Breaking News : Gurkhas Will Stay!

Finally! Finally! Finally! Finally!

From the Gurkha Justice Campaign...

Breaking News : Gurkhas!

A motion calling for the Government to withdraw the new Gurkha settlement guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas has been passed in the House of Commons by 267 to 246. The motion was proposed by the Liberal Democrats, but supported by MPs from all Parties, and we are grateful to all of them.

Thank you to everyone who has lobbied their MP, signed petitions, joined rallies and sent messages of support for the Gurkhas. Without your support, we would never have got this far.

We are waiting to hear the Government's response to the vote. They must respect the wishes of Parliament to grant citizenship rights to all Gurkhas, and do so quickly.

You can see reaction to today's historic vote at BBC News online.

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From Wikipedia...
Background:

• Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka, are people from Nepal who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan (Rajputana). Later descendants of Bappa Rawal moved further east to found the house of Gorkha, which in turn founded the Kingdom of Nepal.^[2] Gorkha District is one of the 75 districts of modern Nepal. Gurkhas are best known for their history of bravery and strength in the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments. The Gurkhas were designated by British officials as a "Martial Race". "Martial Race" was a designation created by officials of British Indiaaggressive in battle, and to possess qualities like courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, the ability to work hard for long periods of time, fighting tenacity and military strategy. The British recruited heavily from these Martial Races for service in the colonial army.

The Current Issue:

• The treatment of Gurkhas and their families has been the subject of controversy in the United Kingdom following revelations that Gurkhas received smaller pensions than their British equivalents.^[63] On 8 March 2007, it was announced by the British Government that all Gurkhas who signed up after July 1, 1997 would receive a pension equivalent to that of their British counterparts. In addition, Gurkhas would, for the first time, be able to transfer to another army unit after five years service to broaden their experience. It was also stated that, for the first time in the history of the Gurkhas, women would be allowed to join - although not in infantry units, in line with general British Army policy.^[64]
• Despite this, many Gurkhas who had not served long enough to entitle them to a pension faced hardship on their return to Nepal, and some critics have derided the Government's decision to only award the new pension to those joining after the 1 July 1997, claiming that this left many ex-Gurkhas still facing a financially uncertain retirement. A charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust, provides aid to alleviate hardship and distress among Gurkha ex-servicemen.^[65]
• The nationality status of Gurkhas and their families was also previously an area of dispute, with claims that some ex-army Nepali families were being denied residency and forced to leave Britain. The new policy on Gurkhas (announced by the British Government on 8 March 2007) guarantees residency rights in Britain for retired Gurkhas and their families. In a landmark ruling on 30 September 2008 the High Court in London decided that Gurkhas who left the Army before 1997 did have an automatic right of residency in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Before this ruling only Gurkhas who left the British Army after 1997 were granted automatic residency benefits.^[66] In line with the ruling of the High Court the Home Office is to review all cases affected by this decision.
• There is a campaign currently running to support Gurkhas and pressure the UK government into giving more help and equal treatment to Gurkhas, called Gurkha Justice.^[67] There is also a direct petition to the British Prime Minister on the government's official website to allow Gurkhas that have served the nation a right to stay in the United Kingdom.^[68]