Art Of Teaching

This Tuesday, the Government of India revealed the fundamental and sweeping ‘Agneepath’ scheme. The defense minister Rajnath Singh and the three Service chiefs spoke on the scheme.

The opposition is of the view that it was done to deviate disapproval that it will weaken the competence, character, and aggressive essence of the armed forces, also it will possibly lead to giving a military character to the civil society.

This Agneepath scheme was agreed by the PM-led cabinet committee on safekeeping and wellbeing of the Indian nation at large. If we look at our armed forces today, we will see that it is an ageing armed force and recruitment of young blood is necessary in national interest.

This scheme will be flagged off by recruiting 46,000 soldiers, mariners, and flyers this year on an “all-India, all-class” basis. Please note that there is no reservation policy here which ensures recruitment on merit.

The Agneepath scheme is a unique scheme as it necessitates an enrolment procedure for persons with positions below that of officers, the goal being of positioning healthier, fresher troops on the forward-facing positions. Many of these recruits will be on a four-year contract scheme.

 It is clearly an iconoclast scheme that will give the Army, Navy, and Air Force an add-on young looking image.

 In this scheme the youth, boys as well as girls, for all three service areas will be registered through a central online scheme, along with precise assemblies and campus consultations held by documented methodological colleges such as Industrial Training Institutes and the National Skills Qualifications Framework, to name a few among others.

 This enrolment procedure will be on a ‘All India All Class’ base, and the eligible ages will be from 17.5 years to 21 years approximately.  The recruited youngsters shall be called Agniveers. They will have to meet the medical requirements for military enlistment when they apply to their precise groupings/skills.

The educational identifications of these Agniveers will continue to be prevalent for employment in a variation of groups.  Class 10 is the least educational obligation for becoming a General Duty (GD) combatant.

The salary package for the first year will be Rs 4.76 lakhs. It will increase to Rs 6.92 lakhs around the fourth year. After release, this Seva Nidhi package will cost about Rupees 11.71 lakh, counting interest (tax free). They will also get a Rupees 48 lakh non-contributory insurance cover. The Agniveer skill certificate, will help them get post-discharge employment just as in the case of Ex- Servicemen.

Personally, I think the decision is taken by the cabinet, only after consultation and agreement of many military experts who must have agreed for this decision.

 We have seen two types of arguments given in this Agneepath scheme.

WHAT IS POSITIVE ABOUT THIS SCHEME?

1.The first and foremost, most fundamental advantage is that the Indian army’s average age is brought down drastically and now we can see a younger army full of enthusiasm and spirit.

2.  Also financially, the country will benefit as roughly around twenty percent of the defense budget is being disbursed only on the pensions. This scheme will surely help to reduce the burden of pension and ultimately the Government will have more fun ds to spend on purchase of weapons which is the current need, if we look at the world scenario.

3. It will surely provide financial security to the youth who can thereafter plan their future, whether to continue in armed forces or to pursue other jobs as per the skill sets achieved during the training period.

 WHAT IS NEGATIVE ABOUT THIS SCHEME?

1.It is said that it will reduce the effectiveness of the armed forces.

2.Candidates preparing for defense examinations say that this verdict will decrease jobs vacancies available through these exams. Also, the service time gap is too short ranging from 17.5 to 21 years.

3.Also people feel that feel that this scheme will hit the competence, belligerent essence and character of the armed forces. And it will probably lead to a military character of the civil society.

I fail to understand the need for criticism. To make the youth undergo a taste of what armed forces actually is. is not a bad idea. If you see the Russia – Ukraine war, it is necessary for the civil society today to undergo basic military training, whether girls or boys.

Looking at the present scenario, the government spends 7 to 8 years to train youth in the armed forces, but even they leave after 5 years short service commission.

Always remember that patriotism and ethos cannot be taught. It comes from inbuilt culture and love for motherland.

So, what is the harm if the government is thinking of training young minds for the service of the country?

If they feel they don’t want to continue they can leave after 4 years and pursue other options but the fact remains that this training will make them more disciplined, more responsible and also efficient and they will be given priority as short service commisioned soldiers.

Instead of wasting their time in unholy activities like drinking and pubbing, as is the trend today, it will inculcate a sense of pride and daring to fight for their motherland and will surely help a lot in stopping the brain drain happening today in our country.

The only problem is the Government should have first brought out the scheme in the public domain and clarified to all, so that vested interested parties did not get a chance to poison the young minds.

Same thing happened with the farmers policy. It was a scheme for the overall benefit of the farmers but because the government did not take it to every nook and corner of the country, the farmers were brainwashed to agitate and ultimately such a progressive scheme had to be taken back.

Also, the ruling party has lot of workers at the ground level, who need to understand the scheme and explain its benefits to the local aspirants.

At the end, I will only say that every scheme by the government is not bad. In the mindset of hate, it is not necessary for the opposition to target each and every policy of the Government. Opposition is there for checks and balances, not to put the ruling party on a hanging noose every time some policy comes out.

It is further to be noted that anybody who destroys public property in the name of protest should be adequately admonished as it is the taxpayer’s money they are burning and frankly they have no right.

Actually, on a hind sight, this scheme of Agneepath is for today’s youth who are being used by the political parties for arson and unrest in the name of protest.

Their energies need to be channelized and what better way to do this than to give them the required army training.

AND REMEMBER WHETHER TO ENLIST YOURSELF OR NOT IS YOUR DEMOCRATIC CHOICE. THEN WHY PROTEST? IT IS NOT LIKE SOME COUNTRIES WHERE ARMY TRAINING IS COMPULSORY FOR THE YOUTH. NOR HAS THE GOVERNMENT DONE AWAY WITH THE DEFENCE EXAMINATIONS NOR DECLARED REDUCTION OF POSTS.THEY WILL FOLLOW ALL PROCEDURE AS BEFORE.THEN WHY THE HUE AND CRY?