NEW DELHI: Indian authorities canceled more than 500 train services on Monday as youths in the country called for a nationwide shutdown in protest against a new military recruitment plan that they say will affect their future and career prospects in the armed forces.
With some 1.4 million personnel, India has one of the world’s largest armed forces, as soldiers are recruited by the army, navy and air force separately. Members typically serve for a period of up to 20 years, after which they are eligible for a pension.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government unveiled a new system last week, called Agnipath (meaning “path of fire” in Hindi), through which a total of 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year on four-year contracts, with only a quarter expected to be kept on at the end of that term for permanent commission.
The shorter contracts for young prospects sparked violent protests in several Indian states, which have seen at least one person killed. Thousands have blocked railway tracks and roads and burnt tires and destroyed public property, as demonstrations continued on Monday demanding the new hiring plan be rolled back.
“I have been preparing to join the air force for the last one and a half years but the new recruitment drive has demotivated me,” 19-year-old protester Radha Krishan, from the eastern state of Bihar, told Arab News.
Several opposition parties have given their support to the protests, as the government tried to allay the protesters’ concerns, including by adjusting parts of the plan to offer more soldiers federal and state government jobs after their service.
“We demand its withdrawal. We demand that there should be a discussion on Agnipath in parliament,” Ajay Maken, spokesperson for the main opposition Congress party, told reporters on Monday.
Amid the protests, the government announced on Sunday that enrollment under the new recruitment scheme would begin in July.
The plan comes as India seeks to trim its $76 billion military expenditure, the third highest in the world, most of which goes on the payment of wages and pensions.
“The real compulsion for the government to bring in this scheme is its inability to bear the pension burden or pension obligation of the armed forces,” political analyst Sudheendra Kulkarni told Arab News.
It is the first time in eight years of Modi’s leadership that young people have taken to the streets to protest against the government, Kulkarni said, which “showed the magnitude of the unemployment problem in India.”
Major Gen. Yash Mor, a retired Indian army officer, doubted the new recruitment scheme would be successful, adding that the new plan would leave many without dignity or social security when they lose their jobs.
“Who would join if it is only for four years, and then they are promising many things?” Mor told Arab News. “I wish they will come true but still a large number will be left without any job.”
