“At least 20,000 former Army men would go to Delhi and surrender their medals to the President of India. They have suppressed their anger for several years. They are wanted only during wars by Indian Army. Once the job is over, their sacrifice is forgotten. Very soon, country men start calling them ‘foreigners’. Now the time has come for them to approach the government,”
Gurung told The Sunday Express. Gurung said the former Army personnel joined the GJM as they want Gorkhaland to be formed. Col (retd) Ramesh Alley, who served in the Mahar regiment, is in charge of the Sainik Morcha, which is affiliated to the GJM. “I will be the first person to surrender my medal to the President. I got 13 medals and participated in all the important wars and insurgency operations. But I am called a foreigner in this country,” he said. “All the former Army men in the hills will go to Delhi and surrender their medals. We are awaiting the green signal from Bimal Gurung.
” Senior leaders of Sainik Morcha were assigned to train the youths of the hills, who later became the GLP (Gorkha Land Personnel, the equivalent to Gorkhaland Police) cadres. GLP is the force that was raised during the Gorkhaland movement in 2007. Sanjay Gurung, who retired as a soldier of the Gorkha regiment in 1999, said, “We have decided to surrender our medals to the President. We are suffering from an identity crisis. I had fought for this country for 15 years. But after I retired, people started calling me Nepalese or Chinese. My countrymen consider me a foreigner. Then what is the use of keeping the medal which I got from the government?” he said.
Source: -Indian Express
