As a token of conscience-guided human rights fight, Ex-British Gurkha soldiers have reportedly returned 50 of their historically awarded medals to the British government through liberal leader Nick Clegg, who termed the incident as a ‘national grace’.
Right to live and work in the UK and the equal pension and other benefits that their British counterparts get are the chief demands of the ex-Gurkha soldiers. They emphasize on their equal human dignity. They feel that the British government has treated them as mercenaries, not as soldiers equal to their British counterparts.
Media reports obtained in Kathmandu say that about 1,000 ex-Gurkha soldiers and their family members gathered on 19 March in front of the British parliament to protest against the British government that has apparently violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that every human being must enjoy equal dignity and that there must be equal pay for equal work.
At present the ex-British Gurkhas get a pension of ₤131 in extreme contrast to the ₤1,000 that the British soldiers get per month.
Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg has been known to have advocated for their equal rights.
Some analysts in Kathmandu think that the British government will have to either give equal rights to the Gurkhas or close down all British Gurkha services.