Agnipath: One dead in India unrest over military hiring

• Authorities put restrictions on meetings in Gurugram, a satellite city of India’s capital.
• One person killed as protests against military recruitment process expand.
• Agnipath means “path of fire” in Hindi and aims to increase the number of people joining the military.

On Friday, authorities put restrictions on meetings in a satellite city of India’s capital that is home to offices of major international corporations, and one person was killed as protests against a new military recruitment process known as Agnipath expanded.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed a new recruitment system called Agnipath, which means “path of fire” in Hindi, this week, causing chaos with police firing into the air to disperse stone-throwing mobs and the torching of railway infrastructure.

The scheme intends to increase the number of people joining the military on brief four-year contracts, lowering the average age of India’s 1.38 million-strong armed forces and reducing rising pension expenditures.
Thousands of young men flocked to the streets on Friday, with protests becoming violent in at least three states, concerned about work chances after serving their four-year tenure and disappointed at missing out on a pension.
According to a government spokesman, one demonstrator was killed in a skirmish with police in the southern city of Secunderabad.

In a notification, Gurugram’s administration said, “This order shall come into force with immediate effect.” A copy of the notice was released on social media by the district’s information department.

While there have been no reports of protests in Gurugram, some activists were seen on Thursday in Palwal, a neighbouring district.
Microsoft, Meta, and Google are just a few of the big corporations with offices in Gurugram. It also houses the factories of major Indian corporations such as Maruti Suzuki.

The new recruitment system, known as Agnipath, has been criticised by opposition parties and even some members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, who claim it will increase unemployment in a country where unemployment is already high.

According to the government, the armed forces plan to recruit roughly 46,000 personnel under the new system this year, but only 25% of them will be retained at the end of their four-year contracts.

‘NO PENSION’ says the sign.
Protests erupted in 14 districts throughout Uttar Pradesh, with police firing into the air to disperse stone-throwing mobs, according to senior police official Prashant Kumar.

“By holding negotiations with protesters, the police are attempting to disperse them,” Kumar told Reuters.

Agnipath disappointed Avnish Kumar, a 19-year-old from Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia area who intended to join the army.

“The employment is only for four years, and only 25% of people will be hired beyond that,” he told Reuters over the phone. “There

Protesters set fire to train coaches in at least two stations in neighbouring Bihar, authorities said, disrupting rail service.

Hundreds of people gathered in the southern city of Secunderabad, clashing with police and setting fire to railway station property, according to authorities.

Men and women between the ages of 17 and 21 will be recruited for a four-year stint as non-officers, with barely a quarter being maintained for longer.

Soldiers were historically recruited independently by the army, navy, and air force, and served for up to 17 years at the lowest ranks.

The government also announced on Friday that the maximum entrance age into the scheme will be raised to 23 for a limited time, after recruitment had been halted for the past two years due to budget cuts.