Historian Tony Gould said Gurkhas have brought an excellent combination of qualities from a military point of view. He said: "They are tough, they are brave, they are durable, they are amenable to discipline. Historically, Gurkhas who had served their time in the Army - a maximum of 30 years, and a minimum of 15 to secure a pension - were discharged back to Nepal.
Pension battle. But last year, all retired Gurkhas won the right to live in the UK, following a high-profile campaign led by actress Joanna Lumley, whose father served with the 6th Gurkha Rifles. Gurkha veterans have also continued to fight for equal pensions with the soldiers they served alongside. In , they won a partial victory when pension rules were changed to give serving Gurkha soldiers equal pension rights with other service personnel in the UK.
But the British Gurkha Welfare Society said about 25, men who had retired before 1 July were denied the opportunity to transfer into UK armed forces pension schemes. It said the government had acted unlawfully by paying them a third of the income of UK-based soldiers, and vowed to fight on. A High Court test case in January ruled in favour of the Ministry of Defence, which argued the pension cut-off date was "justified and proportionate".
That decision has since been challenged by the Gurkhas, who have taken their battle to the Court of Appeal. Ex-Gurkhas take MoD to court. Former Gurkhas win compensation. Nepal court rejects Gurkha claim. As gunfire flew above his head in Burma, Rifleman Ganju Lama withstood a broken left wrist and wounds to his right hand and leg to take on three Japanese tanks in World War II.
He crawled in the middle of the battlefield, destroyed each tank one-by-one with anti-tank guns , and defeated the men fleeing from the tanks, allowing none of them to escape. Lama was then taken to a hospital on a stretcher and would earn a Victoria Cross. In another battle against the Japanese on the Burmese front in , Sergeant Gaje Ghale was assigned to take a position that the Gurkhas had twice failed to capture. He led his platoon through heavy fire and suffered injuries in his leg, arm, and torso.
But disregarding the injuries, Ghale engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his adversaries, taking the position. He then held off a counterattack with his men before letting his wounds get cared for. Ghale was later awarded the Victoria Cross. Some of the British men who commanded the Gurkhas showed tremendous bravery as well. As the Gurkhas charged the Germans with their kukri knives under fire from machine gun posts, Jones shot down the emplacements with a Bren gun.
Jones was wounded in the neck but still joined the hand-to-hand fighting afterward, where he sustained additional injuries to his eye and thighs. He only accepted treatment after the battle was won. His effort was rewarded with a Distinguished Service Order decoration. In , year-old retired Gurkha Bishnu Shrestha was riding a train in India when 40 robbers stopped the train and began stealing passengers' belongings.
Still carrying his kukri knife, the Gurkha took on the robbers, themselves armed with knives, swords, and pistols. Shrestha managed to kill three robbers and injure eight others, which persuaded the other robbers to flee. The retired soldier also saved another passenger from rape. During the Borneo confrontation in , Captain Rambahadur Limbu made three trips into enemy territory. On the first trip, facing heavy gunfire, two of Limbu's men were shot—one killed and another severely wounded.
Before the enemy could advance, Limbu pushed them back with grenades. He then crawled yards across the battlefield back into Gurkha territory to alert his comrades of what had happened. Limbu then went back to the wounded soldier, still under fire, and carried the man back across the same yards to safety.
Their numbers in the British army have already dwindled because of budget cuts — from 13, in to 3, now. Because Nepal is not a member of the Commonwealth , the Gurkhas are not considered British subjects, and as such, are subject to this disparity. UK officials have also claimed that allowing all 36, former Gurkhas into the UK would create massive pressure for immigration and social services.
Although budget cuts and disparate treatment may affect the future of these soldiers, their deeds have already been etched in the pages of history as some of the world's fiercest fighters.
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