Lok Sabha election reopens old wounds from anti-Agnipath protests in Bihar
Youngsters have lost interest in joining the Army after the introduction of the military recruitment scheme, say coaching centres; the Opposition promise to scrap Agnipath nds resonance in places such as Buxar and Arrah, which go to the polls in last phas
Raushan Kumar Sinha, 37, a national secretary of the Left-leaning All India Youth Federation (AIYF), was in jail for about 10 months for allegedly instigating protests in Bihar against the Agnipath scheme that turned violent in the three days between June 17 and 20 in 2022.
Mr. Sinha said he had posted a statement on Facebook a day earlier on behalf of his organisation that the AIYF will oppose “contractualisation” of the Army. The next day, two trains were torched in his home town Lakhisarai and he was named in two FIRs registered by the Bihar Police in the case. By March 2023, another case was registered under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and he was jailed on March 16, 2023.
When he was released on bail on January 13, 2024, he yet again plunged into the campaign against the Agnipath scheme, trying to remind the youngsters to vote against the present government. Amid the Lok Sabha election, he is again busy contacting groups of Army aspirants to use their vote against the BJP and he reminds them that the Opposition INDIA bloc has promised to abolish Agnipath and reinstate the old system of Army recruitment. “I was targeted for political reasons. All youth organisations announced protests. Students who were preparing for Army joined the protests in their thousands. Even now, the administration and the police pick up youngsters saying they were part of the protests,” Mr. Sinha says maintaining that Agnipath is a major electoral issue in Bihar.
High unemployment
“Agnipath” and “Agniveer” are the key points of discussion in Buxar and Arrah, which go to the polls in the seventh phase on June 1. Hundreds of students and youngsters prepare for defence, paramilitary and police jobs in these places, where unemployment among youth is higher than the national average. The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) shows that the Unemployment Rate (UR) in Bihar in the age group of 15-29 is 18.7%, when the national rate is 16.5%.
Ritesh Srivastav, a lawyer and activist who has worked among the protesters, said areas such as Arrah, Buxar and Sasaram have a number of hardworking girls and boys aspiring to government jobs. What they expect from the governments is a solution to the problem of unemployment. “But there are no facilities for them. They even sit at railway stations, but crack examinations, including the civil service. Often, their hard work goes in vain,” he lamented.
When Agnipath was announced, Mr. Sinha and Mr. Srivastav said, boys who were preparing for Army service opposed the scheme. “The question they asked was why should we join the Army for just four years? What will happen to our jobs after four years? No one from the government could give satisfactory answers to these questions,” Mr. Srivastav said.
These questions resonated with every group of aspirants. During the protests, slowly, they started organising and the movement took a massive shape. They took to the streets and blocked the trains.
Vinay (name changed) was one of them. Talking to The Hindu from Buxar High School situated in the heart of the city, the youngster said he had worked hard to join the Army for more than four years. A government school, established in 1887, gives a reading room and sports ground for the aspirants for free. There are private libraries too which students who can a¦ord utilise. “Here, we get a chair and a table and those who practise for physical examinations use the school ground,” he said.
In 2022, the recruitment rallies were over and aspirants, including Vinay, were waiting for the results. “I was passionate about serving the Army. There was none in the Army from my family. I was condent of passing the physical tests. I had trained for four years. I was part of the National Cadet Corps [NCC]. I had won several medals and received the NCC’s ‘C’ certicate,” he said adding that a case was registered against him for participating in the protests against Agnipath. He cleared all tests and only had medical tests pending in the Army recruitment rally but the process was cancelled due to Agnipath. “Now I have crossed the age limit. Tears come to my eyes when I think of this. It has been a personal loss,” Mr. Vinay said, adding that he is now preparing for exams for certain State government posts. He is disappointed that the anti-Agniveer protests did not succeed as much as the farmers’ protests.
Most of the students in Buxar School or the Maharaja Bahadur Ram Ran Vijay Prasad Singh College, Arrah, are from poor families who cannot a¦ord to go to Patna or Delhi and join big coaching centres. “We are all voters here. We are also aware of the promises of the Opposition that Agnipath will be scrapped. Poor people will be ready for any work and may do four years of Army duty. But we protested against the scheme. We are not criminals. The administration thought we will start violence but we had no such plans. We hope this scheme will go,” said another student, who also wished anonymity.
The protests were spontaneous, they said, adding that no one invited or instigated the students even though the administration put the blame on some coaching centres. “We were preparing for Army jobs. So, we were not scared, but we were concerned about the plight of our family members,” said Mahesh (name changed), another aspirant who participated in the protests.
Now, a huge number of students have stopped dreaming of joining the Army. “This is not good for the country and for the Army,” said Sudhir Singh, who runs a coaching institute named Commandant Academy. “I have been training Army aspirants for more than 20 years. Agnipath is injustice to the youth who wanted to choose the Army as their career. People here want to serve the country. Since the launch of Agnipath, the interest of the youth has come down. The country will lose the service of passionate people if their job is limited to four years,” Mr. Singh said.
Subhash, another aspirant, said the Opposition’s promise of scrapping Agnipath is welcome but the issue of unemployment should be addressed seriously. “We will have to wait and watch what they are going to do,” he observed sceptically.