British actress threatens to take Indian citizenship
British actress Joanna Lumley has threatened to give up her passport and adopt the citizenship of India, where she was born, if Gurkhas in the British army were not allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.
By PTI |
LONDON: British actress Joanna Lumley has threatened to give up her passport and adopt the citizenship of India, where she was born, if Gurkhas in the British army were not allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.
As per rules, Gurkhas who served in the British army and retired before 1997 do not have the right to stay in the UK but those who retired after 1997 were allowed. The pre-1997 group of retired Gurkha soldiers have taken their case to the high court.
Supporting their campaign, Lumley has been touring television studios and other public places to highlight the case.
"There is something wrong here. If they do not put it right I think there will be hell to pay. I feel so strongly about this. If this should go wrong for the Gurkhas I am prepared to hand back my British passport and I will take up Indian nationality," Lumley told reporters.
"I was born in India; I had to pay to belong to this country. I was a British subject but not a citizen. If they despise them (Gurkhas) so much then they can despise me," she said.
Lumley, whose late father fought in Myanmar in the Second World War alongside Gurkhas, added: "It strikes me as really strange that you can be good enough to die for this country but not good enough to live here."
As per rules, Gurkhas who served in the British army and retired before 1997 do not have the right to stay in the UK but those who retired after 1997 were allowed. The pre-1997 group of retired Gurkha soldiers have taken their case to the high court.
Supporting their campaign, Lumley has been touring television studios and other public places to highlight the case.
"There is something wrong here. If they do not put it right I think there will be hell to pay. I feel so strongly about this. If this should go wrong for the Gurkhas I am prepared to hand back my British passport and I will take up Indian nationality," Lumley told reporters.
"I was born in India; I had to pay to belong to this country. I was a British subject but not a citizen. If they despise them (Gurkhas) so much then they can despise me," she said.
Lumley, whose late father fought in Myanmar in the Second World War alongside Gurkhas, added: "It strikes me as really strange that you can be good enough to die for this country but not good enough to live here."
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