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New Delhi – India saw a third consecutive day of deadly protests Friday over controversial new military recruitment plans announced by the government. At least one person has died and dozens have been injured in the clashes, which have hit seven of India’s 28 states.
Large groups of angry protesters vandalized train stations, setting several trains on fire, blocked roads and clashed with police. One man was killed when police allegedly opened fire with live ammunition to disperse a violent protest at the Secunderabad Railway Station in southern state of Telangana.
Authorities in the Delhi suburb of Gurugram announced a complete ban on public gatherings to prevent protests breaking out there. In the eastern state of Bihar, where the protests started on Wednesday, angry youth attacked the houses of the government’s Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi and Sanjay Jaiswal, the political head of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bettiah district.
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Protesters have demanded a rollback of the new army recruitment scheme dubbed Agnipath, which means “path of fire” in Hindi. It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Tuesday. Under the program, the government said it planned to hire 46,000 more service members for the army, air force, and navy every year between the ages of 17.5 and 21 years, but the contracts are only for a fixed term of four years. Only 25% of those troops will be retained after the four years, and the rest will be discharged without any pension or other benefits under the program.
Under the current recruitment program, forces are hired from a wider age group and signed to 15-year contracts, with pensions and other employment benefits.
The protesters say they’re unhappy with the changes, particularly the short length of service. Among those demonstrating are young Indians who had been preparing for their recruitment exams, but are now ineligible because of the tightened age criteria.
As the protests escalated, the government announced late Thursday that — for this year only — candidates up to the age of 23 will be eligible. The concession failed to quell the protests.
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The new recruitment policy is aimed at cutting the Indian military’s expenditure on salaries and pensions to free up funds to modernize the forces. Modi’s defense minister said it would “enhance the combat potential of the Armed Forces, with [a] younger profile and technologically adept soldiers.”
But several veterans and opposition parties have criticized the plan, saying it could weaken the core of the army and impact national security at a time when India is weathering tense border relations with neighbors China and Pakistan.
“It’s a foolish move, one that could affect the efficiency of the security forces,” retired Indian Major General Sheonan Singh told CBS News partner network BBC News. “Saving money is good, but it should not be done at the cost of defense forces. If you go to war with an experienced soldier, will a person with four years of training be able to replace him on his death? These things don’t work like this.”
Critics have also voiced concern over the fate of thousands of young Indians who would be laid off every year, after four years of service, and left to look for jobs in an already strained labor market.
Other veterans have come out to back the reforms, however.
India’s military is a 1.4 million-strong force that employs about 60,000 new service members every year, making it one of the biggest employers in the face of rising unemployment. New hiring had been suspended for the past three years, due to the coronavirus pandemic.