The All India Women Conference (AIWC) has issued an unconditional apology to the Gurkhas for an objectionable comment by one of its members about the community.
The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh accepted the apology note and withdrew its decision to take legal action.
AIWC member Chandra Prabha Pandey had said that the Nepali/Gorkha language was ‘non-Indian’ and thus not eligible for a patriotic programme associated with the government’s ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’ event. Apart from the handwritten note, the AIWC also issued an audio apology.
AIWC president Shiela Kakde wrote that she was sorry on behalf of one of her colleagues for hurting the sentiments of the Gorkhas “who made supreme sacrifices safeguarding the sovereignty of the nation”.
AIWC secretary-general Kuljit Kaur condemned the “insensitive remarks and irresponsible behaviour” of Ms. Pandey in the audio statement. She added that the AIWC decided to relieve Ms. Pandey from all the responsibilities assigned.
“We analysed the clarifications and accepted an apology from the nine-and-a-half decades old organisation working for women empowerment and the uplift of society and the country,” the Parisangh’s national president Munish Tamang said.
