Former Gurkha soldiers from Nepal won the right to settle in Britain on Tuesday, in what their lawyers hailed as an "historic victory" for the veteran fighters. Ending a two-year legal battle, the High Court in London ruled in favour of them in a test case affecting some 2,000 Gurkhas who retired from the British army before 1997.
"Today is a wonderful, terrific victory day for the Gurkhas of Nepal," said their lawyer, Martin Howe. "It's a victory for common sense. It's a victory for fairness... It's a day that will go down in history for the Gurkhas". Until now, only Gurkhas who retired after 1997, when their base was moved from Hong Kong to England, had the automatic right to settle in Britain.
All other foreign soldiers in the British army have a right to settle in Britain after four years of service anywhere in the world.
Around 200,000 Gurkhas fought for Britain in World Wars I and II, and about 3,500 currently serve in the British army, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 45,000 have died serving Britain.
Judge Nicholas Blake underlined the "moral debt of honour" and gratitude which Britain has to the Gurkhas for their long military service, wounds sustained in battle, conspicuous acts of bravery and loyalty to the Crown.
Howe said the case had seen "a torrential outpouring of affection and concern" from ordinary British people - and called on the government to immediately allow the affected Gurkhas in.
"We call today on our government to respect the views of the people of Britain, to respect this judgement fully and immediately allow the men and women affected by this judgement to come into this country," he said. Indian-born British actress Joanna Lumley, who has been a key supporter of the campaign, welcomed the judgement but called for a change in the law to cement it.
"It gives our country a chance to right a great wrong, and to wipe out a national shame that has stained us all," said the actress, whose father fought alongside the Gurkhas. "It's not over yet. Until the laws are changed, fundamentally rewritten, it's not over yet."
The Gurkhas, who are renowned for their bravery and ferocious fighting skills, have also struggled for many years for pension rights equal to those of their British army counterparts.
Three Gurkhas who lost a court challenge on pensions in July are taking their case to the Court of Appeal in October. That case related to an offer made by the Ministry of Defence last year to transfer pensions benefits from the far lower Gurkha Pension Scheme into the more mainstream Armed Forces Pension Schemes for periods of military service after 1997.
Lawyers argued this penalised older retired Gurkhas, saying the years of service of those who signed up before that date but retired afterwards were valued at between 24 percent and 36 percent of British rates. Several Gurkhas told AFP they currently receive a monthly pension of about 18,000 Nepalese rupees (173 euros, 245 dollars).
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