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Nepalis retired from the Indian armed forces receive pensions and a range of services from an office in Dharan

BY AKSHAY SHARMA

The picturesque city of Dharan, about 250 km east of Kathmandu, has 15,000 people who once served in the Indian armed service. The Gurkhas have been praised for their bravery and the near-impossible feats they have achieved in battlefields around the world. The latest instance was the battle at Tiger Hills, Kargil, when the Gurkha Rifles of the Indian army was heralded for its courage in the fight against Pakistan-backed forces.

Nepalis who have retired from the Indian army have been receiving pension and other services for nearly four decades. Major A. K. Chatterji has been in charge of the pension distribution process since September 2, 2000. "The men that have served the Indian armed forces are being given pension and a host of welfare services," he says. "My incentive is to strengthen Indo-Nepal ties."

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The program was started in 1960. Ex-servicemen earlier had to go to Darjeeling, Purniya, Laharisaraya or Kumaraghat in India to get their pension. After India and Nepal agreed to process pension distribution more smoothly, it was decided that an office should be opened in Nepal.

Organized efforts to distribute pensions to retired Nepalese soldiers dates back to 1958. At that time, the program was started with one secretary in Dhankuta with three lower division clerks and one peon. The first distribution camp was set up in 1959, which distributed pensions to 1,230 former servicemen.

Following the success of this project, and because of the positive response of the ex-servicemen, an office was opened in Dhankuta under a bilateral agreement. In 1960, the task of operating the office fell on the shoulders of Prabhari Adhikaray.

Major Chatterji has traversed the hill trails of eastern Nepal. "I have visited most of the places ex-servicemen live. Places like Okhaldhunga, Khadbari, Tapelejung, Bhojpur, and Solukhumbhu," he said. "Serving these people well and addressing their problems remains my top priority. I have received immense respect wherever I have travelled. I have enjoyed dhedo and gundruk with many of these families."

With a view to easing the distribution process, in response to requests from former soldiers, the office was moved from Dhankuta to Dharan. "Apart from providing valuable help to ex-servicemen, the center has also helped to transform the beautiful city of Dharan into a more beautiful one," says one of the city’s newspapers.

The Dharan center has organized various other activities in Okhaldhunga, Bhojpur, Terathum, Ilam, Diktel, Khadbari and other rural areas.

"We also focus on welfare programs," Major Chatterji says. "There already is a hospital here in Dharan equipped with medical facilities. We have been sending medical teams to remote places where many of the ex-servicemen live. If further treatment is required, they are sent to the Baghdungra Hospital in India."

He added: "Last year we provided medical facilities to 35,000 ex-servicemen and other people. The medical team provided medicine worth Rs 400,000. We have also been providing drinking water and have launched a school road project. The children of the servicemen have been provided with assistance amounting to between Rs 20,000 and Rs 200,000."

The elderly and widows of servicemen also have been receiving special facilities. From 1998, the program has been extended to Salleri, Solukhumbhu and Phidhim.

Major Chatterji himself was born at a military hospital in Dehradun on July 21, 1967. Asked why he chose a career in the army, he says: "My family background was the main reason. My father used to a colonel in the Indian army."

The Dharan center has also been providing drinking water facilities to many of the villages these ex-servicemen come from. The family of the personnel that have served and are serving the Indian armed forces have been provided with training in computers, sewing and cutting, and typing at subsidized fees.

These people have also been provided with such facilities as library, TV, videotapes and other forms of entertainment. Shops have been opened to offer families goods at a fair price. They are also provided with telephone facilities and receive banking service offered by the Nepal SBI Bank. "Seventy-five percent of the office staff consist of Nepalis," says Major Chatterji.

The Dharan center has proved to be lifeline not only to ex-servicemen in eastern Nepal but also their wider community.