Gurkhas earn their rightful place in Britain

Gurkhas, the fabled Nepalese warriors who have served the British army for nearly 200 years now have been granted rights to settle in the U.K if they retired before 1997 with at least four years’ service. Labour MP and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith extended Britain’s welcome to the war veterans who have served in the Gurkha regiment. The Commons had earlier rejected the Gurkhas’ plea to be granted automatic rights to settle in UK. The tide turned as actress Joanna Lumley stepped in. An avid supporter of the Gurkha Justice Campaign, she led a large all party group including Gurkhas from the Parliament Square to 10 Downing Street with a petition signed by 250,000 people. It comes as an embarrassing defeat for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, especially at a time when he’s under pressure to call poll date with his growing unpopularity. Known for the extraordinary valor, the Gurkhas, some 36000 in number had been denied residency in UK and Joanna Lumley has a reason to celebrate; her persistent and tireless campaign has given the Gurkhas not only their citizenship but also their own place in the calendar to mark their memorable accomplishment. Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said it was a "historic" day for British democracy and said 21 May will be "remembered as Gurkha Rights Day", reports BBC. As per the measures laid down by the House, Gurkhas will be allowed to settle in the UK with their spouses and dependant children under 18, which did not settle well with some of them, as noted by Capt. Kul Prasad Pun, who served 24 years before retiring in 1994, that it is impractical for some of the elderly veterans as they have a society comprising of joint families and setting the age limit at 18 will make it difficult for them to shift to the UK. Also, the pension rights of the Gurkhas have yet to be taken into consideration, but for now, the triumph belongs to the warriors.