Agnipath, the
Indian government’s new scheme to recruit soldiers, has triggered a wave of
protests across the country since last week. On Monday, several protesting
groups have given a call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ (nationwide strike). The strike
call gathers significance at a time protestors have been growing violent torching
trains and blocking railway tracks.

The strike was
called by protestors after service chiefs of the armed forces – army, navy and
air force – said there were no plans to roll back the Agnipath scheme. They
added that the scheme had been in the works for some time, but was delayed due
to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 10 states are on alert over the ‘Bharat
Bandh’ call.

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In Jharkhand, the
government has decided to keep schools closed on Monday on account of the
protests. Punjab is on alert after violent protests broke out in Ludhiana.
Police are on alert on the Haryana borders around Delhi as well as Noida. In
Noida, Section 144 has been imposed. Nearly 400 trains have been affected on
account of the protests over last week.

The Agnipath
scheme involves a complete overhaul of India’s soldier recruitment process. The
government seeks to hire people between ages 17.5 to 21 and make them serve a
four-year tour of duty. During this period, the soldiers will receive salaries
between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000. At the end of four years, 75% of these recruits,
called Agniveers, will be released from service with a lumpsum payment of Rs
11.5 lakh.

Critics of Agnipath
see the new policy as turning soldier jobs contractual. They say this not only
harms the morale of the Armed Forces because new recruits know that many of
them won’t serve beyond four years but also that these soldiers will not be adequately
trained.

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After the initial
announcement of the policy, upon seeing the wave of protests it had triggered,
the Indian government made a concession and increased the upper limit for ‘Agniveer’
recruits to 23 years only for 2022. The government cited the two-year break in
armed forces recruitment for the concession.

Later, when protestors
asked what would happen to ‘Agniveers’ after their four-year tour of duty was
over, the Indian government said there would be a reservation for ‘Agniveers’
to join the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) which controls five paramilitary
forces.

While many
aspirants are raging in protest, a top army official has warned protestors
against partaking in vandalism. “The Indian Army’s foundation lies in
discipline. There’s no space for arson or vandalism. Every individual will have
to give a certificate they were not part of protests or vandalism. Police
verification is mandatory, no one can join without it,” said Lieutenant General
Anil Puri, who is an additional secretary at the department of military affairs,
at a press conference on Sunday.