Lt Tul Bahadur Pun VC is one of those living recipient of the Victoria Cross, in addition to which, Mr Pun has also been awarded 10 other medals, including the Burma Star.
The citation for his VC reads: On 23 June 1944 at the age of 21, during an attack on a Japanese held railway bridge, a section of one of the platoons was wiped out with the exception of Rifleman Pun, his section commander and one other. The section commander immediately led a charge on the enemy position but was at once badly wounded, as was the third man. Rifleman Pun, with a Bren gun continued the charge alone in the face of shattering fire and reaching the position, killed three of the occupants and put five more to flight, capturing two light-machine-guns and much ammunition. He then gave accurate supporting fire, enabling the rest of his platoon to reach their objective.
Mr Pun was invited, along with other Victoria Cross recipients to the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Mr Pun, attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, and was invited to the party afterwards at Buckingham Palace. On another occasion he was invited to tea with the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. His name is inscribed on the roof of the arched memorial stand at the "Memorial Gates" directly outside Buckingham Palace and also in Westminster Abbey and the Union Jack Club, in London.
Today Mr Pun suffers from ill-health, his home in Nepal had no proper roof, no electricity, no running water and no sanitation so that he is obliged to dig a hole in the surrounding fields to use as a toilet. Mr Pun receives a British Army pension of £125 per month) one eighth of the pension paid to an equivalent UK service person. In order to receive his monthly pension he must be driven for three hours and then walk for one full day (being carried by two or three men in a wicker basket) to the Gurkha army camp at Pokhara. If Mr Pun were to fail to appear in person at the camp, he would not receive his pension.
In 2006 Mr Pun applied for a visa to settle in the United Kingdom, particularly because of his ill-health and his desire to be with his veteran comrades. His application was refused on the grounds that he had "failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK". Happily this was overturned following public outrage on 1 June 2007.
Here are two more names.
Rifleman Yubraj Rai, 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles, killed on the 4th November 2008 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles, killed on the 15th November 2008 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
These were both married men with children and the question now is what happens to their families. Sadly they join the more than 45,000 Gurkhas who have been killed and 150,000 Gurkhas who have been wounded fighting for British interests.
As you may know Gurkhas fighting for the right to settle in Britain have recently won their immigration test case at London's High Court. They were challenging immigration rules which said that those who retired from the British Army before 1997 did not have an automatic right to stay. The regiment moved its main base from Hong Kong to the UK in 1997 and the government had argued that Gurkhas discharged before that date were unlikely to have strong ties with the UK. This means that those who want to settle in the UK have to apply for British residency and can be refused and deported.
The judge, Mr Justice Blake, said the Gurkhas' long service, conspicuous acts of bravery and loyalty to the Crown all pointed to a "moral debt of honour" and gratitude felt by the British people.
He ruled that instructions given by the Home Office to immigration officials were unlawful and needed urgent revision.
Following this The Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee following a hearing to determine the rights of Gurkhas to settle in the UK wrote to the Home Secretary Jaqui Smith and asked that she take urgent action stating that;
1/ the Governments Policy had caused considerable personal suffering and hardship amongst Gurkhas.
2/ The Committee considers that the UK owes an historic debt of gratitude to the Gurkhas for their brave, loyal and distinguished service in the defence of this country.
3/ The Committee further concludes that this treatment of the Gurkhas is particularly unfair given the discrepancy with settlement rights afforded to other Commonwealth citizens who serve in our Armed Forces.
4. The Committee therefore urges you to take urgent action, in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, to redress the currently unfair situation by extending settlement rights in the UK to all former Gurkhas
To conclude
Gurkhas should be treated the same regardless of whether they retired from the Army before or after July 1 1997. Granting this change would actually only affect some 2,000 former Gurkhas who retired before 1997. This is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the open door immigration policy we currently endure together with the estimated 800,000 Eastern and Central European people who have come to Britain since 2004.
These men have had to plead for the right to live in Britain, and have also had to pay £500 per visa application, when many of them have a paltry Gurkha pension worth less than £125 per month.
We have seen thousands of Gurkha veterans marching on Parliament where a number of them handed back their hard earned medals. As I said before more than 45,000 Gurkhas have been killed and more than 150,000 wounded fighting for British interests.
These brave soldiers have spilt their blood on battlefields across the world, defending British interests, the British way of life and the hard-fought freedom so enjoyed by the British people today. They have never deserted Britain's call for help and during the country's darkest hours the Gurkhas stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us as our most 'faithful and loyal friends'."
I echo the words of Martin Howe who said, "The ignominy of forcing these veterans to beg for the right to live in the UK is a stain on the moral integrity of our nation.
Finally let me say that it is now our turn to repay their trust because I believe that if someone is prepared to die for this country, then they should have the right to live in this country
Gordon Brown can cleanse the stain of injustice at the stroke of a pen and thereby repay the debt of gratitude owed to these men. They deserve nothing less.
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