Former British Gurkhas, who decided to stay back in Nepal, are doing well for themselves and their community
After serving 15 years in the Gurkha Regiment in the United Kingdom, Prem Begha returned home in 2003. While his retired friends began applying for permanent residence in the UK immediately after their arrival, Begha was determined to stay in Nepal and give back to society.
“For 200 years, we have been fighting and dying in foreign wars,” the former soldier explains. “I felt it was time we began contributing to our country.”
SITA MADEMBA
Gajendra Ipso, Prem Begha, Meherban Lingden
Begha, who started Gorkha Savings and Gurkha Development Bank, is also the chairperson of Gorkha FM and is working to revive his bank’s fortunes after it came under fire two years ago due to financial irregularities.
Following years of fighting for equality, Gurkhas recruited after 1997, were granted permanent residence visa to the UK in 2003. May 2009’s landmark ruling then granted residency rights to Gurkhas who retired before 1997, and who had served at least four years in the British Army, along with their families. Despite respectable and relatively comfortable lives in Nepal, thousands have left their homes, relatives, and friends to resettle in England in hopes of better state benefits, free healthcare, greater savings, and educational and employment opportunities for their children.
Towns like Dharan, Damak, Pokhara, Butwal, Itahari, and Palpa, known for their large settlements of former Gurkha soldiers and family, are now deserted. According to Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation (GAESO) out of approximately 44,000 retired men, 60 per cent have left for the UK. Nepal loses around Rs 12 billion a year in remittance due to this exodus.
Keshar Bahadur Ale Magar
Like Begha, Keshar Bahadur Ale Magar of Bardiya also decided to stay back and started Gorkha United School in his home district in 2005. During the war, the school was bombed by the Maoists and sensing impending danger, many of the shareholders fled, leaving the institute’s future in grave uncertainty. Most of the founding members, who were ex-Gurkhas, eventually migrated to England. Despite immense challenges, Ale stuck on. Today, Gorkha United is one of the most coveted high schools in the region, which has won several awards for producing stellar SLC results.
“I dropped out of school in seventh grade. It was only after attending vocational training in the UK that I understood the importance of education,” admits Ale. “I wanted to invest in quality education in Nepal because that is where our future lies.”
Gajendra Ipso returned to Dharan in 1993 after17 years of service. The 56-year-old is actively involved in the fight for equal treatment of the Gurkha soldiers and encourages families to explore opportunities in Nepal before hurrying off to a foreign land. In the last decade, Ipso and his former colleagues have expanded the services of Gorkha Savings and Cooperative. It was his vision and hard work that led to the construction of the Rs 50 million worth Gorkha Shopping Complex at the heart of Dharan’s Bhanu Chok.
“A lot of ex-soldiers move abroad to secure a better future for their children. But they don’t think twice about what they are losing back home,” bemoans Ipso. “If all of us leave for the easy life and privileges in foreign countries, nothing will ever improve in Nepal.”
In Kathmandu alone, there are more than three dozen cooperatives, shopping centres, and schools run by former servicemen. However, entrepreneurs and as well as analysts feel that successive governments in Nepal have failed to tap into the immense investment opportunity that the Gurkhas’ steady source of income would have provided.
“We failed to recognise the immense contribution of the ex-Gurkhas in keeping the local economy afloat. We can’t only blame them for leaving Nepal,” says Keshav Acharya, economist and former advisor at the Finance Ministry. “We need to learn from India on how to best utilise the skills and resources of the diaspora community to spur growth in the country.”
Although not all their business ventures have succeeded, the ex-soldiers don’t have any regrets of investing and losing money in their homeland.
“When I was young, I worked like a dog trying to please the gora sahibs,” says 70-year-old Meherban Lingden of Damak, who has dabbled in real estate, cooperatives, and retail, and is now the chairman of Saptarangi FM station in the district. “Finally I am getting to do what I want and enjoying every bit of it here in Nepal.”
Read also:
Soldiering on
The resistants
Ae Gorkhaliharu
gorkhas, soldiers, business, loyalty, homeland