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This afternoon at 6pm Virendra Sharma MP wrote to members of his Ealing Southall constituency confirming that he would not be seeking re-election at this General Election.

Following his by-election victory in 2007 Virendra has been re-elected in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Writing to members, Virendra Sharma MP said, “It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as the Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall. Across five elections I have been honoured to be re-elected each time, and to have had the support of the Labour Party to stand again now. It has been a pleasure to work for and with the many people of Ealing Southall, in Greenford, West Ealing, Hanwell, Northfields and Southall. I am proud of what we have achieved, the vibrancy of our community and its unity.

It is clear to me that the country is crying out for change, and that Keir, Angela and the whole Labour Party represent the change this country needs. I was proud to nominate Keir for leader in 2020, and the promises he made then to rebuild this party have put us on the path to power and made me proud to serve as a Labour MP. We swept antisemitism from the Labour Party and we have gone from our worst result in a century, to the edge of Government.

As a British-Indian and as a Hindu, as a Labour Member, Councillor and MP I have never struggled to reconcile those different, but complimentary, identities. Over nearly 50 years I have served the party in one form or another. Now I believe the time has come for another chapter to begin.

I want to let you know that I will not be standing at the next election. From surgeries, community forums, charity fairs and street stalls, I am proud of the work we have done standing up to the Tories and for the people of Ealing Southall. I am sure my successor will do the same and wish whoever they are the best of luck in the most amazing job they will ever have.

This does not dim my desire for Labour to win, and win I am sure we will. I will continue to support Labour, and I hope to continue to be part of the Labour project, but not from inside the House of Commons. The help and backing of so many friends and family over the last fifty years made this possible, but especially the constant unstinting support of Nirmala my wife.

I want to wish you the best of luck for the election campaign, I will still be there pounding the streets, and look forward to celebrating Labour’s entry into Downing Street with all of you.”

London – In a surprise announcement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a general election on July 4 claiming that he has a plan for economic stability for the country.

Standing outside his Downing Street office in pouring rain on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Sunak said, “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and decide whether it wants to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one with no certainty,” he said.

Mr Sunak’s announcement came within hours of official figures showing that UK inflation slowed to 2.3%in the year to April, down from 3.2% in March. It marks its lowest level in nearly three years, largely driven by a downfall in the world energy prices. “The bright days are ahead,” declared Mr Sunak.

“I will prove to you a Conservative government led by me will not put our economic stability at risk,” he said.

The first British Prime Minister of South Asian origin, Mr Sunak said that early on Wednesday he had asked King Charles to dissolve Parliament on 30 May and he agreed.

Mr Sunak said there were uncertain times ahead and claimed that he and his government had a clear plan. In what looked like a US-style election, he also called upon the British voters  to choose between him and Keir Starmer, the labour leader.

Leader of the main opposition, Labour party,  Sir Starmer, called for change after 14 years of the Tory governments.  The “opportunity for change” is what the general election is about, he said.

“Labour wants to return Britain to the  service of working people,” he said. “Labour would put the country first and party second.”

“On July 4 you (voters) have the choice and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” said Starmer, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

 Analysts say Prime Minister Sunak has gambled calling for elections in July as opinion polls show Labour party running about 20 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives. Many had anticipated general elections to be held in October-November 2024.

They, however, say the PM and his team may have thought it to be the most opportune moment to seek fresh mandate from the voters.

London, May 20, 2024 – A special ceremony was held today at the British Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street, marking the centenary of the Treaty of Friendship between Nepal and the United Kingdom, signed in 1923.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the enduring contributions of the British Gurkhas to the strong bilateral ties between the two nations. Highlighting various dimensions of this historic relationship, he reminisced about British King Charles’ visit to Nepal and expressed admiration for the accomplishments of the Nepali diaspora in Britain. Sunak emphasized the potential for enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, and climate change between Britain and Nepal in the future.

Nepal’s Ambassador to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, conveyed best wishes on behalf of Nepal’s Prime Minister. He underscored the significance of the 1923 treaty, noting its pivotal role in establishing Nepal’s international presence and fostering global relations. Acharya highlighted Nepal’s social and political progress and expressed gratitude for the UK’s ongoing support in Nepal’s development. He voiced optimism for the expansion and strengthening of bilateral relations over the next century.

UK Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ann Marie Trevelyan, reaffirmed the close ties between the two countries. She pledged the UK’s continued support for Nepal’s development goals, particularly in helping Nepal achieve middle-income status through expanded economic cooperation.

Organised through collaboration between the Nepali Embassy and the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this ceremony commemorated the centennial of the Treaty of Friendship, British Nepali entrepreneur & philanthropist Mr Rabindra Jung Lamichhane stated. He also facilitated and played a crucial role to organise the event.

A similar program was held in Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office on December 21, 2023, the exact date of the treaty’s signing.

The centenary celebration underscores the enduring and evolving partnership between Nepal and the United Kingdom, reflecting a shared commitment to fostering deeper bilateral relations and mutual prosperity, philanthropist Mr Prashant Kunwar stated. The event was attended by members of the Nepalese community, popular Bollywood Nepali actress Manisha Koirala, Everest record holder double amputee ex-Gurkha Mr. Hari Budha Magar, other various former Gurkhas, British MPs, high-ranking officials, and British friends of Nepal engaged in various professions and businesses.

London  —  Tamu Dhee UK is gearing up for its biggest annual event, the 22nd edition of the Gurkha Cup, set to take place on May 26 at Queens Avenue Sports Field, Military Garrison, Aldershot, Hampshire, GU11 2BS. Organized by Tamu Dhee UK, one of the largest  community organizations for British Nepalese, the event promises a day filled with sports, culture, and community spirit.

The Gurkha Cup will feature approximately 10k spectators and 300 volunteers supporting a robust program that includes 32 main categories of competitions. Highlighting the event are 16 veteran teams and two ladies’ teams, with the competition also featuring an international team. The main prize for the tournament is a substantial £3000, with an entry fee of £300 per team.

President Hari Gurung of Tamu Dhee UK expressed excitement about this year’s event, emphasizing the community’s dedication and the extensive volunteer support that makes the Gurkha Cup possible.

Attendees will find a variety of stalls catering to different interests:

Food: 18 restaurant stalls offering diverse culinary delights.

Fashion: 26 stalls selling clothing.

Crafts: 10 stalls featuring Nepali handicrafts.

Charity: Stalls for charitable organizations are also welcome.

In line with promoting a family-friendly environment, the event will have a strict no-alcohol policy.

For convenience, there will be two entry gates located at Queen Avenue and Farnborough Road, A325, ensuring smooth access for the expected large number of attendees.

The Gurkha Cup not only serves as a sporting event but also as a celebration of Nepalese culture and heritage, fostering community ties and providing an opportunity for networking and collaboration among the British Nepalese diaspora.

London – The 21st BNAC Nepal Study Days took place on 13-14 May 2024, hosted by the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. A total of 35 academic papers on Nepal were presented over the course of two days in 12 topical parallel sessions, 2 panel discussions and 1 book discussion.  The presentations covered various topics, including environment, politics, migration, gender, disaster, Dalit, health and healing. 

With many excellent papers, particularly by young scholars, the two days also saw some interesting spoilers, such as a preview of the forthcoming extensive Routledge Handbook of the Himalayas, which Ben Campell co-edits with Thanka Subba and Mary Cameron.

Ben Campbell noted a turnaround in the reforestation of the central Himalayas and drew from gender perspectives, community-based conservation initiatives, and ethnographically informed studies of climate change projects to contemplate prospects for human-environmental interactions in which slow violence may be at work eroding the connections of language diversity and environmental knowledge.

Already in print and thus deserving a larger panel discussion was Krishna Adhikari and David Gellner’s latest edited book: Nepal’s Dalits in Transition which covers a wide range of specialist articles on contemporary Dalit studies in Nepal.

Herne Katha visits Nepal Study Days

This year, the BNAC, in collaboration with the research project ‘Heritage as Placemaking’, invited Bidhya Chapagain and Kamal Kumar, the founders of Herne Katha, to present a preview of their latest film ‘The Lost Years’ in a cinema-length 75 min director’s cut version. An audience of engaged scholars and Nepali community members from Scottland enjoyed the event. Engaging question at the Q&A session highlighted the importance of Herne Katha’s documentary films in connecting the diaspora with the country of their childhood or that of their parents. 

PhD Dissertation Prize

Since 2018, the BNAC has awarded each year a dissertation prize for the best-submitted chapter. This year, amongst the many submissions, there were four outstanding chapters, which made it very hard for the selection committee, including Prof Michael Hutt (SOAS), Dr Kumud Rana (Lancaster), Dr Bidha Sumkhada (Huddersfield) and Dr Heidi Riley (Dublin) to settle on a decision.The first prize went jointly to Alice Millington (Cambridge University) and Paula Tine (Victoria University of Wellington). The panel also named Kathrin Fischer (Oxford University) and Sudha Ghimire (Tribhuvan University) as the joint first runners-up.

Paola Tiné’s chapter, entitled ‘Feeling Social Change in the Gut: Gyāstrik and the Problematisation of Domestic Roles Among Newar Women in Contemporary Nepal’, examines how middle-class women in Bhaktapur experienced and made sense of gyāstrik (an umbrella term for multiple gut disorders) as an embodiment of social change. 

Alice Millington’s chapter, entitled ‘The fury of the khangba’, argues that the dismissal of Indigenous epistemologies has constrained scholarly understandings of hazards within disaster studies, sometimes leading to failures in the recording of such hazards. Millington provides a rich contextualisation of Indigenous understandings of glacial lake outbursts in Walung, Taplejung, that interweave accounts of religious, political and socio-economic catastrophes not usually considered in analyses of geological catastrophes. 

Kathrin Fischer’s chapter, entitled ‘Between fate and choice  – a multi-scalar analysis of migration decisions in Nepal’, combines agentic and structural aspects of decision-making around labour migration that are often separated in the wider literature on empowerment and migration. The paper shows how migrants simultaneously embrace and negotiate migration opportunities.

Sudha Ghimire’s chapter, entitled ‘Multilayered transformation through participating activities: Building agency and awareness for menstruation hygiene management’, provides an innovative analysis of how teenagers can develop a critical awareness of how views on menstruation in Nepal are entangled with sociocultural values.  The analysis is grounded in transformative learning theory and provides vital insights into dialogic and transformative spaces for exploring adolescent students’ menstruation-related issues. 

We are looking forward to hearing more from these distinguished young scholars and wish them all the best for their esteemed careers

New virtual BNAC PhD student reading group

This year’s Nepal Study Day saw the launch of a new PhD reading group in which current PhD students meet monthly online to discuss their own work and selected scholarly work on Nepal. The group is still open to new PhD students working on Nepal and would like to encourage current students to get in touch with Bina Khapung (University of Northumbria) at bina.limbu@northumbria.ac.uk

The UK government has announced stringent measures aimed at curbing net migration and addressing visa misuse, citing concerns over unsustainable legal migration levels. The move comes after official data revealed a record net migration of 745,000 in 2022, prompting ministers to assert that immigration levels are “far too high.”

Under the new regulations, which are set to take effect from spring 2024, significant changes will be introduced to the country’s immigration system. Most notably, individuals seeking work in the UK will be required to apply for a visa through the points-based system (PBS) and must have a job offer with a substantially higher salary. The minimum salary threshold for sponsored skilled workers will increase by almost 50 percent, rising from £26,200 to £38,700.

However, certain exemptions will apply, particularly in sectors deemed essential such as health and social care. Nevertheless, overseas care workers will not be permitted to bring family dependents under the new rules.

The changes also extend to family and spouse visas, with the minimum income requirement for sponsorship witnessing a phased increase from £18,600 per year to around £38,700 by early 2025. Additionally, there will be revisions to the Shortage Occupation List to limit the number of jobs eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa.

While the new rules are scheduled to be implemented in stages, concerns have been raised regarding their potential impact on migrant families. Home Secretary James Cleverly has indicated that around 300,000 individuals who arrived in the UK last year may be affected by the stricter regulations. Furthermore, statistics suggest that a significant portion of UK residents may struggle to meet the new income threshold required to sponsor family members, potentially affecting more than 60 percent of applicants.

In light of these changes, migrants are advised to act swiftly, particularly regarding visa applications for family members, to avoid being impacted by the escalating income requirements. The government has assured that individuals applying for visa extensions before the specified deadlines will not be subject to the new thresholds.

The implementation of these regulations reflects the government’s commitment to reforming the immigration system to ensure sustainability and address concerns surrounding net migration levels.

London — Police have issued a stark warning to Asian communities across the UK following a significant rise in burglaries targeting family gold, with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of precious metal stolen since the beginning of the year.

Thieves have been specifically targeting Indian, Pakistani, and other Asian households, with recent incidents coinciding with the Hindu spring festival of Akshaya Tritiya, traditionally a time when families invest in gold. The modus operandi of the thieves includes making random cold calls to homes, possibly as a reconnaissance tactic before executing targeted burglaries.

Nottinghamshire Police’s 2020 warning about suspicious phone inquiries targeting Asian families seems prescient in light of the recent surge in gold-related burglaries. Hampshire, Dorset, and Surrey police have collectively reported 31 such incidents since January, amounting to an estimated £200,000 in losses. Additionally, areas with well-established Asian communities such as Slough, Maidenhead, and Windsor have emerged as hotspots for such crimes.

Law enforcement agencies are particularly concerned about the upcoming wedding season, as affluent Asian families often store significant amounts of gold at home. Chief Inspector Matt Paling of Hampshire Police emphasized the sophistication of these criminal operations and urged communities to remain vigilant.

The skyrocketing value of gold, reaching record highs in recent months, has only exacerbated the issue, making it an even more lucrative target for thieves. Victims like Preeti Nayyar, whose home was burglarized in March, have experienced firsthand the trauma and financial loss inflicted by these brazen criminals.

To combat this rising trend, authorities are advising families to secure their gold in safer locations such as banks or safety deposit boxes and to invest in home security measures like CCTV cameras. However, challenges remain, as stolen gold is often melted down or sold anonymously, exploiting gaps in existing legislation governing the gold trade.

As communities grapple with this escalating threat, cooperation between law enforcement and vigilant citizens becomes increasingly crucial in safeguarding against such targeted crimes.