DNA Special: How introduction of Agnipath scheme spurred violent protests across India

The biggest news of today is that the Agnipath scheme introduced by the Government of India has had a very critical reception among the several citizens of the country, with protests breaking out in several states just a day after the scheme was announced by the Centre.

Those protesting are the same youth, who are preparing for recruitment in the army. Today these protesters torched many trains, ransacked, and also pelted stones at the police. The shocking part is that the youth who want to join the Indian Army to protect their country are the ones setting it on fire.

Violent demonstrations took place against this scheme in more than seven states of the country today on Thursday. A total of four trains were torched in Haryana, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh during these violent agitations, with more than 8 trains ransacked.

Incidents of stone-pelting were reported from seven railway stations while vehicles were torched by protestors in Haryana yesterday. According to reports, police stations were also attacked during the protests against the Agnipath scheme.

Apart from the violence that erupted in Haryana’s Palwal today over the Agnipath agitation, visuals from Bihar’s Gopalganj also emerged where youths were seen standing on the railway tracks and setting fire to train coaches in the midst of the protests.

Protests similar to this erupted in Bihar a while back over the recruitment of railways, where agitators had set a train on fire. Protests also erupted when the Centre proposed the introduction of the CAA and NRC policies in the country.

Why are aspirants protesting the Agnipath scheme?

Every year, jobs were taken out in the three wings of the Army to fill the vacancies below the Non-Commissioned Rank i.e. Officer Rank, and people who are selected under these vacancies get a job in the Indian Army.

Further, there is a rule in all the three wings of the army that if a soldier completes 15 years of his service in the army, then he becomes eligible to get a pension from the government.

If a person has joined the army at the age of 21, then he will be eligible to take a pension from the government at the age of 36. But now under the new scheme that has come, this period of the job will be four years and after four years the government will not give pension to the firefighters.

This is the reason behind the major uproar on the Agnipath scheme. There are two reasons at the root of this dispute, first, there will be no permanent job in the army. And the second pension will not be available after retirement. But the central government says that this scheme will prove to be better for the army and the youth of the country in many ways. You can understand this in a few points.

This is why army aspirants and opposition leaders are completely against the implementation of the Agnipath scheme, putting pressure on the Central government to make changes in the military recruitment scheme. 

READ | Agnipath scheme: Youth Congress workers stage protest near Jantar Mantar in Delhi