More than 50 years after they were taken prisoner by Japanese, former Gurkha soldiers who fought for Britain won the right to compensation from the British government on Wednesday, AP reported from London.

High Court Justice Richard McCombe ruled that the government’s decision to deny the Nepalese fighters compensation given to their prisoners of war was both irrational and inconsistent with the principle of equality. According to lawyers for three Gurkhas who sued the Ministry of Defence for discrimination, Pahalman Gurung, one of the three Nepalese fighters said he was delighted.

“Justice has finally come for us. I am really happy about the decision. It is not just a victory for the ones who filed the case but for all the Gurkhas who served in the British amy,” Gurung said.

Lawyer Phil Shiner said Gurung, Gaurisor Thapa, 83, and Hukumsing Pun, 85, will now receive payments of 10,000 pounds (US $15,500) each from a government fund set up in November 2000 for surviving British POWs. The ruling could benefit up to 300 other Gurkha former POWs who have also been denied compensation, he said.

The Ministry of Defence argued that the World War II Gurkha regiments formed part of the Indian army and, as a result, they were not eligible for the UK compensation programme. ‘This landmark decision is a victory for not only British Gurkhas but also for Nepalese people as a whole. Now onwards, the Gurkhas will not be considered mercenaries. They are now equal to British soldiers themselves.

“Now,we are hopeful of winning each and every case we have filed against the British government’s discriminatory approach towards us,” Padma Bahadur Gurung, Chairman of the Gurkha Ex-servicemen Organization (GAESO) said. GAESO, which has been campaigning for equal pay and pension for Gurkhas on par with their British counterparts, has a list of 343 ex-soldiers entitled to compensation, Gurung said. nepalnews.com br Nov.28