‘What if I die or become disabled?’ In UP ‘village of jawans’, few want to join Army as Agniveer

Ghazipur: A white stone plaque outside the police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Gahmar, one of Asia’s largest villages along the Ganges, reveals its primary identity. “From this village, 228 men went to the Great War 1914-1919. Of these, 21 gave up their lives,” it reads.

For over a century, or even longer if local lore is to be believed, this village in Ghazipur constituency of eastern Uttar Pradesh, has maintained a tradition—nearly every family has had at least one member serve in the Indian Army, earning it the epithet “jawanon ka gaon” (village of soldiers).

But now, almost two years after the Modi government implemented the Agnipath scheme, under which the jawans are recruited for a period of four years with only 25 percent permanently absorbed at the end, the village stands to lose its identity. And there is widespread anger against the government and BJP, even as the Congress and Samajwadi Party promise to scrap the scheme.

“Iss gaon se uski rozi-roti chheen li iss sarkar ne (This government has snatched away our livelihood),” says 23-year-old Shyam Babu Singh, who was aspiring to join the Army until the government announced the scheme in 2022. “There were many like me who were aspiring to join the army here, but now we are all trying for other forces—the police, BSF (Border Security Force), CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), etc.”

Around 15,000 residents from Gahmar are serving in the armed forces and police, and another 12,000 are retired personnel, according to village residents.

With no other employment options, Singh has put up a prasad stall at the nine-day Navratri mela at the Kamakhya Devi temple in the village. Like many other youngsters in the village, he claims to be in the “competition line”, a relatively recent colloquial coinage referring to the string of public service examinations that the youth take in the hope of a government job.

“Why would anyone want to join the Army now?” says the almost-six feet tall Singh matter-of-factly. “Ab jawan hone ka koi samman nahi raha (There is no respect in being a soldier now).”

Few benefits, drop in status

Shyam Babu Singh’s friends, most of whom had been preparing to join the Army like him until two years ago, say that the quest seems futile now.

“An Agniveer has none of the benefits of being a soldier—you will not get any pension after four years, you will not get the benefit of the canteen, and your children will not get an advantage like those of permanent recruits if they want to join the Army,” says 24-year-old Dinesh Chaudhary, who too stopped his preparations after the Agnipath scheme was implemented.

“And what will I do after four years if I were to become an Agniveer?” he asks.

This is the moot question that gnaws at every youth who once aspired to join the armed forces. Under the Agnipath scheme, the Agniveers in the age bracket of 17.5 to 21 years of age will be recruited contractually for a period of four years, after which only 25 percent of the recruits will permanently join the armed forces.

Until the scheme was announced, joining the Army was the first preference for a large number of young men from the village. They would wake up every morning, congregate at the training ground, and train for hours—all for the financial security, social status, and respect which came with being a jawan.

“This village has seen more development than most other villages in Purvanchal. Here, everyone has pucca homes, there are shops that sell everything—you don’t need to go out to the city to buy things,” says Pratap Singh, who runs a local magazine in the village.

“It was all the result of the Army. If every family has one member serving in the Army, you can imagine the kind of financial security that brings to each and every household—this was an atmanirbhar village,” he adds. “Now, our youth have nowhere to turn.”

The government’s scheme has thrown up yet another problem—a lack of marriage prospects. “Who will want to marry us now?” says Singh. “Back in the day, anyone who would join the Army would get married within a year or so because a soldier is so coveted when it comes to marriage prospects.”

Far from the enthusiasm and dedication that the youth of Gahmar once had for joining the armed forces, becoming an ‘Agniveer’ is now the last resort for most people—something they consider when they have no other choice.

“I sell bangles and cosmetics now,” says 22-year-old Raj Kumar Chaudhary. “You can imagine what my income would be…So, I am trying to become an Agniveer because I cannot afford to plan for four years ahead. I have to think about today,” he says. “But of course, the worry of what if I become disabled or die gnaws at me. Who will look after my family?”

‘No way we will vote for BJP’

Several people in Gahmar are now looking to join other forces or the police, but they are facing another hurdle: frequent paper leaks. The UP Police Constable Recruitment Examination, which many candidates from Gahmar had taken, was held in February this year. However, the exam was cancelled after news of a paper leak was confirmed.

“I was confident I will get through this time. That’s because I already had the paper beforehand,” says Chaudhary sheepishly. “But the exam got cancelled. What are the youth supposed to do when you keep cancelling the exam because of leaks?”

The paper leak has already become a talking point, with Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav raking it up this week. “If the leaked papers affected around 60 lakh candidates and considering three dependents for each student, then about 1.80 crore people are affected. Dividing this by the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, the BJP loses around 2.25 lakh votes per constituency. How can they achieve their ‘400 paar’ slogan?” Yadav said while campaigning for the SP candidate in Bijnor.

Meanwhile, the Congress, which has consistently criticised the Agnipath scheme for being a “gross injustice” to the youngsters seeking employment in the armed forces, has promised to abolish it in its election manifesto.

It is a promise that resonates with the youth of Gahmar. “They (the government) should abolish the scheme for the sake of our future. We are absolutely helpless,” says Chaudhary. “This government talks about national security and nationalism, and yet this is the treatment they are meting out to those who want to serve the nation!”

For now, though, with the government showing no signs of reconsidering the scheme, the youth of Gahmar are as helpless as they are angry. “There is no way anyone in this village will vote for the BJP,” says Pratap Singh.

He points out that many young men had passed the first round of recruitment when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, but by the time the process was expected to be resumed, the government announced the new scheme. “There is a sense of helplessness across the village,” he says. “Where will it get expressed if not in the election?”

(Edited by Asavari Singh)