AGNIPATH :- Indian youth wants security, not short term uncertainty concludes  Ronita Torcato in this summary of the new military recruitment scheme 

The top brass from the Defence services and captains of  industry have welcomed  the Central Government's new military recruitment scheme Agnipath even as Opposition parties slammed it and violent protests erupted across the nation.

The scheme offers four-year military training ( aka Tour of Duty in an imitation of American nomenclature) to youth  aged between 17.5 years and 21 years. New recruits will be known as 'Agniveers'.

However,only 25%.will be retained "based on organisational requirements and policies promulgated by the armed forces from time to time" as a governmental media release puts it.

 The remaining 75% will have to seek  employment elsewhere with the Golden Handshake lumpsum of Rs 11.71 lakhs

on completion of the four-year stint, or re-apply for regular enrolment in the military services.

For the Central Government, this is a sound move to lay down the 'burden' of pensions and other entitlements. For industry, it entails access to, dare we say it,  well trained security guards. That goes too, for  the majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party, whose office-bearer  has  actually gone  on record saying as much!

Thankfully, the bonus of a  degree

from the well-regarded Indira Gandhi National Open University ( IGNOU) on completion of four years of service will enhance employment prospects for youth  enamoured with  the decent wage, subsidised canteens, health services, gratuity, pension and above all, the prize social cachet that accompanies the Man ( and Woman ) in Uniform: RESPECT & ADMIRATION.

A PIB HQ press note distributed  to Mumbai media by Ministry of Defence representatives at a presser addressed by  the Western Naval Command Chief Ajendra Bahadur Singh states that

"The enrolment will be undertaken the urban online centralised system for all three services with specialised rallies and campus interviews from recognised technical institutes".

If Defence chiefs have uniformly welcomed the Agnipath, several veterans  have criticised the new scheme. Soundinf a note of caution in his blog, Lieutenant General (Retired) P R Shankar, wrote, "The Tour of Duty does not seem to be a good idea. Proceed with caution."

On Twitter, Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi termed it an “uncalled for” move which" reduces the operational effectiveness of our armed forces  at a time when India is facing threats on two fronts.'

His estranged first cousin BJP MP  Varun Gandhi questioned the short tenure of service which the Cabinet and service chiefs have eulogised as“transformative” .

It is pertinent to note that our neighbour on the Eastern front, China conscripts a whopping 45 lakh youth annually whereas only 46,000 Agniveers  will be inducted into the Armed Forces.

( Israeli  conscripts and American volunteer soldiery are kept in reserve for future operations,whereas as mentioned in a  paragraph above, all of the Indian recruits will have to re-enrol after the contractual term.  )

At the  Mumbai press meet, Western Naval Command Chief Singh explained that the bulk of new entrants would be absorbed in the Army, and the rest divided between the Air Force and the Navy.

 While aggrieved  youths lambast the short service contractual scheme, some quarters  have warned that unemployment could aggravate social tension.

It may be noted in this regard that in the US,  post traumatic stress disorder

(also called: PTSD) and death by suicide is high for veterans. Also, many Israeli soldiers enjoy travelling to India  ( especially Himachal and Goa) "to wash the army out of their hair."

In Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav's prognosis, law and order problems could ensue since "BJP and Sangh Parivar may exploit the scheme to provide arms training, at government expense, to its hate-filled supporters and fringe elements".

Recruitment in the new scheme will be on an “all India-all class” basis from technical institutes.

Protesting youths have complained that the Agnipath scheme has been introduced in utter disregard of  their having appeared for an examination and passed the requisite physical tests.

Responding to a query from this correspondent, WNC chief Singh had said that the new scheme targeting skilled youth would  not marginalise women or rural youth.

Indeed, two days after the shocking rash of riots, Defence chiefs of staff  told the media   that females will get inducted as well.

 Air  Marshal Manavendra Singh, Commanding-in-Chief, Headquarters Training Command, Indian Air Force, told

the press that Agniveers will be given preference in Central Armed Police Forces like CISF and Assam Rifles once their term is over.

Significantly,the recruitment of

25,000 'Agniveers' and the process for recruitment of the remaining 15,000 will be kickstarted immediately instead of the next 6 months as was originally envisaged. 

Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt. General B S Raju told PTI that the recruitment drive will be in all of the 773 districts across the country.

Concurring with the Cabinet, Lieutenant General Arvind Walia, Chief of Staff, Southern Command, described the new 'Agnipath' scheme  as  "transformational reform" for the Army and the nation as it aims to bring paradigm changes in the Army's human resource management.

Speaking to reporters at the Southern Command headquarters, Lt General Walia said the scheme envisages the promotion of nationalism by offering skilled manpower and ensuring a more youthful profile of the Army.

"I wish to emphatically state that the Army will continue to retain its rich legacy, history, traditions, military values and culture - based on the principles of cohesiveness, camaraderie, and the core ethos of 'Naam, Namak and Nishan'", he said.

"The dividends of short military service to the nation, society and the youth of the nation are immense.This includes the inculcation of patriotism, teamwork, enhancement of physical fitness, ingrained loyalty for the country and availability of trained personnel to boost national security in times of external threats, internal threats and natural disasters," the Lt General said.

The  Indian armed forces will not compromise with the quality of cadets while recruiting young 'Agniveers' under the newly launched Agnipath scheme for four years, asserted Air Marshal Manavendra Singh,Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Headquarters Training Command, Indian Air Force.

Air Marshal Singh also told reporters, "There will be a total of 250 centres set up all over India in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing( C-DAC) our technology partners for the last couple of years".

But sceptics are unconvinced. As a government official said, "the defence establishment can train people for all kinds of specialisations,but can it truly inculcate values in impetuous youth which is unable to analyse and introspect? " Frighteningly, he predicted civil war.

On its part, the BJP-led government at the Centre has blamed recruiting cum training agencies for the unrest but failed to assuage the concerns of the protesters not to speak of the Opposition parties.

Opposing the scheme, RLP leader and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal  had announced a protest on June 16 at all district headquarters of Rajasthan on the ground that "there is a strong resentment among youth against the Center for not holding army recruitment rallies for the last two years and not completing the process of recruitment rallies held earlier. "

Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly said "It has far-reaching consequences and these have not been fully considered while preparing this scheme. In the long run, the policy would have a detrimental impact on our national security... it seems the government is compromising with the security of the country with the intention of saving money and halving the strength of the armed forces," the former Haryana chief minister alleged.

Hooda pointed out  that youth have been rendered overage by the closure of Army recruitment for the past three years due to the Covid pandemic.

He also said that regimental honour is integral to the tradition of the armed forces and recruits would lose their attachment to the emotional connect with the regiment.( Under the regular long service scheme,  recruitment has been on the basis  caste/community and regions and soldiers have served in regiments harking to Dogra, Punjab, J&K, Rajput, Maratha, Jat and Sikh.)

As of writing, the Government is holding out the threat of punitive action  to vandals: Agnipath aspirants must certifify that ‘they were not part of protest or vandalism. It has  announced a slew of measures ( see Box) which  seems to have had a sobering effect. It has also swung into action against the owners of certain coaching classes on accusations of instigating the riots.

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