E-Paper
Indian Gurkhas show little interest for British compensation
Unlike former Gurkha soldiers living in Nepal, their counterparts in India have shown little interest in claiming compensation for being taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.
Unlike former Gurkha soldiers living in Nepal, their counterparts in India have shown little interest in claiming compensation for being taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.
In the five months since the British government set up an office in Kathmandu to make payments of 10,000 pounds each to former Gurkha soldiers who were prisoners of war in the Far East, it has received 1, 400 applications.
Of these applicants, 890 were interviewed by three teams from the British defence department headed by James Gondelle in different parts of Nepal and 101 Gurkhas were compensated.
However, interest shown by former Gurkha soldiers in India has been so nominal, according to the British embassy in Kathmandu that officials have decided to close the office set up in New Delhi for processing applications by September.
This is in spite of the fact that applications can be made online and the British government is verifying applications on the basis of records kept by the Indian government in Kathmandu.
The organisation for prisoners of war in the Far East will remain in Kathmandu until the end of 2005 and, after the Delhi office winds up, applications from India can be forwarded to the office in Kathmandu.
Subsequently, a team will interview applicants in India as and when required, the British embassy said.
The British government decided to extend the compensation scheme to Gurkha prisoners of war following a ruling in a British court that citizens of Nepal should qualify if they meet eligibility criteria set out in its judgement.
According to the 2000 scheme, Gurkhas who were soldiers with the British Indian Army and British Army during World War II will, if they were Nepalese citizens in 1951, qualify for a payment of 10,000 pounds.
However, they would be disqualified if they were with the Indian National Army formed by freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose to fight the British. Thousands of Gurkhas fought in almost all theatres of World War II and were dreaded by both the Japanese and German troops for their ferocity and use of unconventional tactics.
