Army veterans express concern over future of Agniveers

They will not be entitled to gratuity and pension benefits and 75 per cent of them will be demobilised after the completion of four years

Representational image: Twitter

Imran Ahmed Siddiqui   |   TT  |  New Delhi   |   16.06.22  : Several veterans have slammed the government for the “ill-thought” Agnipath scheme under which soldiers will be recruited in the army, the air force and the navy, on a short-term contractual basis with an aim to cut the ballooning salary and pension bill.

Major General Yash Mor (retired) on Wednesday tweeted: “Stop looking at armed forces from economic point of view. Military life and career can’t be evaluated from money saved to the exchequer. Looking to be difficult to implement scheme, with negative connotations in all aspects.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi tweeted: “Agnipath a clever ploy to train a militia at the expense of the exchequer. A short stint in the armed forces and a lifelong commitment to the Sangh. Agnipath SS.”

The scheme was announced on Tuesday by defence minister Rajnath Singh, shortly after it was cleared by the cabinet committee on security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The soldiers employed under the Tour of Duty or Agnipath scheme will be called Agniveers. They will not be entitled to gratuity and pension benefits and 75 per cent of them will be demobilised after the completion of four years. The rest will be retained in the regular cadre, based on merit and organisational requirement.

Major General Mor was very critical of the scheme saying more than anything else, he felt for the lakhs of youngsters who had lost all hope of recruitment in the last two-and-a-half years.

“The government is playing with words as there is no substance. 75 per cent of them will be thrown out after four years. Who are they trying to fool? It is a sad reality that there are no jobs and the youths will be rudderless on the street after four years. The scheme is totally based on saving money,” he said.

He said he was pained at the fate of the 30-40 lakh youths who had been running for the past two-and-a-half years in the hope of getting recruited in the defence forces. Those youths had been waiting as regular recruitments were stopped over the past two years because of the pandemic.

“Those 30-40 lakh people have to start fresh. Many of them are over-age now. As a nation we need to do some soul searching,” he said.

Major General Satbir Singh (retired)  said the scheme will adversely affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the military as it was not in keeping with the erstwhile military tradition and ethos.

A retired brigadier said there was no rationale behind doing way with the age-old established practice in recruiting soldiers. “This Agnipath scheme is going to destroy the single-class regiments like Rajput Regiment, Sikh Regiment, Jat Regiments, Gorkha Rifles etc.”

“This has been done keeping an eye on the general elections in 2024. Four years’ temporary jobs to youths to secure their five years’ job in Parliament,” he said.

Under the new scheme, enrolment will be done through an online centralised system for all three services with specialised rallies and campus interviews from recognised technical institutes such as Industrial Training Institutes, among others. Enrolment will be based on All India All Class basis.

Several veterans have taken to social media to criticice the new recruitment policy and also questioned the professionalism of soldiers with a four-year stint, arguing that it takes at least 7-8 years for an infantry man to become an experienced battle-hardened soldier.

A retired colonel raised doubts on the professionalism of such recruits. “Won’t they get demotivated while in service knowing they will be out after four years with no pensions? It takes 3-4 years for recruits to learn the basic ropes of soldiering. These Agniveers will certainly be averse to risk or bodily harm in the line of duty,” he said.

Major General Birender Dhanoa (retired)  suggested an increase in the service period of new recruits to a minimum of seven years and also to make the retention of those keen to serve longer at least 50 per cent.

“The 25 per cent soldiers proposed to be retained in service after four years (ideally this needs to be over 50 per cent), must get the benefit of time already served under Agnipath towards pay, promotion and pension in their regular service. Don’t exploit the youth,” Dhanoa said in a tweet.

He also came out in support for Major General Mor who was subjected to trolling on social media over his scathing views on Agnipath. Tagging additional directorate general public information, defence ministry, he tweeted; “A pity @adgpi that you have to use your trolls to try cancel out the voice of a veteran @YashMor5 who’s been actively involved in motivating and mentoring youth to join the armed forces. Just because he’s raised pertinent points about Agnipath does not mean he’s anti-national.”