Follow through

The protests against Agnipath frame the unemployment crisis that has been deepening in the country. The aftermath carries a cautionary note — something as important as a new policy of recruitment for the armed forces should have been more thought-through, keeping in mind not just the jobless numbers in the country, but also the freeze on recruitment over the last two years. So far, young men have joined the armed forces not only for the respect that they gain in the eyes of society, but also for the sense of security that comes with life-long pensions and other benefits. The absence of a pension in the new scheme and the capping of the service of Agniveers at four years, have clearly not gone down well. The upper age-limit of 21 years, in effect, cut out lakhs of aspirants who have waited since 2020 for the two-year freeze on recruitment to be lifted. The apparently ad hoc manner in which chief ministers of BJP-led states, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, declared that ex-Agniveer would be given preference for recruitment in the police and other government departments, has underlined the impression of a policy announced without tying up all loose ends. Qualifying a policy on Twitter in vague terms with an explicit political twist is hardly mature communication that this radical and disruptive reform needs.

Instead, what is needed for its successful implementation is clear communication and political follow through. Going ahead, the government will need to show that it is listening to the voices of all stakeholders. The record of the BJP-led government at the Centre on this count leaves much to be desired. On the now repealed farm laws, for instance, which were aimed at making agriculture more modern and remunerative, the government showed an inability to do the necessary hard labour of politics to prepare the ground, persuade those farmers who felt anxious and insecure in the face of change. The army chief has announced the Agnipath scheme will be notified next week, setting the stage for recruitment to begin. But it is still not too late for the government to take on board suggestions that are coming in from the military community — for instance, raising the length of service of the Agniveer to at least five years, and increasing the percentage of re-hires from the announced 25 per cent. The announcement of Agnipath is only the beginning — implementation will be a long haul, and the government will need to step up to the challenge with sensitivity and responsiveness. Street protests sometimes do acquire lumpen elements but lumpenising all protest — as was done in the early stage of the farm laws agitation — robs reform of the credibility it needs.