SINCE the announcement of the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of ‘Agniveers’ in the Indian Army for a four-year term, many of the army aspirants are on warpath. They feel betrayed and their hopes lie shattered. 

Bihar Youth from rich backgrounds generally opt for UPSC and the state public service commission, BPSC. 

But a large number of rural youth who cannot bear the expenses of higher education opt for police, paramilitary, and military services. They come from poor and marginal peasant families which constitute the bulk of the rural population. 

In fact, suppose one takes a walk in the morning in the rural and urban areas of Bihar, in that case, one can see hundreds of youth sweating out in the open to make themselves physically eligible to compete in the physical fitness tests.

It is well known that there is no industrial base in the state. The large-scale migration of rural workers to urban centres and far-off places is being regularly reported.

The Agnipath scheme came as a big jolt because the service years have been cut short to only four years and some of the aspirants have been waiting as long as four years to get recruited by the army as the government stopped recruitments for the last two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The disgruntled youth were left with little choice in the matter and hence they vent their anger. Service in the Indian Army has some added prestige and a sense of fulfilment. Hence they feel cheated and humiliated.

The spontaneous outbursts of the large number of youth that swept through the length and breadth of the state symbolise the deep-rooted frustration that culminated in large-scale arson, burning of trains, vandalisation of railway stations and so on.

The Indian Army aspirants have shown their anger against central government institutions and against the BJP leaders and the BJP offices. Many such incidents have been reported from Samastipur, Nawada, Bettiah, Patna, Lakhisarai, Kaimur, Saran, Jehanabad etc and other districts. 

When spontaneous movements on such a big scale take place without any organisational structure, they risk attracting agent provocateurs to give a bad name to the movement. However, it is the peaceful protesters who are subjected to State repression after violence erupted during the week-long protests. The protests led to a total bandh in Bihar on June 18 and 20.

The opposition parties including the RJD, CPI (M), CPI, and CPI(ML) submitted a memorandum to the governor of Bihar demanding the withdrawal of the Agnipath. In this regard, all the MLAs and MLCs of these parties participated in a protest march to Raj Bhawan on June 22.

The student and youth organisations of the Left parties and a few other organisations are gearing up to give the movement an organised form. The movement will continue in various forms till the scheme is repealed.

The rift between the JD (U) and the BJP has widened further with this issue.  While the BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal has openly blamed the Nitish government for its inaction in tackling the youth movement, the JD (U) president Lalan Singh has demanded the withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme. Singh had mocked Jaiswal saying that he had lost his mental balance. BJP leaders, on the other hand, have blamed the opposition parties for provoking youth for the violence witnessed during the ongoing movement.

Agnipath is an anti-national scheme which will not only dilute the professionalism of our armed forces but also create an army of retirees who will be used as a private militia which will create a very dangerous atmosphere of social and communal division in the country. It is to be noted that the RSS agenda to utilise youth to serve their communal design can be easily understood from the statement of BJP leader Vijay Vargiya. The opposition parties have demanded its immediate withdrawal.

NEGATIVE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

The media had played a negative role during the anti-Agnipath agitation branding the movement as violent and destructive. It accused the movement of getting played into the hands of destructive elements and one-sidedly reported only on the violence that erupted during the spontaneous protests and the damage done to the national properties.

The media ignored the agonies of thousands of army aspirants who have completed all the formalities and were waiting for their recruitment. Around 50 such youth committed suicide; some such incidents have also taken place in Bihar. Only The Hindu carried the field reporting bringing to fore the desperation of youth who feel betrayed and dejected.   

Most TV channels and newspapers praised the Agnipath and highlighted the much-advertised government propaganda of financial offers and job reservations in various central and state government institutions after the four-year stint in the army.