AGNIPATH – A NOBLE SCHEME BUT THE AGNIVEER GOT TO DESERVE IT By
Kishore PP
As I write the column, yet another flagship reform scheme of the BJP Government runs into rough weather and the opposition is already gleefully celebrating it as yet another failure of the modi Government. As the inflamed passions turn into mob frenzy, it’s time to decode fact from fiction, devoid of emotional frailty or rhetoric.
At the outset it ought to be clear that the Indian army is
one of the most professional outfits and without a doubt the last line of
Defence for the nation and it demands a force with ultimate dedication and
devotion. Its glowing history is indeed a saga of grit and selfless sacrifice. It
would be a great blunder to consider the noble profession as an employment generation scheme. While the nation wants a
disciplined youth to form the bed rock of this honorable profession, a youth up
in arms, without even understanding the broad terms of this issue, certainly
don’t fit the bill and don’t deserve to serve.
The Agnipath is a well thought out scheme, a pragmatic
reform aimed to benefit the youth and the nation at large, a scheme from where
the youth can further take off for better and brighter path. Broadly it’s
benefits encompass
·
Opportunity with Option Provide Opportunity for youth at as
early age of 17 to serve the nation as also to make a living for oneself with
an option to explore greener pastures thereafter if so desirous.
·
Recruitment in larger numbers.
·
Retaining Youth profile of the Forces.
·
Promotes & Incentivises dedicated and
good performance
·
Reducing Pension liability on Govt thereby
facilitating procurement of much needed modern state of art arms&equipment.
·
Downsizing of forces leading to a Lean & Mean fighting force.
The Armed forces are in a crying need for restructuring
which means a bit of downsizing to keep the forces lean and mean and thus this
much wanted reform. The present terms of engagement of our soldiers is unsustainable
and non-existent in any of the modern armies of the world. As such, today’s
warfare is more technology driven as clearly demonstrated by the Russia-Ukraine
war and the quantum of boots on ground really don’t matter that much. But what is virtually indispensable is the need
for moderation in terms of equipment.
To have a system where in a person serves the force for 15
years and becomes a pensioner thereafter for the rest of his life is a huge
liability and certainly not a viable
model anymore. The Agnipath is a step in
the right direction. To put it in perspective, many of the modern armies have
compulsory conscription of its citizens for two years and those who are be
belittling the scheme as it being akin to intake of inexperienced interns need
to do a bit of homework. Let’s be clear, the Agnipath is no MNREGA nor any such
employment guarantee scheme nor is it a freebie distribution venture, however
it is a golden opportunity for the youth to empower, a scheme worthy to embrace.
The youth ought not to fritter away this opportunity due to mis-information or
unwarranted misgivings. Positively exploited, it could catapult one into path of
progress, with abundant opportunities. Issues such as cohesion, camaraderie and
spirit- de- corps are inherent tenets of the Armed forces and will not be
diluted, as doubted by a few skeptics.
The Govt. of the day is elected by
the people and is entrusted the responsibility of running, it ought to be trusted
and given the due space to introduce reforms as a change for the better. These
reforms though may seem unpleasant initially but will be good in the long run. Creating
obstacles even before a process is put into place is nothing short of hooliganism
and India certainly doesn’t need it. The youth need to have the patience and
give time for the reform to further evolve, for the better. The youth have an
unique opportunity to work for a bright future.
It is no secret that a large chunk
of Defence budget goes into salaries and pensions of the Armed forces, albeit a
fair share of it goes to the Civil Defence employees, who without going through
the rigours get the benefits, which is definitely unjustifiable. Such
expenditure cuts into the budget leaving little for procurements for force modernization.
The days of nations having massive armies are over, rather it ought to be mechanized
armies. If sheer number of boots on ground were to dictate outcome, Russia would
have steamrolled. Ukraine in about a week, but as we see today, aided by western technology, the much smaller Ukraine is
giving a bloody nose to the much larger and so far thought to be mightier Russian
forces
Mis-information & Misgivings
The youth of the nation firstly
need to become a passionate and responsible citizens and not be instigated by
mis information and misgivings. The spirit of selflessness ought to be the core
ingredient before even entertaining the thought of joining the armed forces. A
definite soul searching is a must. The notion that the Agniveer is being given
a raw deal is quite flawed. To the contrary, in addition to vast experience and
expertise to his resume, the Agniveer would take home emoluments worth almost
23 lacs by the end of his tenure, not to mention of plethora of other
reservations and concessions awaiting across public and private sector.
Every year millions of our youth are graduating into various streams,
many even spending lakhs of rupees yet there is no guarantee for any of them
that they would be provided a Govt job, a pensionable one at that. Thus to
expect the Govt to absorb youth permanently in the Armed Forces cannot be a
given. Also, the Govt is in no way making it compulsory and the choice of either
venturing into it or otherwise is solely ones own. If that be so, there clearly
is no right or reason for the youth to vandalise and destroy public property
over the issue. The army is not a free
for all, you got to earn it to be worthy of it. The nation needs Agniveers who
have ‘fire in their belly to serve the nation’, certainly not those who mindlessly
set ‘fire to bogies’.
Lessons for the Govt
While each of the reform conceived
by the Government is meritorious in its own right, the lawmakers of the day
need to learn the art of creating a positive narrative so as to construct a
favourable public opinion about the envisaged reforms rather than repeatedly
surprising the public, thereby inviting the wrath of restive citizens,
ultimately resulting in a roll back of a well-conceived reforms. The Govt ought
to keep the public in the loop by intensive consultation process and allay the
fears & misgivings before rolling out such reformative schemes.
The
writer is a freelance journalist espousing views on important issues of
National interest.
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