Nepal UK
Reading's newest Nepali-heritage councillor stood alongside local Gurkha veterans at the Gurkha Memorial in Whitehall this Remembrance weekend, in a service that drew the town's MP to London.
Matt Rodda, Labour MP for Reading Central, attended a Gurkha remembrance service at the Gurkha statue on Horse Guards Avenue with Councillor Pratikshya Gurung and veterans from Reading, according to a report published on Sunday 8 November. "It was a privilege to attend the Gurkha Remembrance Service in Whitehall," Mr Rodda said. The report did not state the exact date of the service. A similar ceremony last year, organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for the Gurkhas and for Nepal, took place on 5 November 2025.
Cllr Gurung was elected for Battle ward on 7 May 2026, winning 1,180 votes and taking the seat for Labour from an Independent, according to Reading Borough Council's returning officer and local election results. Her presence at the memorial reflects the growing civic profile of a community that expanded in Reading after many Gurkha veterans settled in the town following the 2004 change in settlement rules.
The Whitehall service was one of several Gurkha-linked observances listed for the weekend, including a memorial service at the Gurkha Chautara at the National Memorial Arboretum on Saturday 7 November and Fleet's Remembrance parade to Gurkha Square on Sunday. This year Armistice Day, Wednesday 11 November, falls on the same day as Bhai Tika, the final day of Tihar, so many British Nepalese families will mark both remembrance and festival on the same day.
