UP: Finding Brides an ‘Agni Pariksha’ for Agniveers of Gahmar Village

Ghazipur: Young men who once felt proud of donning the olive-green Army uniform, are now finding it a burden. The over-riding sentiment regarding the Agnipath scheme is that it has introduced an element of uncertainty into this high-risk job and the future of the youth.

While there are already enough indications of marriage becoming a difficult prospect for Agniveers, the scheme has also caused a serious damage to the village economy and has severely impacted the institution of marriage.  (The scheme, introduced in 2022, recruits men and women into the armed forces for a period of only four years, after which only 25% are to be retained.)

Apart from unemployment and paper leaks, there is palpable anger against the Centre’s much-touted Agnipath scheme, which seems to have taken centrestage in the ongoing parliamentary polls in the Purvanchal (eastern) region of Uttar Pradesh, especially in rural areas.

"Marriage is a vital institution for rearing children and teaching them to become responsible adults. Since ages, members of Gahmar village have been raising their children to join the defence services, which played a big role in protecting social and economic stability. But schemes like Agnipath have disturbed the societal order. Once upon a time, there was no need to go for bride-searching, as the people used to come themselves come with proposals, but after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, the scene has completely changed. The kind of respect and pride the villagers of Gahmar had for being one of the largest villages to produce defence personnel, is nowhere to be seen now,” Anil Singh, a retired army officer in Gahmar village of Ghazipur district, told NewsClick.

Gahmar, located on the banks of the Ganges in Ghazipur district of the Purvanchal region, is known for sending a large number of youths to the armed forces. Almost every home in the village has a member who has either served or is at present serving in the armed forces. Perhaps this is the reason why this village is called the ‘village of soldiers’.

NewsClick spoke to dozens of aspirants and retired army officers in Gahmar to gauge the mood of voters ahead of the polling in the village, especially when nationalism and national security have been being used as major poll planks by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Parents of girls are now hesitant to marry off their daughters to Agniveers due to concerns over an uncertain future and lack of social status associated with the Agnipath scheme. Their preference seems to be for those Agniveers who eventually transition into the armed forces after completing their four-year stint,” Abhimanyu Singh, who was preparing for Agniveer recruitment but has changed his mind and is now putting his efforts in getting into Uttar Pradesh police, told NewsClick.

One of India’s largest villages, Gahmar, has schools, colleges, a cinema hall and a hospital. Despite all the essential services available at the village level, the community members are worried about getting their sons married, as one of the pre-conditions for joining Agniveer is to not get married during the four years of service period. However, the prospects of these youth getting married even after the four years have dimmed.

“No family would choose a boy for their daughter who doesn’t have a job,” says Laxman, who is looking for a groom for his elder daughter.

Another villager, Satendra Singh, whose eight family members have been in the Army and three more are still serving, told NewsClick: “The major drawback of Agnipath scheme is that after completing four years, the top 25% candidates will be granted permanent status. In the past, joining the military guaranteed one a stable job, with perks, as also marriage. But after this scheme, no one is ready to give their daughter in marriage unless a boy is an earning hand.”

Finding a bride for Agniveers is, therefore, proving to be an ordeal. Marriage proposals are being rejected as there is no social security (pension) after four years of stint as Agniveers.

A youth who was selected as an Agniveer last year but has not joined yet told NewsClick on the condition of anonymity: “My family started searching for a bride months after I was selected as an Agniveer. We got proposals from at least a dozen families in Ghazipur and in the neighbouring district, but not a single family firmed the proposal, asking what will I do after four years of my job? There is no provision of pension to Agniveers. In such a situation, it will be difficult to get a job even after four years of military service.”

“The young generation of Gahmar has lost a sense of purpose, as Agniveers will neither get martyr status ( in case they die in service), no pension and no (defence) canteen facility. On the other hand, a normal jawan and an officer, get pensions, martyr status and all facilities, “said the 22-year-old, who said he had lost motivation to join the defence services.

Meanwhile, Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) have been continuously raising their voice against the scheme and have promised to scrap it if voted to power and reinstate the old pattern of  armed forces recruitment that provides pension on completion of 15 years of service.

About Agniveer/Agnipath

One of the main concerns of the youth is regarding pension. The scheme offers no gratuity or pension benefits. Also, they will not be provided with subsidised canteen store department facilities (CSD), ex-servicemen status, etc.

The other concern is regarding short-term recruitment for four years only. According to the youth, what will they do after four years? What is the benefit of doing such hard work for four years? According to them, their future is insecure. Also, they feel that short-term recruitment leads to a poor tooth-to-tail ratio (a military jargon used to denote the amount of military personnel it takes to supply and support “tooth”(combat duties) and “tail” (non-combat duties).

Rajiv Singh, Amit Singh and Raghvendra Singh of Gahmar village said they always dreamt of joining the Indian Army but just as they were close to achieving their childhood dream, it became their last option. They are now focusing on police jobs, relegating their dream job in Army to the end of their options.

Like Rajiv, Amit and Raghvendra, several other Army aspirants have changed their first preference to central police jobs rather than the Army because of the restrictive options linked to Angiveer intake.

“Even if we are selected as Agniveer, our real struggle will start after the completion of four years. What will we do after four years? It is better to work hard and choose police service or other similar jobs where we can serve at least till retirement age,” they said.