Originally Posted by PaulMeyer  I personally wouldn't describe any nation as "Scum" as it would be not only illogical and grossly offensive but racist as well, I'm aware you don't share my scruples however.
Anyway, I'm not sure what exactly you are referring to when you say it's "disgraceful the way the Brits treated the Gurkha people", there are no such people or race, "Gurkhas" is the name given (from "Gorkha", a town in Nepal) collectively to Nepalese hillmen recruited into first the Indian, (pre-1947) and later the British armies and I fail to see what element of their treatment was or is disgraceful.
A brief history lesson for you. Recruitment of Gurkhas started in 1815 and they were a prominent part of the old Indian Army until a decision had to be taken about their future in the wake of Indian Independence in 1947. Many in the UK simply assumed that they would remain as part of the new Indian Army after that, like the Sikhs, Rajputs, Dogras and Garwalhis for that matter. It appears though, that such were the bonds of affection and respect for them, that a campaign to transfer at least some of them to the British Army started amongst senior Army officers in Whitehall and a srong case ws made for their retention. They were unique amongst the Indian Army in this respect.
After a lot of politicking and bean-counting it was agreed that four regiments, the Second, Sixth, Seventh and Tenth Gurkha Rifles, along with yet-to-be-formed Signals, Transport and Engineer components would form a new British Brigade of Gurkhas based not in India but in Malaya, at Sungei Pattani if I remember correctly.
The thing to remember here, before emotion and the red mist of righteous anti-Brit. indignation takes over, is that there was never any question then (or before,) of soldiers in the new Brigade being entitled to live in the UK, these guys are Nepalese citizens remember, and Nepal has never been part of the Empire or even the Commonwealth. Indeed there was no expectation of or demand for such a right or entitlement, it simply wasn't an issue. Their terms of service were clear and transparent and every man was a volunteer.
In those days the vast majority of Gurkhas could expect to serve their full career without setting foot in the UK, there wasn't even a role for them in the UK or North West Europe. They were of course employed extensively alongside British and Commonwealth troops in the Malayan Emergency, Brunei Revolt and Indonesion Confrontation where the most recent Gurkha VC was won in 1965 By L/Cpl. (later Major) Rambahadur Limbu of 10GR.
In the late sixties the Brigade left Malaya and set up in a new home in Hong Kong which would henceforth be their HQ and Training Depot. There was obviously some uncertainty as to what would become of them once HK was handed back to the Chinese in 1997. By this time of course it was usual for one battalion to be based in the UK at Church Crookham in Hampshire and another in Brunei. Like the rest of the Infantry, they suffered reductions in size until the remaining battalions were finally amalgamated into a new Gurkha regiment, The Royal Gurkha Rifles with a battalion in the UK and one in Brunei (paid for by the Sultan incidentally!). Once again, at this time there was no demand for or thoughts of, giving retired Gurkhas, most of whom had never set foot in the UK, a right to settle here. It was only after the hand-over of HK that all Gurkha recruits would for the first time since 1815 be trained in the UK and since then demands started, primarly from ex-Gurkha officers, to be allowed to settle in the UK. These demands have become increasingly vociferous in the past few years and public support has swung behind it, helped by the redoubtable Miss Lumley. So to get from there to here with the Govt losing a vote in the commons on it, in about 12 years, is not bad going and hardly evidence of "disgraceful" treatment by the British nation. |
2nd May 2009
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