkha Wives and Children
1.“These 37 Wives Don’t Go Out,” Straits Times 31 March 1950.
2.“Gurkhas Were So Very Shy … ,” Straits Times 13 April 1950.
3.Special quarters have been allocated by the army where Gurkha wives “can look after their husbands and children.” “Gurkhas’ Wives in Colony Camp,” Straits Times 29 March 1948.
4.It is also interesting to see how on the one hand, Gurkhas have been depicted as brave and steadfast in their warfare skills and loyalty. On the other hand, their wives have been portrayed to be the exact opposite for the most parts, in being typified as shy and withdrawn per se.
5.The return to Hong Kong was not always an easy transition. For example, when some of the Gurkha children had returned to take up residency, the application process for identity cards took months, which is further exacerbated by the exit of the British Army in 1997 after the handover. For those who are Hindus, names for newborns are only given after eleven days of their birth, which thereby explains why their names are missing from their birth certificates. Moreover, discrepancies in terms of dates and translations have also slowed down the process of vetting done by the Immigration Department staff. Previously, before the 1997 handover, they could verify claims by contacting the British Army in Hong Kong. Since the handover, however, such checks will need to go through the British Gurkha Records Office in Nepal. These changes have thus created delays in which the usual waiting time of six weeks has now stretched to over seven months for applicants. “Army Departure Brings Long Wait for ID Cards,” South China Morning Post, 1 February 1998.
6.There is an ongoing oral history project about Gurkha veterans and wives put together as a heritage endeavor to record the life stories of retired Gurkhas living in Colchester, Essex. Out of the twenty stories posted on the website (https://gurkhastories.com), three feature the experiences of Gurkha wives Bhui Maya Rana, Rup Maya Pun, and Tham Maya Pun.
7.For example, we learn of very brief biographies of some Gurkha women in Farwell’s (1984) study. Khemkala had served the 1st/6th Gurkhas as a midwife for twenty-six years before she died in 1967, while Sobha Kumari Chhetri contributed thirty-four years as the midwife of the 10th Gurkhas between 1938 and 1972. Sobha’s son was serving in the Gurkha Transport Regiment as a major, while her son-in-law was a Gurkha captain.
8.Aadesh’s father-in-law served in the British Army and was based in Hong Kong. His wife was born there, and he has the right to abode in Hong Kong as her dependant.
9.Not unlike Bilhana’s experience of living with her in-laws in the absence of her husband, Prisha and Parijat were from the same village and got married through their parents’ arrangement. When Prisha was left with her in-laws while Parijat was overseas on Gurkha service, the three of them got along fairly well given that theirs was an arranged marriage. If it were a “love marriage,” said Parijat, then his/the parents might not have liked it and thus Prisha would have had “a very hard time with the in-laws … [for it would have been] like living in hell.”
10.I am also aware that there have been Gurkha widows who have chosen to apply for the right to settlement in the United Kingdom as well. This is based on my perusal of court cases pertaining to Gurkha veterans’ and Gurkha adult children’s appeals to the UK government with regard to pension and rights to settlement in the United Kingdom respectively for which I discuss in chapter 5. Widows’ applications are facilitated by the UK Immigration Directorate Instructions (IDI). Annex K of Chapter 15 of the IDI contains a discretionary policy that allows widows to be granted settlement in the UK (see Saru v Entry Clearance Officer [2021] HU/18159/2019, at [7]). Examples of Gurkha widows who have applied through the IDI for settlement may be seen in the following cases: Shahi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] HU/06331/2019, at [13]; Gurung v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] HU/18592/2019(V), at [3]; and Rai v Entry Clearance Officer [2021] HU/02600/2020, at [1].
11.Press release of speech by Mr Mohamad Maidin Packer Mohd, Parliamentary Secretary (Education) at Macpherson Primary School Speech Day, 19 November 1999. Document number mmpm19991119a, National Archives of Singapore.
12.There was a Gurkha school in Singapore in the 1950s, located at Ulu Pandan. The school was paid for and managed by the army with Gurkha and Sikh teachers (“Services Children at School,” Straits Times, 1 December 1950). Another Singapore school that “children of Gurkha policemen” attend is Bartley Primary School, which saw a total of 121 of these children who schooled there. They formed a third of its entire student population as reported in 1985 (“Bartley School’s Gurkhas,” Singapore Monitor, 19 April 1985).
13.“Singapore’s Little Nepal.” The New Paper, 7 August 2000.
14.“Singapore’s Little Nepal.”
15.“Singapore’s Little Nepal.”
16.“Singapore’s Little Nepal.”
17.“Singapore’s Little Nepal.”
18.See rules of Gurkha Brigade, https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/recruit-registration/.
19.Based on the latest Gurkha recruitment criteria for 2022 outlined by the Ministry of Defence, UK, the minimum height stands at 158cm (see https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/brigade-of-gurkhas/gurkha-recruitment/recruit-registration/).
20.It was reported in the South China Morning Post that ex-Gurkhas working as bodyguards can earn HK$30,000 (approximately US$3,822) per month. For employers who hire them as individual security officers, their salary can be as high as HK$60,000 (approximately US$7,644) per month. As for security officers who are experienced and occupy managerial or commander positions, they can get HK$100,000 (approximately US$12,740) in addition to housing and car allowances. “Cost of a Bodyguard in Hong Kong Rises with Increasing Demand,” South China Morning Post, 7 May 2015.
21.See also “Nepalese Community Struggles for Acceptance in the City They Call Home,” South China Morning Post, 6 April 2014.
22.In 2014, some members of the Nepali community in Hong Kong, including children of Gurkhas, have importuned for a memorial in order to “preserve the Gurkha’s story in Hong Kong.” Others also suggested building a Gurkha museum. Descendants of Gurkhas have argued that “they had no say in where they were brought up. A museum in the city, therefore, would enable them to remember their roots and culture, give the younger generation a sense of their identity in the city, and share their heritage with fellow Hongkongers as a way to better integrate into local society.” “The Nepalese Community in Hong Kong Looks to Preserve Gurkha Legacy,” South China Morning Post, 28 March 2014.
23.“Nepalese Community Struggles for Acceptance.”
24.“ ‘Small Fry’ Gets 17 Years in Jail,” South China Morning Post, 18 December 1996.
25.“Daughters of Gurkhas Lend a Hand,” TODAY 25 May 2015.
26.“Daughters of Gurkhas Lend a Hand.”
27.“Daughters of Gurkhas Lend a Hand.”
5. At the Edge of Belonging?
1.See Ghising v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160 (IAC).
2.From 2004 onward, the British Government began to revise its stance toward Gurkha veterans. It was only in 2009 that Mr. L. Ghising became eligible to apply for entry. He did so, and was granted indefinite leave to enter the United Kingdom on 4 August 2009. His wife was granted indefinite leave to enter the United Kingdom on 16 September 2009. They arrived in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2009.
3.From Ghising v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160.
4.From Ruth Cadbury (shadow minister for International Trade) at the UK Parliament debate on Gurkha Pensions. 704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions.” (22 November 2021). Col. 8 WH.
5.From Carol Monaghan (shadow SNP spokesperson for Education and for Armed Forces and Veterans) at the UK Parliament debate on Gurkha Pensions. 704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions.” (22 November 2021) Col. 10 WH.
6.See for example, Jennifer Ngo, “Nepalis Strangers in Their Own City: Language Barrier and Bias Limit Opportunities Despite Official Rhetoric About Equality, Observers Say,” South China Morning Post, 6 May 2012. There have also been many immigration cases in Hong Kong whereby spousal visas for Gurkha families to settle in the Hong Kong as dependents have been denied. See among others, “Judge Throws Out Dependency Bid Visa Job Stance Illogical, Absurd: Lawyer,” South China Morning Post, 16 June 1999; “Strict Entry Criteria Backed.” South China Morning Post, 26 October 1999; “Wife Challenges Government’s Right to Refuse Husband a Visa,” South China Morning Post, 11 January 2000; Durga Maya Gurung v Director of Immigration in the High Court of the HKSAR Court of Appeal, Civil Appeal no 1077 of 2001 (On Appeal from HCAL No. 1487 of 2000) on 19 Apr 2002) as well as refusing children of Gurkhas the permanent resident status under the Basic Law (see “Gurkha Children Fight to Stay,” South China Morning Post, 4 October 1998).
7.Issues that Singapore Police Gurkhas face include pay and pension inequities, lack of sufficient welfare support for widows, lack of adequate medical support when they retire in Nepal, and the denial of Singapore citizenship for Singapore-born Gurkha children, among others. See Om Gurung, “Plight of the Singapore Gurkhas,” Kathmandu Post, 28 December 2021.
8.Ghising and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Entry Clearance Officer [2013] UKUT 00567 (IAC), at [21].
9.Ghising and others v Secretary of State.
10.I focus on the United Kingdom given that the contexts in Singapore and Hong Kong are different as these are not the main bases from which the British Army nor the Gurkhas operate. Besides, the Singapore repatriation policy remains in place as I have earlier indicated, while those in Hong Kong do possess the right to abode since the 1980s. In the Hong Kong context as I have discussed, the larger issues have to do with securing good education and employment especially for Gurkha children.
11.See for example, Gurung and others v Ministry of Defence [2002] EWHC 2463.
12.Geeta Sangroula calls these Gurkhas “rights-holders” in the context of how their deservedness of equal pay and pension as a form of “human rights-based claim” (Sangroula 2019, 36) continues to be elided by the United Kingdom. She discusses such elision by raising cardinal human rights principles of nondiscrimination and equality as provisions of different judicial and administrative bodies. They comprise, among others, the European Convention of Human Rights; the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and the International Labor Organization (of which the United Kingdom is a member).
13.There are a number of Gurkha organizations listed in Laksamba et al. 2013 that have attended assiduously to raising various inequalities that Gurkhas have experienced. Established from 1990, some examples of these organizations include the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organization (GAESO), the Nepal Ex-Servicemen Organization (NESO), the British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS), and the British Council of Gurkhas (BCG), among others (see Laksamba et al. 2013, 92–97). These organizations, formed by retired Gurkhas, have brought many legal and political issues to Parliament and the Supreme Court of Nepal for a start. Since 2001, they have shifted their approach to the United Kingdom and have filed a number of complaints to the UK Parliament, the International Labor Organization, as well as the UK’s high courts.
14.See among many examples, Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [3] and [33]; and Gurung and others v Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [4] and [37].
15.See Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [53].
16.The Gurkha Justice Campaign, which took place from 2008, was led by Joanna Lumley, a British actress and daughter of an army major who had served alongside the Gurkhas. The campaign, which “forced the issue of citizenship and military service into the public domain” (Ware 2009, 59), fought for parity for Gurkhas who had served in the British Army pertaining to their TACOS (Carroll 2012; Ware 2009, 2013).
17.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [7].
18.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [9].
19.Gould (1999) points out that where Indian Gorkhas had the right to settle in India, the British Gurkhas did not have such an option to settle in the United Kingdom prior to changes in immigration rules.
20.Based on the British Army’s service structure, upon recruitment Gurkha soldiers were first placed on a four-year contract. Upon the completion of this first contract, they then had to sign further contracts of three, three, and two years, which then totaled twelve years of service. After these twelve years of service, they then had to sign a further three years’ re-engagement contract in order to continue their military employment. Together, these contracts from the beginning, add up to the fifteen years of service that Gurkhas deliver (Laksamba et al. 2013).
21.Under the GPS framework, Gurkhas are divided into two core groups—pensioners and nonpensioners. Those belonging to the latter comprise three groups: those who had retired before 1948, a substantial number of those who were made redundant before 1975, and a few hundred Gurkhas who had retired after 1975 (Laksamba et al. 2013).
22.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [13].
23.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [12].
24.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [14].
25.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [15].
26.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWCA Civ 1098, at [4].
27.See British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [7].
28.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [7].
29.From “Gurkhas Discharged Before 1 July 1997 and Their family Members. Version 1.0,” Published for Home Office staff, United Kingdom, 28 December 2017, 6.
30.“Gurkhas Discharged Before 1 July 1997 and Their family Members,” 6
31.“Gurkhas Discharged Before 1 July 1997 and Their family Members,” 6.
32.From “Gurkhas Discharged Before 1 July 1997 and Their Family Members. Version 1.0,” Published for Home Office staff, UK, 28 December 2017, 11.
33.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v The United Kingdom [2016] ECHR 44818/11.
34.See Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261.
35.See Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [20/iv].
36.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [4].
37.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [3].
38.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [3].
39.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [3].
40.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [33].
41.It should be pointed out that long leave as an entitlement for the Gurkhas has been framed as an example of “undoubted benefits” enjoyed by them, which are “not available to British soldiers”—see Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC Civ 1345, at [46].
42.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [47].
43.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [48].
44.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [98].
45.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [99].
46.Purja and ORS v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWHC 445, at [99].
47.[2008] EWHC 2261, at [25].
48.[2008] EWHC 2261, at [25], my emphasis.
49.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [27].
50.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [33].
51.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [42].
52.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [42].
53.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [2].
54.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [3].
55.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [3].
56.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [4].
57.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [4].
58.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [7].
59.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [59].
60.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [60].
61.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [60].
62.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [62].
63.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [62].
64.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [62].
65.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [70].
66.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [71].
67.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [68vi].
68.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [72].
69.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [66].
70.From Audrey Gillan and James Meikle, “Gurkhas Win Right to Settle in the UK,” The Guardian, 21 May 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/21/gurkha-uk-settle-rights-lumley.
71.See among many examples, Gillan and Meikle, “Gurkhas Win Right to Settle in the UK”; “Gurkha Military Veterans on Hunger Strike in London over Pensions Row with UK,” https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3145412/gurkha-military-veterans-hunger-strike-london-over-pensions-row; and “Gurkha Justice Campaign,” https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2022/04/14/gurkha-justice-campaign.
72.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [37] and [43].
73.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [1].
74.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [1].
75.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [37].
76.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [37].
77.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [43].
78.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [40].
79.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [43].
80.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for Defence [2008] EWHC 1496, at [33].
81.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [68v].
82.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [63] and [64]. It is interesting that the trope of morality, either of debt or obligation, continues in succeeding court cases. It has been said that “despite the changes made in the Gurkhas’ TACOS since 1997 to reflect not only legal but moral obligations, the Gurkhas believe that the Government has not yet gone far enough” (British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [47], my emphasis). Entwining the legal and the moral therefore becomes a part of how newer ways to bracket belonging need to consider not only the legality of rights or debts owed, but that of a moral “obligation” where Gurkhas’ claims are concerned.
83.See Purja and Others v Ministry of Defence [2003] EWCA Civ 1345, at [60].
84.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [57].
85.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [15].
86.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [24].
87.There were around 3,400 Gurkhas in active service, and 2,200 who had retired on or after 1 July 1997 (case 9 item 24/10).
88.British Gurkha Welfare Society and others v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 3, at [8].
89.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [12], emphasis in original.
90.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [12], emphasis in original.
91.Limbu and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Entry Clearance Officer, and Entry Officer [2008] EWHC 2261, at [28].
92.Entry Clearance Officer v Pun and others [2011] UKUT 00377 (IAC), at [2]. Case 14 item 2.
93.Note that settlement arrangements listed here are not applicable to Gurkha families alone. They are equally applicable to any of the dependents of all commonwealth and foreign nationals who seek settlement in the United Kingdom upon their father’s discharge from HM Forces (UG and others v Entry Clearance Officer [2012] EWCA Civ 58, at [1]).
94.Entry Clearance Officer v Pun and others [2011] UKUT 00377 (IAC), at [4].
95.TT v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWCA Civ 1068, at [6].
96.Entry Clearance Officer v Pun and others [2011] UKUT 00377 (IAC), at [10].
97.Gurung and others v The Secretary of State for the Home Department and others [2013], EWCA Civ 8, at [26], emphasis in original.
98.UKUT 480 (IAC); UKUT 00117 (IAC); Entry Clearance Officer v UR and others [2010] UKUT 480 (IAC), at [14].
99.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [8].
100.Entry Clearance Officer v UR and others [2010] UKUT 480 (IAC), at [14].
101.Entry Clearance Officer v UR and others [2010] UKUT 480 (IAC), at [14].
102.UKUT 480 (IAC).
103.Entry Clearance Officer v UR and others [2010] UKUT 480 (IAC), at [18].
104.See Ghising v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160 (IAC), at [8].
105.Entry Clearance Officer v UR and others [2010] UKUT 480 (IAC), at [19].
106.UKUT 00117 (IAC).
107.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [8].
108.Entry Clearance Officer v Pun and others [2011] UKUT 00377 (IAC), at [13].
109.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [13].
110.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [14]. In a separate case in which an adult dependent child (Ruma Rai) of her mother and sponsor (who was the widow of a former Gurkha soldier) had appealed against an ECO’s refusal for her entry clearance to the United Kingdom, bank statements from the Standard Chartered Bank served as documentary evidence of Miss Rai’s financial dependency on her mother. The former was able to withdraw monies from the latter’s bank account in Nepal using an ATM card and hence the bank statements were “clearly demonstrative of the fact that the Sponsor/mother provided the Appellant/daughter with financial support” (see Rai v Entry Clearance Officer [2021] HU/02600/2020, at [6]).
111.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [15]. Article 8 has routinely been invoked in various other cases brought forward by the adult children of Gurkhas. See Case 14 in note 92 here for examples.
112.For a full record of Article 8 and its items, see https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/guide_art_8_eng.pdf; Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [10].
113.Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [15].
114.See UG and others v Entry Clearance Officer [2012] EWCA Civ 58 for various examples on the complexities of legal diction as well as educational and residential arrangements that would influence the exercise of discretion.
115.See also Rai v Entry Clearance Officer [2017] EWCA Civ 320 at [13] and [20], and Gurung v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] HU/24446/2018, at [22] for debates on the problematics of evidencing family life vis-à-vis affection, emotional and financial dependency, among others.
116.Huang v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007] 2 AC 167, at [18].
117.I draw instances from the cases of Miss KG and Roshan Ghising to illustrate this balance. In the case of Miss KG, it was pointed out that further verification of her physical and mental unfitness may be traced to her having reached the age of thirty-eight but who still remained single. This apparently “suggests that a malady has prevented her from doing what would be expected of her in her culture” (Entry Clearance Officer v KG [2011] UKUT 00117 (IAC), at [13]). As for the case of Roshan Ghising, his father pointed out the mutual dependency between Roshan and his parents pertaining to “financial, practical and emotional support and guidance.” Roshan was their only child who was still living at home, where his father specified that “it is the custom among Nepalese people for the youngest son to remain living with his parents, even after marriage, to care for them when they become elderly” (Ghising v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160 (IAC), at [22]). This custom was presented as evidence that was “undisputed” (Ghising v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160 (IAC), at [99]).
118.Ghising v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] UKUT 00160 (IAC), at [17] and [26].
119.Petition supporting Gurkha hunger strikers, https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/594155.
120.Petition supporting Gurkha hunger strikers.
121.From BBC, “Gurkha Back at Downing Street Hunger Strike after Being Taken Ill,” BBC, 18 August 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-58254634).
122.From Tom Batchelor, “Gurkha on Hunger Strike Outside Downing Street Rushed to Hospital with Heart Issues,” The Independent, 18 April 2021, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gurkha-hunger-strike-heart-attack-b1904659.html.
123.Batchelor, “Gurkha on Hunger Strike Outside Downing Street.”
124.For the full report, see “Report of the Technical Committee on Gurkha Veterans,” 2018, http://2ndgoorkhas.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/20180314-Final_Report_Gurkha_Technical_Committee_1a1.pdf.
125.From page 3 of “Report of the Technical Committee on Gurkha Veterans,” 2018. This committee comprised representatives from the UK Embassy of Nepal, the Army Secretariat of the MOD, as well as representation from Gurkha Satyagraha and the GAESO.
126.Page 3 of “Report of the Technical Committee on Gurkha Veterans,” 2018.
127.Page 3 of “Report of the Technical Committee on Gurkha Veterans,” 2018.
128.In March 2019, however, the UK government had announced support packages for 22,000 Gurkhas and their families. A £15-million increase in the GPS would translate into accompanying increases in veterans’ pensions by no more than 34 percent extra. Alongside pension increases, the MOD had also announced a new £25-million investment that was to go to medical support for Gurkha veterans over the next decade. See Ministry of Defense, “Enhanced Package of Support for Gurkha Veterans.” 7 March 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/enhanced-package-of-support-for-gurkha-veterans.
129.These points include, among others, equal pensions and benefits for Singapore Gurkha widows relative to their British counterpart, and to grant work permits and residential visas for Singapore Gurkha families.
130.See “A Memorandum to Gurkha Welfare All-Party Parliamentary Group to be presented by Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organization,” https://gurkhainquiry.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/gurkha-army-ex-servicemens-gaeso.pdf.
131.“A Memorandum to Gurkha Welfare All-Party Parliamentary Group, page 4.
132.“A Memorandum to Gurkha Welfare All-Party Parliamentary Group, page 5.
133.“A Memorandum to Gurkha Welfare All-Party Parliamentary Group, page 5.
134.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 19WH. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-11-22/debates/FE019D2B-2CD9-40D8-BE50-9A4189E5CB4A/GurkhaPensions.
135.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 18WH. (David Linden).
136.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 17WH.
137.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 13WH.
138.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 7WH.
139.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 7WH.
140.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 10WH.
141.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 12WH.
142.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 12WH.
143.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 13WH.
144.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 14WH.
145.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 22WH.
146.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 22WH.
147.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 22WH.
148.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 1WH.
149.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 1WH.
150.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 2WH.
151.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 2WH.
152.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 4. WH.
153.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 11 WH.
154.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 5 WH.
155.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 5 WH.
156.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 11 WH.
157.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 14 WH.
158.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 15 WH.
159.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 16 WH.
160.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 16 WH
161.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 24 WH.
162.704 Parl. Deb. H.C. “Gurkha Pensions” (22 November 2021), Col. 16WH.
163.Gurkha Brigade Association, https://www.gurkhabde.com/gurkha-pension-scheme-2022-award/.
Conclusion
1.Special guests invited to the premiere included the Nepali ambassador to the United Kingdom Gyan Chandra Aryal, the former inspector general of the Armed Police Force, as well as British Gurkha Army officers and official representatives of different Nepalese organizations and diplomatic missions to the United Kingdom. See “Historic International Premiere of ‘Gurkha Warrior’ in London,” Ratopati, 11 September 2023, https://english.ratopati.com/story/30463/premiere-of-%27gurkha-warrior%27-.
2.“PM Sunak’s Best Wishes to ‘Gurkha Warrior’ Movie,’” NepalNews, 23 August 2023, https://nepalnews.com/s/entertainment-and-lifestyle/pm-sunak-s-best-wishes-to-gurkha-warrior-movie.
3.The United States has been hiring private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past twenty years (Coburn 2018).