The Gurkhas, who originally hail from Nepal, enjoy a pride of place in the pantheon of the British and the Indian armed forces. They still serve with dedication and loyalty the army regiments in these two countries. So it was a well-deserved victory in a British court for these Gurkhas who earned the right to settle in Britain after their retirement.
“For generations, they have shown great courage and loyalty, fighting for Britain in countless wars. Last night, the Gurkhas were celebrating one of their most famous victories – in a legal battle that has given them the right to settle in the UK,” reports The Independent.
“The landmark ruling by the High Court was an official recognition of the unswerving service that the fearless Nepalese soldiers had given to Britain, often at great personal cost. This, said the judge, Mr Justice Blake, earned them ‘an unquestionable moral debt of honour’ from the British people.
“Under current rules, former Gurkha soldiers who retired before 1997, when the Brigade of Gurkhas moved its base from Hong Kong to Hampshire when the city reverted to Chinese control, have to demonstrate ‘strong ties’ with Britain to obtain permission to settle.
“The actress Joanna Lumley, whose father served with the Gurkhas in Burma during the Second World War, had attended the case to express her support. She said: ‘This day is more important than I can tell you because it gives our country the chance to right a great wrong and to wipe out a national shame that has stained us all’.” More here…
(The British Queen with the veteran Gurkha soldiers. A file photo courtesy AP/Richard Vogel)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.