KOLKATA: Veteran generals and air commanders have mixed opinions on the protests now rocking parts of the country against the recently launched 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme for the armed forces.
While some feel it is an expression of the youths' apprehension regarding their future, others say it may have been orchestrated.
The government announced the scheme on Tuesday to recruit soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force on a contract for four years without pension benefits.
It said that Agnipath will bring in fitter and younger troops to tackle future security challenges facing the nation.
However, job aspirants in the forces have been demonstrating in several states, putting up blockades on rail tracks and highways.
Army veteran, Lt Gen (retd) J R Mukherjee, said that the youths may have been protesting out of apprehension about their future as to what will happen when they get out of the forces after four years.
According to the Agnipath scheme, 25 per cent of the recruits every year will be retained in the forces while the rest 75 per cent will be back to civilian life after completion of the four-year contract term.
Speaking to PTI over the phone, Mukherjee said that he does not "think well of it" and termed the introduction of the Agnipath scheme as a bad decision.
"You are turning the Indian young men into cannon fodder," he said, questioning how they can be trained in a short period of time when their service is of four years only.
Air Chief Marshal (retd) Arup Raha, however, said that the recruitment process starting from 17 and a half years will bring down the age profile of the Armed Forces by four to five years and it will be particularly beneficial for the Army.
Raha said that the success of the scheme will depend on a sound exit policy wherein those who go out after four years get properly inducted into jobs in the government or private sector.
"They should be absorbed into the civil life, in the industry, government agencies, CRPF or the CAPF and the policy must be very clear," he said.
Raha said that there may be apprehensions about proficiency loss or operational preparedness owing to induction on a short-term basis but that can be overcome with good leadership.
"You continue to train and motivate them and you will get results. It will work provided they have good leadership," he said.
Raha, a former chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, said that he believes that the new way of recruitment is going to work.
"The government has to play a very important role in the exit policy and these people are to be assured of a good career after the four-year period," he said, adding that any scheme is as good as its implementation.
The protests in Bihar and some other states appear to be slightly orchestrated, he said claiming that rationalisation of the recruitments across the country in the Agnipath programme may have aroused a feeling among some youths that their prospects would be adversely affected.
Raha said that about one-third of the recruitments in the Army have till now been from three or four states.
Around 36,000 contract soldiers coming out every year into civilian life must get proper avenues of getting jobs to secure their future, he said.
Major General (retd) Arun Roye, who is part of the think tank CENERS-K, said that the Agnipath scheme should have come as a pilot project to check what is working and what is not and then take a call on implementing it.
Stating that the protests that even turned violent in some places are owing to insecurity among the youths who wish to join the forces as a lifetime career.
"These contractual recruits should be first taken in the services group like ordnance, Army Services Corps and see how it works out," he said.
He said that if successful, then only they may be inducted into the combat support arm which deals with communication, road making and finally into the combat units like infantry.
Roye said that the homogeneity built over a long period in a unit cannot be done in a few years.
Protests continue across India
Trains were set afire and blocked, and public vehicles attacked as protests over 'Agnipath' swept across several places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana on Thursday amid partisan political voices in favour and against the new recruitment scheme for the defence forces that has set off a firestorm.
Protests over the Centre's newly introduced 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in armed forces left Bihar in the throes of anarchy on Thursday as hordes of aspirants hit the streets, vandalising buildings and vehicles, storming railway stations and setting fire to train coaches.
Simmering discontent in Bihar, where agitation over the scheme was held in a handful of districts a day ago, seemed to have spread like a wildfire to the major part of the state, as infuriated agitators went on the rampage, seeking immediate rollback of 'Agnipath' -- under which hiring has been proposed for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement, for at least 75 per cent of the personnel, without any pension benefits.
Police fired teargas shells and charged baton to disperse the angry demonstrators who blocked railway tracks, threw burning tyres on roads and performed push-ups and other drills on the streets as a mark of protest against the recruitment process.
"So far we have arrested 125 people in connection with the violence. Two dozen FIRs have been registered. At least 16 police personnel have been injured across the state in clashes with the protesters," Sanjay Singh, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), told PTI.
He said, "We are conducting further investigations and arrest of more people is likely."
The BJP, which rules the Centre, appeared to have taken a bit of the heat.
The house of one of its MLAs was vandalised at Chhapra, while another female legislator was hurt in a stone-pelting incident at Nawada, where the party office was also torched.
"The party office is situated at some distance from the town. Attack on the premises by a mob is certainly an act of a conspiracy. Thankfully, the building was locked with nobody inside. The administration has been caught napping," alleged Sanjay Kumar Munna, the district BJP chief of Nawada.
In Nawada town, the party's MLA from Warisaliganj constituency, Aruna Devi, was travelling to the district court premises in connection with a case.
Her car was mobbed by the protesters near a railway crossing and pelted with stones.
The legislator, her driver, two security personnel and two personal staff members suffered injuries in the incident.
"They were visibly provoked to see the party flag attached to my car which was ripped apart by the attackers," recalled the MLA.
The party flag met a similar fate in Chhapra, at the house of local MLA C N Gupta, where protesters also vandalised a portion of the premises.
No occupant of the house was hurt.
It was not known whether the MLA was inside when the house was attacked.
Former deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi came out with a statement deploring the attacks on his party colleagues and its office in Nawada and also urging the Nitish Kumar government in the state to take steps to allay the anxieties triggered by the introduction of contractual hiring in armed forces.
"Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that Agniveers (army personnel discharged after four years of service) will be given preference in CRPF etc. Some states have made similar promises with regard to employment in police. Bihar should consider doing the same," Modi, now a Rajya Sabha MP, pleaded.
However, the chief minister's JD(U) seemed unimpressed.
The party's national president, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, came out with an impassioned tweet urging the Centre to do an "avilamb punarvichaar" (a rethink without delay) on the scheme which has "given rise to fears and anxieties in the minds of a large number of youths in Bihar and other parts of the country".
The protests also caused massive disruption of rail traffic.
According to the East Central Railway zone headquartered in Hajipur, seven passenger trains had to be cancelled because of the disturbances while many others were either short-terminated or run via alternate routes.
"Railway traffic had been disrupted since 8 am. Normalcy was restored by 1530 hours," said the ECR in a statement.
Besides staging demonstrations on railway tracks in over a dozen districts, the protesters set fire to coaches in Chhapra and Bhabhua while broken window panes of several trains bore the testimony of the vandalism on display.
Cities like Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Jehanabad, Buxar, Katihar and Gaya witnessed angry protests with young men burning tyres on roads to disrupt traffic and staging marches demanding a rollback of the scheme.
The unrest has provided the opposition in the state with fresh ammunition.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav attacked the Centre over the move on social media.
His alliance partner, CPI(M)'s student and youth wings, came out with a statement announcing a statewide agitation on Friday.
Over 34 trains were cancelled and eight more partially cancelled due to the protests and delays in the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams, railway sources said in New Delhi.
They said 72 trains were also running late due to the agitation.
At Nangloi in the national capital, protesters blocked the railway track and raised slogans against the scheme.
As violent protests raged in multiple states, the government issued a clarification, asserting that the new model will not only bring in fresh capabilities to the armed forces but also open up avenues for youth in the private sector and help them become entrepreneurs with the aid of the severance package they will be entitled to on retirement.
Apart from issuing a 'Myth vs Facts' document to address the concerns raised about the scheme, the government's information dissemination arm issued a series of social media posts in its support.
"The scheme will bring in new dynamism to the armed forces. It will help the forces bring in new capabilities and take advantage of the technical skills and fresh thinking of the youths. It will allow the youths to serve the nation," the Press Information Bureau said in a Facebook post.
Referring to the financial package of around Rs 11.71 lakh to be given to each of the recruits at the end of the four-year tenure from the 'Seva Nidhi Package', it said it will provide financial independence to the youth and even help them venture into entrepreneurship.
On the criticism that the short tenure of 'Agniveers', the defence personnel recruited under the new system, will harm the effectiveness of the armed forces, government sources said such systems exist in several countries, and the one introduced in India is already "tested out and considered best practice for an agile army".
The numbers of 'Agniveers' to be recruited in the first year would only make up three per cent of the armed forces, they said, adding their performance will be tested before re-induction into the army after four years.
"Hence Army will get them tested and tried personnel for supervisory ranks," they said.
The sources said most armies across the world depend on their youth and the new scheme will bring about a right mix of "50 per cent-50 per cent" youth and experience in the supervisory ranks in the long run.
Political parties, predictably, reacted along partisan lines with the Opposition stepping up its attack on the government and demanding that the scheme be scrapped.
"No rank, no pension, no direct recruitment for 2 years, no stable future after four years, no respect shown by the government for the army," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Listen to the voice of unemployed youths of the country, don't take 'agnipareeksha' of their patience by making them walk on 'Agnipath', Mr. prime minister," the former Congress chief said.
In a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said there are many dreams for the future in the eyes of those preparing for recruitment in the armed forces such as serving the country and their parents.
"What will the new army recruitment scheme give them? After 4 years, no job guarantee, no pension facility = no rank, no pension. @narendramodi ji don't crush the dreams of the youth," she said.
The Left parties demanded that the scheme be withdrawn and taken up in Parliament for discussion, alleging that it does a "disservice" to India's national interests.
"The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly disapproves the 'Agnipath' scheme that does disservice to India's national interests. Professional armed forces cannot be raised by recruiting 'soldiers on contract' for a period of four years. This scheme, to save pension money, severely compromises the quality and efficiency of our professional armed forces," CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said in a tweet.
CPI general secretary D Raja tweeted, "Finding jobs has become literally a 'Path of Fire' under Modi. Govt is trying to hoodwink the restive youth by #AgnipathScheme. It'll make our army contract based & jeopardise the future of our youth. It should be withdrawn immediately! Youth deserve proper, secure jobs!"
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP leader Mayawati and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also voiced displeasure over the scheme which the government insists is "transformative".
There was the lone voice of disapproval from the BJP--MP Varun Gandhi-- who said the new reform will give rise to more disaffection among the youth.
In a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he said the young population has shared their questions and doubts with him about the radical changes in the recruitment process which also proposes that the 75 per cent of the recruits will retire after four years of service without pension.
However, Union minister and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey urged the youth protesting against the Agnipath scheme to stop their agitation and keep away from those inciting them, as he asserted that the initiative is in their interest and that of the armed forces and the country.
Choubey, a senior party leader from Bihar where protests started first on Wednesday, also claimed that some people are using students for their own political gains.
In a statement, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi always thinks and works for the welfare of the youth and the nation.
"We assure you that this programme is a constructive step to bring in long-term positive results. Lakhs of youngsters will not only benefit from this but nationalistic sentiments within them will also be strengthened," Choubey said.
Urging youngsters to not get "deceived", Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the scheme will give a "new dimension" to their life.
"Agneepath Yojana' will give a new dimension to your life as well as give a golden base to the future. Don't be deceived. Our 'Agniveer', determined to serve Mother Bharati, will be an invaluable fund of the nation and @UPGovt will give preference to Agniveers in police and other services, " tweeted Adityanath in Hindi.
His Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "Uttarakhand's association with the armed forces is well known.
The history of the country's armed forces is full of the stories of the valour of soldiers from our state which is also called sainyabhoomi (the land of soldiers).
"Almost every family in Uttarakhand has someone in the armed forces. The Agnipath yojana is a good opportunity for the youth," he told a press conference.
However, former Punjab chief minister and BJP ally Amarinder Singh struck a note of caution and suggested a rethink on the Agnipath scheme.
In a statement, he wondered why the government needed to make such "radical changes" in the recruitment policy, which has been working "so well for the country for so many years".
"Hiring soldiers for four years, with effective service of three years, is not at all militarily a good idea," said Amarinder Singh, a former Army captain whose party Punjab Lok Congress is an ally of the BJP in Punjab.
Hundreds of Army aspirants took to the streets of Ranchi on Thursday in protest against the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term contractual employment in the defence forces as soldiers.
Defying the prohibitory order imposed in some areas here following a violent protest on June 10, the armed forces aspirants who came from different parts of the state, assembled at the Army recruitment office on Main Road and shouted slogans demanding a rollback of the decision.
However, police officers arrived at the spot and persuaded the youngsters to withdraw their protest from the spot.
After police persuasion, the job aspirants moved towards Ranchi railway station.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) stopped the protestors from entering the railway station and they were not allowed to demonstrate.
An aspirant told media persons, "I had cleared my medical and physical tests for Army recruitment two years ago and was waiting for the written examination, which was pending due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, we are being told that all examinations will be conducted under the new scheme. It means, we lost two valuable years."
The Agnipath scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the armed forces for a period of four years.
People to be selected under the scheme will be known as Agniveers.
Another protestor said, "After four years, only 25 per cent of the Agniveers will be enrolled in the regular cadre of the armed forces. If I am not retained, where will I find another job? It might destroy my future."
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) took out a rally on Thursday against the scheme, which they said is misleading the country's youngsters.
The protesters raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre.
The IYC activists said they were marching from Kerala House to Jantar Mantar but were stopped by police.
Another group of people said they were staging a peaceful protest at Connaught Place but were detained by police.
They also accused the police of using force against them.
Police said six people were detained for staging protests without permission.
A senior police officer said there were "five to six" people who came to Connaught Place to protest against the "Agnipath" scheme.
"They applied for permission to take out a march around 6.30 pm, but were denied. We tried to persuade them, saying since they do not have permission, they cannot take out a march. As they still tried to take out a march, they were detained around 7.30 pm and taken to the Mandir Marg police station," the officer said.
Two gates of the Rajiv Chowk metro station were briefly closed.
"Due to security reasons, Gate No.5 and 6 are closed at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. All other gates are operational," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a tweet.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal has announced protests at all district headquarters in Uttar Pradesh against the Agnipath scheme at 11 am on Saturday.
The RLD on Thursday also announced a campaign named 'Yuva Panchayat' in support of the youth in western Uttar Pradesh in the coming days to pressure the government to withdraw the new initiative.
Party chief Jayant Chaudhary made the 'Yuva Panchayat' campaign announcement on social media, even as violent protests against Agnipath erupted in various parts of the state on Thursday.
"Maafi Veer Adarsh, Jumla Veer Pracharak, Bhashan Veer Neta - Do not make the Indian Armed Forces 'Agnivir'," Chaudhary said in a cryptic tweet in Hindi.
The Yuva Panchayat will kick-off on June 28 from Shamli and similar youth congregations will be held in Mathura, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Moradabad, Aligarh, Agra, Ghaziabad and will be culminated in Baghpat on July 16, according to the party's schedule.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said loopholes in a government scheme, if any, can be removed to ensure that everyone benefits out of it.
"Lacuna, if any, can be removed to ensure that the scheme is beneficial to all," Pawar told reporters in Pune while responding to a query on the protests.
Protests over the Agnipath scheme erupted in at least six districts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, with slogan-shouting young men blocking roads and pelting stones.
The protesters hurled stones at buses in Aligarh and Agra.
There were protests also in Bulandshahr, Mathura, Firozabad and Ballia districts over the new recruitment scheme for defence services, officials said.
Authorities stopped trains at Ballia and the neighbouring districts as a precautionary measure.
It also drew sharp criticism from rival party leaders, including former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.
In Aligarh, the youths pelted stones at a passenger bus on the highway connecting the district to Ghaziabad.
While some window panes of the bus were broken, no passenger was injured in the incident, officials said.
Vehicular traffic in Aligarh was affected for over two hours.
Senior police officers persuaded the protesters to vacate the highway and assured them that their demands would be conveyed to the authorities concerned.
Superintendent of Police (city) Kuldeep Singh later told the media that the protesters had been dispersed and normal road traffic restored on the national highway.
In Agra, the aspirants not only pelted stones at a government bus in Bah, but they also blocked NH-2, the Agra-Jaipur highway and MG Road, sources said.
However, none was injured in the protests, they added.
A similar protest was reported from a village under Mahua Khera police station limits.
"This scheme will affect the future of those candidates who want to serve the nation for 10 years and not just for four years," a protester requesting anonymity said.
Another student Satyaprakash demanded that the written exam for vacancies announced last year be conducted.
Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Singh told reporters that SP (city) and other police personnel reached the spot and the situation is under control.
The aspirants have been asked to place their demands peacefully, he said.
In Mathura, protesters blocked the traffic on the Agra-Delhi route, paralysing traffic between Agra and Mathura and Mathura and Gwalior link road for over two hours.
The traffic was cleared following persuasion by police officials.
In the Firozabad district, a group of youths staged a protest against the scheme in the Shikohabad area.
Protests were held in Bulandhshar, Firozabad and Ballia, too, but the candidates dispersed after the district administration and police officers spoke to them and assured them that their demands will be conveyed to the authorities concerned.
In Ballia and neighbouring districts, the movement of some trains was affected due to the protests, an official said.
Some passenger trains were affected due to the protest, an official said.
Train 12562 Swatantrata Sainani Express chugging from Delhi to Jai Nagar on the Varanasi-Chhapra rail section was halted at Ballia Railway Station at 10.47 am, North Eastern Railways' Public Relations Officer Ashok Kumar said.
Train 14006 Lichchavi Express was halted at Bhatni railway station at 10.25 am and train 15054 Lucknow Chhapra Express at Ghazipur railway station at 11.25 am.
This was done as a precautionary measure in the wake of protests in Ballia and some districts of Bihar neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, he said.
Attaching a video of the protesters demanding the withdrawal of the scheme, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav slammed the "misuse of force" on the "future armed forces of the country" alleging that the BJP was "betraying the country and patriotic youth by contractualising the armed forces".
"The proclamation of Bharat Mata must not be a false pretence but a symbol of true patriotism," he tweeted.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati termed the scheme "unfair towards rural youth".
In a series of tweets, she said that the scheme will add to the woes of the people already beset with inflation and poverty.
Protests broke out against the newly-unveiled Agnipath scheme of the Union government for recruitment in the defence forces in Gwalior and Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, police said.
As protesters pelted stones and set shops on fire near a railway station in Gwalior, train operations were affected for some time.
In Indore, nearly 150 youths protested against the Agnipath scheme.
A group of young men blocked a road at a busy intersection in Gwalior's Gola Ka Mandir area and burned an effigy, said Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi.
The protesters then entered the Birla Nagar railway station and damaged some benches and a few shops, he said.
They later moved towards Gwalior station, but as police were present in strength there, they could not do much damage, the SP said.
The protesters pelted stones at a train and then began to gather in Padav area, he added.
Police used baton-charge and fired tear-gas shells, and now the situation was under control, the SP said.
Nobody was injured during the protests, and police will identify those who indulged in violence from video footage, Sanghi said.
In Indore, nearly 150 young men, holding the tricolour in their hands, staged a protest at Marimata Square, demanding rollback of the Agnipath scheme.
Later they submitted a memorandum of their demand to city officials.
"A member of the Lok Sabha, by being MP for five years, is eligible for life-long pension, but under the Agnipath scheme there is no such provision for those joining the Army," said one of the protesters."
Protesters torched government vehicles, pelted stones at the deputy commissioner's home and left 17 policemen injured in Palwal as protests erupted in six Haryana districts.
The authorities imposed prohibitory orders and suspended mobile internet services in Palwal to stop the spread of rumours through social media platforms.
Protests also took place in Gurugram, Rewari, Charkhi Dadri, Hisar and Rohtak.
Palwal DSP (Headquarters) Anil Kumar said over 20 youths have been rounded up.
An SIT has also been constituted to investigate the violence.
The DSP said five government vehicles were set on fire by the protesters while stones were thrown at the residence of the Palwal deputy commissioner.
The deputy commissioner wasn't there at the time of the incident, he said.
Palwal SP Mukesh Malhotra said two SHOs and 15 other cops were seriously injured in the violence while five police vehicles were burnt.
He said some "anti-social" elements joined the protesters, creating a law and order situation.
"They tried to break open the gate of the DC's residence and even snatched away the gun of a security personal," the SP said, adding police used force and resorted to cane charge and tear gas to disperse them.
The protesters set three police vehicles on fire and damaged a media centre.
Agra Chowk on National Highway-19 was also blocked.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in Palwal.
A statement said the government ordered the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in the district for next 24 hours starting 4 pm on Thursday.
The DSP said now the situation is under control.
Meanwhile, hundreds of young people took to the streets in Gurugram and Rewari with protesters blocking highways.
Protests were also held in Charkhi Dadri, Hisar and Rohtak districts.
In Gurugram's Bilaspur and Sidhrawali, protesters laid a virtual seize to bus stands and roads, and held a protest at Bilaspur Chowk, crippling traffic on the Gurugram-Jaipur highway.
Heavy police force was rushed to these spots.
"The traffic has been diverted at Bilaspur Chowk (NH-48). All commuters using this route are requested to take alternative routes," the Gurugram traffic police said in an advisory.
"Our traffic officials are on the job and ensuring that there is no major congestion. Diversions have been made as and where required," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravinder Singh Tomar said.
Meanwhile, the protest at Hodal came to end after two hours of the blockade.
Ex-serviceman and senior Congress leader Ajay Yadav in a statement said the Centre's scheme aims to demean the spirit of forces and cut down on benefits being given to Army jawans.
"The Army is not a profession but passion and life. Our districts like Rewari send their sons to serve the nation every year and this demeans their passion. Over four lakh posts are vacant in the Army and this cheap attempt to compensate them with small contract employment is unacceptable," Yadav said.
The Centre on Tuesday unveiled the ambitious scheme for recruitment of the youth aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis.
The youth recruited under the scheme will be known as 'Agniveers'.
After the completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from each specific batch will be offered regular service.
Haryana districts like Rewari, Charkhi Dadri, Gurugram and Palwal send sizeable number of youth to the defence forces.