Opinion: Agnipariksha for Agniveers

By Dr Ranjith Reddy ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ reverberated through the country in yesteryears and since then successive governments have been formulating policies and programmes around this slogan. India is an agrarian country and the government of the day has the constitutional mandate to protect and preserve the boundaries of the nation. Whichever government tried […]

By Dr Ranjith Reddy

‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ reverberated through the country in yesteryears and since then successive governments have been formulating policies and programmes around this slogan. India is an agrarian country and the government of the day has the constitutional mandate to protect and preserve the boundaries of the nation. Whichever government tried to tinker with it, faced the wrath of the country, and was forced to take back such measures. The latest example is the farm laws.

---

Rudimentary democratic system of governance and parliamentary ethos expect the government that any big-ticket policy or programme is to be discussed, debated and decided on the floor of Parliament, not at BJP or RSS headquarters or 10 Janpath.

Doing Disservice

Similarly, when it comes to armed forces, the government has to be doubly cautious about whether any of its steps is going to compromise on protecting the boundaries of the country or doing a disservice to national interests. Security forces of the country have to be professional, and to inculcate such professionalism, the personnel have to be given encouragement, motivation and satisfaction through job security, social security, weaponry, skills, etc.

You cannot have an NREGA-type arrangement in the armed forces with soldiers on a contract basis for 3-4 years just to save money through pension, salaries and gratuity!

The new recruitment plan – Agnipath – unveiled by the government upends the decades-old and time-tested process to induct youth into the armed forces. Under the existing system, troops join the forces for 17 years – it could be extended – with pension, medical benefits, gratuity, canteen facilities, etc. But, on the contrary, the government is now making Agniveers to serve for 4 years – 2.5 years to be precise if you take out training and leave period – without pension, medical facilities, gratuity, etc, which impacts professionalism, regimental ethos, fighting spirit and camaraderie of India’s armed forces which has carved its niche among the armies of the world.

The argument of the government that short-term military enlistment exists in many countries is amusing. When any member from an opposition party gives an example of a good scheme or programme of some State and appeals to the government to replicate the same, the standard reply of the government is ‘one-size-fits-all’ does not work in India. But, now, it is singing a different tune – heads I win, tails you lose!

Weak Arguments

The government claims that it has undertaken the exercise for more than two years to formulate Agnipath. I highly doubt that, because it appears to be a cut-and-paste job which does not require two years. (see infographics). The only ‘innovation’ that we have is that these ‘left out’ personnel would be given preference in the selection of paramilitary forces.

Secondly, the argument of the government that it wishes to bring down the average age of the Army from 32 years to 26 is welcome. To make our armed forces tech-savvy and imbibe modern skills is also welcome. But, everybody here on earth is convinced that the government is bringing Agniveers, not for these, but to bring down its pension, salary, gratuity and other liabilities and has a blind eye on the modernisation of our forces.

Shrinking Defence Budget

It is true that 25.6% is going for salaries and 22.8% is going for pensions out of the total Defence Budget of Rs 5.25 lakh crore. It is equally true that India’s Defence expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, has come down from 2.9% in 2001 to 2.7% in 2021.

Does it mean that the government will slim and trim our forces, risk our borders where we have been fighting with Pakistan and China day in, day-out? Certainly not. So, I recall and remind the government of a famous Army maxim, “If it works, don’t fiddle with it.”

We have seen how the announcement of an ill-thought-out Agnipath has resulted in disappointment, dissatisfaction and disillusionment and the fear of unemployment is palpable in the minds of unemployed youth. The reason for such disappointment is because there has always been high demand to join the armed forces and equally for government jobs, but if you offer them ‘contract’ jobs, it hurts them, and it hurt them very badly. This has resulted in immediate violent outbursts in nearly 10 States.

It is not just aspirants, but ex-servicemen, civil society, public representatives and even ruling party members who are flabbergasted and voicing extreme concern on how the government is rushing to implement it in the coming 90 days! We have seen the fury of people and how it resulted in damaging life and property during the last few days. There is an apprehension in the minds of youngsters that they would never get a government job in their life. The government has failed to sense this sensitivity. A boy died in Secunderabad in police firing and there are a few other instances where the youth have died in protests. Everybody is perplexed as to why the government is rushing without even starting it on a pilot basis.

New Regiments

We have regiments; we have regimental ethos and there are demands for creating new regiments. They may be colonial, but it inculcates regimental ethos, affiliation and discipline.

There is a long-pending demand for creating the Telangana Infantry Regiment to honour the contribution of the people of Telangana to the nation. Not just this, Hyderabad and Secunderabad have a long history of association with the Indian Army. Secunderabad is one of the largest cantonments in the country.

If one looks into the history, there used to be Hyderabad Infantry Regiment under the British Indian Army. It was formed at the end of World War I and played an important role in World War II. But, for reasons best known to the union government, it was disbanded after Independence. So, there is also a need to create Telangana Regiment.

It is unacceptable to introduce a contract system even in patriotism. If it is done, it is as good as making armed forces personnel contract workers! It is now before the government to decide whether it wants to give ‘vardi’ to our young educated youth or ‘arthi’ in the name of ‘Agnipath.’ So, the prudent move would be to keep Agnipath in abeyance, take it back to the drawing board – Parliament – discuss, debate and decide.