Kathmandu, 13 June: Breaking nearly a year-long deadlock, discussions have resumed with the British side regarding the demands of former Gurkha soldiers. According to the Nepali side, the talks held at the Nepali Embassy in London were positive.
Although there had been seven rounds of technical and four rounds of ministerial-level talks between the governments of the UK and Nepal (G2G) and Gurkha representatives, a conclusion had not yet been reached. On July 4 last year, a general election in the UK brought the Labour Party to power. Shortly afterward, the Government of Nepal recalled Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya, which led to a halt in the Gurkha negotiations. The talks have now resumed following the appointment of a new team of diplomats.
The embassy has stated that a significant technical-level meeting was held regarding the long-standing demand of former British Gurkhas for equal pensions.
Deputy Chief of Mission Bipin Duwadi, who led the Nepali delegation, said that the primary focus of the nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting was the Gurkhas’ main demand for equal pension rights.
“We had been expressing—both formally and informally—that the long-standing, complex issue of the former Gurkhas should be resolved promptly. Even in today’s meeting, we emphasized the need for a swift conclusion, and the British side responded positively,” Duwadi told Onlinekhabar. “However, it was agreed that a detailed study would be conducted to determine how many former Gurkhas are currently receiving pensions, how much funding would be required, and how practical the demand is. Further discussions will take place in the next meeting.”
Talks regarding the demands of former Gurkha soldiers began nearly four years ago under the Conservative government. The current UK government is led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party. Nevertheless, Duwadi mentioned that the British government representatives clarified in the meeting that, despite the change in leadership, there has been no change in the pension policy.
Negotiation committee member and Vice Chair of GESO, Dharma Tamang, stated that although the British side reiterated its longstanding position that the pension issue is legally and financially complicated, the firm stance of the embassy and Gurkha representatives led to the conclusion that negotiations should proceed.
Speaking on behalf of the participating Gurkhas, spokesperson Major (Retd.) Juddha Bahadur Gurung said that after a year-long deadlock, today’s discussion has reopened the door to negotiations. “You (the British side) say it’s not easy to provide equal pensions. But how is it not easy? In that case, let’s study how much it would cost to provide pensions from 1948 to 1993, and how many elderly Gurkhas are currently receiving pensions. When I proposed this, they agreed,” Gurung said.
The date for the next meeting has not yet been decided.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief of Mission Bipin Duwadi and Defence Attaché Brigadier General Anup Shah on behalf of the Government of Nepal, along with five representatives from the UK Ministry of Defence and nine representatives from G-10 on behalf of the former Gurkhas.
Nepali Ambassador to the UK, Chandra Kumar Ghimire, who assumed office in January, had been actively pursuing the resumption of talks with the UK regarding the Gurkha issue.
Although delayed, the resumption of talks has brought renewed hope among the former Gurkhas. “We know the Gurkha issue is not simple, but our dissatisfaction stems from the fact that the UK has continually deceived us instead of engaging in genuine negotiations,” said Gurkha activist Gyanraj Rai, one of the hunger strikers who compelled the UK to come to the negotiating table. “We hope this time the talks will be decisive. If we receive equal pensions, we elderly Gurkhas will not stay in the UK even for a single day.”
The retired Gurkhas have submitted a 35-point memorandum to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), outlining all their demands. These include equal pensions, welfare benefits, residential rights, healthcare access, and more.
It has been over three decades since former Gurkhas began their movement for justice. While they and their adult children have been granted permanent residency rights in the UK, the British government has continued to delay addressing their primary demand: equal pensions, on par with their British counterparts.
Former Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997 have long complained about receiving significantly lower pensions compared to their British peers.
Previously, both the UK High Court and the European Court had dismissed the Gurkhas’ demand for equal pensions, ruling that it did not constitute discrimination. As a result, diplomatic negotiation remains the only viable path toward resolving this issue.
