Celebrating the Commonwealth Day on Monday, 9th March, some Gurkha soldiers have welcomed the proposal of a possible review of the Tripartite Agreement. This comes at a time when over 432 Gurkhas have joined the British Army recording an increase of 32 soldiers from last year's intake and the highest ever since 1985. But what is the Tripartite Act and what are the demands of the Gurkha veterans settled in the UK?
The Gurkha regiment settled in the UK have been demanding for the right to receive pensions equivalent to that of the British soldiers. This struggle can be attributed to the 73-year-old Tripartite Agreement between New Delhi, London and Kathmandu following India’s Independence from colonial rule in 1947 which allowed India and Britain to recruit Gurkhas.
This Agreement between Nepal, India and Britain assures that all perks, remuneration, facilities and pension schemes for Nepalis serving in the British and Indian armies will be equal to those of British and Indian nationals. However, Gurkha veterans have long alleged that Britain has put in place discriminatory policies in remuneration. Following extensive Gurkha campaigning for years, the British Government in 2007 announced that those Gurkhas who retired after 1997 will be entitled to equal pension as the British soldiers. However, those who retired before 1997 were provided with pension amounting to only one-third of the personnel’s length of service.
Pension only equal to one-third of the years served to the British Army
Major (Retired) Surya Upadhya, is the Chairman of the Nepalese Hindu Forum UK and a retired Gurkha soldier living in the UK. Speaking to the Asian Voice, he said,
“I retired from the British Army as Major officially in late 2006. In the following years, I worked for the Ministry of Defence and the Whitehall for another 11 years before finally retiring in 2017.”
Major (Retired) Upadhya, a Nepalese by origin had first joined the British Army on 10th October 1973. Today, giving his example of the pension he receives, he said,
“I served the British Army for 25 years therefore I am entitled to a pension that is one-third of my service period until 1997 which means I receive 26-33% pension of my service for those years. After 1997, however, I am entitled to one-for-one pension service for three years now
“Now, that the Nepalese Government has requested the UK to review the Tripartite Agreement we are optimistic of receiving pensions equivalent to the British soldiers.”
Last month the Nepalese government had officially proposed to the UK to review the 73-year-old Tripartite Agreement with India and Britain over the recruitment and deployment of Gurkha soldiers and their perks and facilities and replace it with a bilateral one.
New immigration reforms not applicable to Gurkhas but exorbitant visa fees
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli had first raised this issue during his meeting in June last year with then British Prime Minister Theresa May in London. After the meeting between Oli and May, Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali had said Nepal had proposed a review of the agreement, to which May had responded “positively”. A joint statement issued after the meeting, however, stopped short of mentioning that Oli had raised the issue.
Now, a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office said the letter was sent to the United Kingdom for their consideration as per the policy of the present government to scrap or review all discriminatory treaties and pacts signed with other countries and make them applicable to the changed context. The UK started providing equal pay and pension to Gurkhas in 2007. However, those recruited from 1975 to 1993 retired before 2007 were deprived of equal pay, pension and a host of other facilities.
Those who served the British Army from 1947 to 1975 when there was no provision for pension were also not provided equal pay among other facilities.
“The fact that there was discrimination was acknowledged by European Courts of Human Rights (ECHR) and yet found that it was legal as bound by the Tripartite Agreement. This denies the total right of the individuals where three governments had intentionally signed a document to deny equality, and yet the ECHR found this justified – strange? Having said so the Indian Gorkhas are on equal footing with the rest of the Indian Armed Forces and inequality does not apply to them,” said Major (Retd) Tikendra Dal Deewan of the British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS).
The BGWS had initially taken the issue up with the ECHR which had been rejected in 2016. The Ministry of Defence had earlier put an extra £15m into the pension scheme for pre-1997 Gurkhas. Now, the Gurkhas hail the Nepalese Government’s interest in addressing their concerns around pension discrimination.
Yet, another challenge that the Gurkha and commonwealth soldiers face in the UK alongside their families is the vast amount of visa fees after their services are over and should they wish to settle in the country.
“The latest immigration reforms should not affect the Gurkhas as exclusive immigration policy for Gurkhas precludes this requirement. Our service to the Crown permits settlement in the UK and as for dependants the normal immigration policy applies,” explains Major (Retd) Deewan.
But the Home Secretary’s £25,600-a-year minimum salary threshold for skilled workers means Commonwealth recruits earning less than £16,000 appear to be banned.
Additionally, those who have served for four years or more are eligible to apply to stay in the UK. However, they must still pay the visa application fees, which have risen from £1,051 in 2015 to £2,389. This has been brought to notice by the British Royal Legion.
The Legion launched its campaign, about this subject a year ago and is now calling on the government to grant a waiver of fees in the next parliamentary session, urging the supporters to write to their MP on the issue.
