Tikendra Dal Dewan

Major (Retd) Tikendra Dal Dewan JP, is an ex- British Army Gurkha, a Gurkha leader/social worker/activist campaigning for equal rights of British Gurkhas. Dewan served in the British Army for thirty one years, United Kingdom Civil Services for eleven years and is the chairperson of the British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS) a welfare organisation for Gurkhas in the United Kingdom and Nepal and former CEO of Gnergy an energy company based in the UK run by retired British Gurkha veterans.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Tikendra Dal Dewan
Tikendra Dal Dewan
Born
Tikendra Dal Dewan

(1953-06-18) June 18, 1953
Kurseong, Darjeeling, India
Alma materGoethals Memorial School, Kurseong.
Occupations
  • Ex-British Army Officer- Gurkha Major
  • CEO GnERGY
  • Social worker
Known for
  • Chair of the British Gurkha Welfare Society (BGWS)
  • Instrumental in the Gurkhas campaign for equality
  • Campaign for equal pensions for Ex-British Gurkha veterans
Title
Board member of
  • GnERGY
  • BGWS
SpouseMilan Dewan
Children3

Career

Army stations

Whilst in the British Army, Maj Dewan served in Hong Kong, Brunei, Cyprus, Belize, Nepal and United Kingdom.[11]

Rank

Dewan joined the British Army as a regular soldier and rose the rank of a Major, the highest for a Gurkha Officer and retired in 2002.[12][11]

Post army

After retiring from the British Armed forces, Dewan served in the British Civil services for eleven years before spearheading the energy company Gnergy as a CEO since 2013.[13][14][15]

Activism and social work

Dewan was instrumental in the Gurkhas campaign for equality in the United Kingdom when on May 21, 2009, all retired Gurkha soldiers were granted the right to live in Britain.[16] According to Asia Times a critical speech of Dewan's resulted in public pressure that led to then Prime Minister Tony Blair finally relenting to the Gurkhas settlement rights in the UK.[17][18]

Dewan was appointed a Governor in the Hampshire National Health Service (NHS) Council in December 2018 and Justice of Peace (JP): Magistrate for England and Wales, standing since January 2014 (North Hampshire Bench).[19][20][21][22]

Gurkha Justice and campaigns

Maj Dewan also heads the campaign for equal pensions for Ex-British Gurkha veterans.[23][24] The legal and political campaign is over the fact that Gurkhas who retired before July 1, 1997, despite having won the right to settle in the UK with the assistance of Joanna Lumley's campaign, continue to receive much smaller pensions than their British counterparts. The pension inequality rule affects about 25,000 Gurkha veterans and the challenge was brought to court by BGWS on human rights and discrimination grounds.[25][26] According to the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) the ruling was "justified and proportionate" and not discriminatory on the grounds of age or nationality.[25][27]

The UK MOD also argued the discrepancy is justified because of lower living costs in Nepal, although thousands of Gurkhas are UK residents.[28]

The BGWS had taken the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France which got rejected in 2016. Dewan and BGWS continue to fight for equality and justice for the retired Gurkhas.[7][8]

BGWS

BGWS is the first and the largest ex-Gurkha veterans organisation established in the UK to fight for Gurkha Justice and the welfare of ex-Gurkhas.[29]

Achievements and awards
  • Gold Asian Achievers Award (UK), 2011 in community service, the first Nepali to receive this award.[30][31]
  • The OCU Commander's award for community relations in 2014.[11]
  • Hampshire Constabulary Award in 2009
  • Don Allen Award Service to Education 2014
  • The Nepali Media UK- One of the top ten Nepali personalities in the UK in 2013.
  • CEO of the year 2013 for Hampshire by the CEO review magazine.[15]
  • First Nepali Justice of Peace (JP): Magistrate for England and Wales, standing since January 2014 (North Hampshire Bench)

See also

References
  1. "BBC World Service - Witness History, The Gurkhas: We felt like second-class citizens". BBC. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. "Gurkhas lose battle on pensions". 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. Times, Asia (6 August 2018). "Asia Times | Gurkhas' latest battle is a fight for equal rights | Article". Asia Times. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. "The Gurkha soldiers fight for equality - Witness History". Poddtoppen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. Barker, Sam (18 March 2019). "Gurkha veterans battling for better pensions despite Government top-up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. Giannangeli, Marco (12 May 2013). "Gurkhas sharpen up knife skills". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. "Gurkha veterans battling for better pensions despite Government top-up". Business Breaking News. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. Barker, Sam (18 March 2019). "Gurkha veterans battling for better pensions despite Government top-up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. "Reuters Pictures - BRITAIN-GURKHAS/". pictures.reuters.com. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  10. ABPL. "Gurkha regiment to recruit women..." www.asian-voice.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  11. "Asian Achievers Awards 2011". Issuu. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  12. ABPL. "2011". www.abplgroup.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. Webb, Tim (6 May 2014). "New threat to Big Six as Gurkhas enter fray with Gnergy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  14. "GNERGY LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. "CEO Monthly Issue 10 2018". www.ceo-review.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. "The Gurkha soldiers fight for equality from Witness History". www.stitcher.com. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  17. Citizenship for Gurkhas (Part 2), retrieved 30 March 2021
  18. Times, Asia (6 August 2018). "Asia Times | Gurkhas' latest battle is a fight for equal rights | Article". Asia Times. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  19. "NHS England" (PDF).
  20. "Your Governors :: Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust". www.sabp.nhs.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  21. "गोर्खा घोषणाबारे मेरो दृष्टिकोण". We Nepali. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  22. विश्व लिम्बुको यक्ष प्रश्न, यूकेमा नेपालीहरुको समस्या के के छन् ? टिकेन्द्रदल देवानको जवाफ Tikendra, retrieved 24 September 2019
  23. "Gurkhas take pensions to Europe". 20 June 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  24. publications.parliament.uk (11 September 2014). "HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).
  25. "Gurkha veterans lose pensions appeal battle". The Independent. 13 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  26. GRIN - The Impact of the British Empire in Nepal. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  27. "बिजीडब्लुएसद्वारा प्राविधिक समितिलाई खुलापत्र". Everest Times UK. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  28. "Gurkha soldiers who dedicated their lives to Hong Kong feel betrayed by UK". South China Morning Post. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  29. "MoD budget cuts 'threaten Gurkhas'". Express.co.uk. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  30. "Asian Achievers Awards 2011". Issuu. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  31. Asian Achievers Awards 2011, retrieved 30 March 2021
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