Agnipath Under Fire

All over north India, uninformed people have been posing massive protests against the Short Military Service (SMS) scheme called Agnipath announced by the central government on June 14, 2022. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are against the project. Protests were mainly staged in the northern states of Jammu, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. But the central government says that the Agnipath project will help strengthen the army and utilize the skills and technology of the youth.

At the age of 18, a candidate who participates in the Agnipath recruitment rally and gets appointed can serve the nation for four years. During these four years, the young soldier will graduate and earn between 30,000 and 40,000 per month. At the end of four years, he will get 12 lakh rupees and can leave the service unless he opts to join the CRPF for another 11 years with excellence and great pay. Even if he dies in harness, the relatives will get financial assistance worth crores.

Apart from these material achievements, the main creative contribution of the Agnipath project is that it will pave the way for moulding an excellent generation of young men and women and they will become personalities who can make positive contributions towards nation building and help restore nationalism. The order, discipline and training acquired through military service will better their life.

At the end of the four years of early adolescence, one must realize, and acquire maturity and discipline to become the best version of oneself professionally and personally. The avenues and opportunities opened up by Agniveers for their advancement in civil society after the service period will surely be a great asset in various fields of nation-building. Also, 'Sevanidhi' worth around Rs 11.71 lakh will help the young soldier to pursue his/her future dreams without any financial stress. It will be more beneficial for the youth who are economically backward in society. In the armed forces, 46,000 firemen are recruited through the 'Agnipath' scheme in the first year.

The main allegations levelled by opponents against the scheme are that the recruitment is on a contract basis and that there are no specific ranks. 75 per cent of those entering the workforce will require mandatory retirement after four years. No pension, no gratuity, no other benefits, no recruitment for permanent posts in the army. But the army chiefs are welcoming this plan proposed by the central government. They were the first to comment on military appointments. Army chiefs argue that the Agnipath project is a process to bring in young soldiers to support the security challenges that the country will face in the future and that the project is a necessity when the country is facing so many challenges. Army chiefs also claim that the concept of the project will help to promote nationalism among the youth. Admiral R Harikumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, says that Agneepath is not a hasty project. The government issued the notification after making preparations for the project for two years. The plan is to make the force more youthful. He said that this is a project that will enable the complete development of those coming into the force.

When we evaluate the pros and cons of Agnipath, we can see that the pros are more. Investigations into the high-profile protests against the project in north India revealed that recruiting agencies were behind the riots. The opposition parties were worried about what approach to take in the first phase. In the first few days after the notification came out, the opposition parties took sides after seeing the massive protest by the youth. Even Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Manish Tiwari was seen rallying in favour of the Agnipath project. With the protests quickly subduing and subsiding, the recruitment process of Agniveers to the Army, Navy and Air Forces is progressing smoothly with much youth participation.

Most of the world's military powers are recruiting young men in the name of conscription which is mandatory service in the force. How long can India, surrounded by hostile countries, guard its borders without the help of young blood? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Indian youth to serve their country and contribute to national development and return with a well disciplined and motivated manpower to society. For the armed forces, it will invigorate the youth. 'Josh' and 'Jasba' will also be given effective and popular new faces. Along with this, considering the need of this era, there will be a transformation of the armed force into a technical one. The implementation of this plan is expected to reduce the average age of the Indian Armed Forces by about four to five years. The nation will benefit greatly by inducting a large number of motivated youth who have a deep understanding of good discipline, diligence and focus, have adequate skills and are capable of contributing to other fields. The benefits to the nation, the society and the youth of the nation through a short period of military service are enormous. Its benefits include instilling patriotism, collective action, increasing physical fitness, loyalty to the country, and availability of trained personnel to enhance national security during external and internal threats and natural calamities.

After the age of 17, young men and women who are hired become effective after spending just four years of military service. They are also becoming the most in-demand hands in the field of employment.

It will produce well-disciplined and skilled youth with military ethos in civil society. There is no doubt that Agnipath service will give them the ability and strength to climb the higher steps of life within their remaining youth. Indian people lead a dedicated life as farmers and soldiers. Therefore, it is essential to keep these two groups strong for the progress, security and future of the country. Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' is still relevant for India today.

(The writer is the Chairman of the World Hindu Parliament and a former President of FOKANA)