What started with murmurs of dissent from the military veterans, have now boiled into a full scale protests which has spilled on the streets.
First the CDC appointment criteria and now the Agnipath recruitment scheme, the Central government seems to be in a mood to play with fire.
After the first military failure in 1962, due to Governments’ faulty policies and utter neglect shown to army, tryst of the Indian Defence forces did not have to look back. It showed her increasing military strength since 1965 Indo-Pak war, followed by iconic victory in 1971 when 93 thousand Pak solders were taken prisoners, compared higher than German blitzkrieg, 1987 Operation Pawan when Indian Army resettled Sri Lankan President JR Jawavardhane on his saddle at the cost of their own blood, 1999 higher altitude Kargil War and last but not the least, Galwan Valley misadventure by China where 20 brave hearts, who were from different parts of the country, laid down their lives, while fighting barehanded against well prepared PLA, to save the honour of the country. How did it happen? It happened due to the regimental honour earned over more than two hundred years of regimental history created by Indian soldiers by shedding their blood. Mr Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during Second World War, 1939 to 1945 and who did not have much of a love lost for Indian people, himself appreciated and acknowledged in the British parliament, the part played by the Indian soldiers in winning two World Wars for which India had no personal stake. That was all because of indomitable regimental spirit for keeping the honour of regimental tradition as well as of the country. In many regiments, then and now, soldiers have served generations after generations. They took pride to serve in father’s and forefather’s battalions and regiments to become someone. From the states of central, west and north-east India year after year-marking at least one child to take up military service is a family tradition and pride.
After hundreds of year we are going to break that unique tradition by introducing an uncanny name and recruiting system called ‘Agnipath’ with which we are going to break that age-old value based tradition to make the army what it is, by one stroke.
In this system eventually 75% of the solders will leave after 4 years of service!! That means every fourth year a mass of soldiers will leave the battalion taking away whatever little knowledge and experience these young soldiers gained.
Now the question comes, in one way these soldiers emptied the strength and skill of the army units at the same time the Government creating a high numbers of gullible youth who will be out in the streets with reasonable amount of money with no training or knowledge how to gainfully utilize that money to their interest.
In 99 per cent of the cases, considering their age, knowledge and exposure, these discharged soldiers will lose their well-earned money in wrong application and having once tasted money and power of gun, may get involved to earn same standard of money in a dubious way.
These ex-honourable soldiers may unwittingly become a cause of considerable threat to the country’s unity. At this moment, there doesn’t seem to be any professional option in near future which could be made available for these laid-out soldiers to get suitable alternatives.
We, perhaps, in the long run, are breaking the strength of the country and fabric and skill of the Indian Army in one stroke. Government cannot put the security of the country at stake just to save money in terms of pension, which it often blames for not being able to modernise the armed forces.
