July 5th,2022, the Indian Air Force claimed that the online registration process conducted by “Agnipath Recruitment Scheme” has been completed. Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received, representing a bountiful harvest.
“Agnipath” is a new recruitment policy introduced by Indian Ministry of Defence in mid-June. The Indian recruitment policy in the past is inherited from the British colonial era, it can provide good ” jobs”, even shortcuts to achieve “class-jump” for a large number of Indian youth. At the same time, India, such a developing country, has beared high labor costs for the old recruitment scheme. And the tradition of recruiting troops for certain castes, religions, and regions in some infantry regiments also created communities of interests, who belong to “privileged class” in conscription. They quarreled over the new recruitment policy.
“Agnipath” subverted the long-term military service system and the welfare system in relate. It sparked a rage across most of India. Moving trains were set ablaze, MPs’ offices smashed and a 19-year-old protester shot dead……On June 19, 2022, the spokesman for the East Central Railway (ECR) said about Rs 700 crore of property had been damaged. The Bihar government also had to order the “disconnection of Internet” in 18 districts in the state.

From “life-long job” to “casual labor”
“This recruitment had been stopped for 2 years during the covid-19 into the armed forces.” Dr. D.P.K. Pillay is a retired colonel in Indian army, he has serviced in the Indian Army for 29 years. He said: “The armed forces represents a place in our country where people don’t have reservations permitted under the law. And anyone could compete for it, and it is based purely on merit.” However, the“Agnipath” shatters the dreams of many young people at the bottom.
Since 1960s to 1970s, the minimum service period of the Indian army has been adjusted to 17 years, all soldiers can enjoy lifelong pensions, medical insurance and other benefits after they are discharged. The “Agnipath” today clearly states that young men drafted into the army will serve as “Agniveers” for four years. After this period, only 25% of the “Agniveers” will remain in the army through selection to become regular cadre and enjoy the army welfare system. The last three quarters will receive a one-time severance package and return society to look for a job.
What’s more, according to the Indian Ministry of Defense, from 2015 to 2020, the Army employed more than 50,000 soldiers per year. In 2019-2020, this number is even over 80,000. But according to the “Agnipath” scheme, the army will recruit only 46,500 people in total.
The 17-year scheme reduced to 4 years, the scope of benefits narrowed, and the number of conscripts reduced sharply, such changes have ignited the anger of people. Protests erupted in many states shortly after the policy was announced and spiraled out of control.

“burden reducing” and “exchange transfusion” of Indian army
Why did the conscription need to be reformed?
“India has previously adopted a “mercenary system”, appealing soldiers by high wages and high benefits. For ordinary soldiers, life in the military is superior and guaranteed for life, and can even support a whole family. However, the following disadvantages are that the soldiers are generally older, their combat capability is worrying, the labor costs increase, and the government’s finance is overwhelmed.” Prof. Zhang Jiadong, director of The Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, said: “If the conscription reform in India be successful this time, it would lower the average age of soldiers and save the labor cost. The Indian military can also spend more money on equipment updating and military technology researching.”
To a certain extent, the conscription reform this time is also a forced move under the financial pressure of the Indian government.
“Among the major army powers over the world, the Indian Army has a very low proportion of officers.” Yang Zhen, deputy director of the Northeast Asia Research Center of the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said that the low ratio of officers in the Indian army is mainly due to economic considerations. After changing to the “volunteer military system”, the cost saved can solve the serious problem of the shortage of officers. An armed force with a sufficient number of officers will have a unique advantage in combat effectiveness.
However, while the military was “reducing the burden”, the burden was shifted to retired soldiers. After the economic slowdown caused by the covid-19 epidemic, India, which has a huge population of 1.4 billion, has the unemployment rate reported by the government in double digits.
“The employment of retired soldiers is related to a country’s economic environment. If the economy is booming and the employment rate of young people is high, this problem will be solved naturally. On the contrary, when employment is insufficient, this problem is particularly prominent.” Zhang Jiadong said, judging from the current situation, many countries will take measures such as employment training for veterans, payment of settlement allowances, and encouraging corporate employment of veterans.
June 17, Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy explaining the training process at a press conference, stated that people selected as “Agniveers” would be given training for the “skills of drivers, washermen, barbers, electricians and other professionals”.
However, the above-mentioned job training has been implemented in the Indian army before, and the preferential employment policies of governments at different levels for retired soldiers have also been exposed as “inadequate implementation”.

Whose cheese moved?
Compared with India’s huge population of 1.4 billion, the reform of conscription system has affected less than one thousandth of the population. Many did not expect that a policy affecting a minority would lead to such widespread protests.
“The anguish of one who want to be an aspiring soldier was not something that would have manifested as violence. The violence was perpetrated by people who wanted to take advantage of them against the scheme.” Why is there such a large-scale protest? Pillay felt that in addition to the real emotional expressions of the people, there are some people with “ulterior motives”.
Yang Zhen said that a large number of young people in India toke joining the army as an important way, or even the only way, to achieve “class-jump”. But “Agnipath” dashed their hopes.
On the other hand, the officer groups are also very dissatisfied with this reform, because it will likely lead to the dilution of the officer groups and the loss of some of the privileges they used to have.
The modern Indian army is mainly inherited from the British Indian Army infantry regiment of the colonial era. For a long time, the conscription had the imprint of “caste” and “region”.
The “Agnipath” scheme overturned this tradition, recruiting troops directly from the whole country of India. “The reform of the conscription system in India has sparked such large-scale protests. It is unlikely that there is no interest group promoting it, but the main motivation is that the reform has moved the cheese of many people.” Yang Zhen said.

“The heavy chariot can only take small steps”
The heavy chariot has hit the road, but the opposition to the reform has not subsided, whether it is from the people or the political arena. In some parts of India, there are still occasional small-scale protests.
The Farm Bills introduced by the Modi government in 2020 have also been deeply opposed and eventually “broken”. For many, this is a victory for democracy. But Dr. Pillay said that the agricultural law actually increased farmers’ income, eliminated middlemen, and also allowed them to engage in contract farming and other agreements, “I think these laws very, very important, and they were very timely. But the laws were eventually withdrawn, and the poor farmers remained poor.”
At present, there are many political parties in the Indian political arena, and the threshold for participation in politics is quite low. As Dr. Pillay said, “oppositions always take an advantage whether those orders are good or bad……so they would like to challenge them（the ruling government）.”
“In recent years, the Modi government has implemented a lot of domestic reforms, but due to India’s complex national conditions, political system and other reasons, there are many obstacles, and it can only take small steps.” Zhang Jiadong said.

Translator：Edward Hsin