REVISION OF POLICY – RECRUITMENT OF AGNIVEERS

Lt Col Manoj K Channan, Veteran

 

The youth in India have Defense Services as their first career option. The pandemic and the revision of recruitment policy in the defense services had led to the freeze on recruitment over the last two years. Many veterans who had their ears close to the grassroots level had been writing/ tweeting and speaking about this issue to be heard by the policymakers.

Many electronic media channels too had called representatives to their prime-time discussions in support of these aspirants.

While it can be understood that revising a policy document is not easy, as getting consensus remains a time-consuming process; it is not understood that those in the decision-making were ignorant of ground realities.

Brig Rumel Dahiya, a senior veteran, Deputy Director General at the Institute of Defence Studies & Analyses. He is also the Coordinator of the Military Affairs Centre and the Managing Editor of the Journal of Defense Studies; has expressed this so well and I quote him “Could this social problem not have been foreseen? Were the decision makers blind to reality? Youth spend years preparing; regular running, consuming ghee and milk and practicing paper solving- to appear for recruitment tests. First keep them hanging for an year and half and then declare them overage? For many families it is loss of hope, denial of a decent life. The bigger social problem that we refuse to anticipate now is the gang wars involving Agni Veers after 5-6 years. Let us get real. It’s not a trivial matter and answers will have to be found. Glib talk about rioters being unfit for Fauj is just that. Do we expect a killer machine out of dead souls with no aspirations? Violence is not acceptable but take measures well in time so that it does not erupt. Demographic dividend must not be permitted to become a curse. Why cannot these people be laterally inducted; except those with serious discipline cases or those displaying cowardice? There is a logic behind militaries preparing for the worst. There is no consolation prize for the loser”.

Consequent to the release of the Agniveer recruitment policy, it is evident that the larger viewpoint of the aspirants was not taken into consideration thus allowing the various ex-servicemen forum to air their views opposing the scheme.

The fact that the decision-makers are closely watching the situation and have been quick to make changes in the policy is to be appreciated. This perhaps is the first one, as the policy is implemented the teething problems will have to be addressed as quickly as this one.

The Military advice to the political leadership, on implementation challenges and issues of government orders by the bureaucracy, would ensure that the Commanding Officers are not stressed out in tackling these issues in addition to their primary tasks at the IB/LoC/LAC or in peacetime tenures.

Challenges in pure caste units/sub-units need to be anticipated and action is taken so that tradition and ethos which build up the “oomph in the serving” is not diminished at the altar of policy implementation.