On 14 August 2022, Ipsos Group S.A. (French pronunciation: ​[ip. sos]; Institut Public de Sondage d’Opinion Secteur,) a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France, published a pan India survey to identify India’s Most Trusted Institutions.

65% of respondents ranked the Defence Forces first followed by the Reserve Bank of India with a 50% rating.  Indian Prime Minister received 49% of citizens’ trust and was followed by the Supreme Court of India with 47%.  The Central Bureau of Investigations was ranked fifth with 43% and the Police came sixth with 38%.   

The Parliament received 33%, Media 32% and the Election Commission of India 31%. At the bottom of the heap were Politicians (16%), Political Parties (17%), Community Leaders (19%) and Religious Leaders (21%). 

It wasn’t surprising at all for the Defence Forces being the most trusted institution.  It is based on the ethos, credibility, respect, integrity and discipline that the Defence Services of India has exhibited.  It is all about Naam, Namak & Nishan – ethos of the Indian Army to strive for the name of the country/ regiment, the salt partaken and the glory of the national/ regimental flag.

Of late it appears that there is a concerted effort by the political leadership and the bureaucracy to belittle the Armed Forces.  The Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals appear to have played along, accepting all the diktats in silence.

De-Regimentalisation is one of the methods to break the effectiveness of the Indian Army.  It does not apply as much to the Navy or the Air Force by virtue of their structure and functioning.  Adoption of a common uniform for Brigadiers and Generals is intended to bolster a common identity and approach in service matters amongst the senior hierarchy. The aim could well be to reduce parochialism towards one’s own regiment or corps. If so, a change of mindset is more important to achieve cohesion than cosmetic changes in uniform

Many proposals  have come up to De-Regimentalise the Indian Army by way of changes in uniforms, regimental names, traditional ceremonies, rituals, procedures, etc – all in the name of getting rid of colonial legacies. Some of these are already under implementation.

The system of recruitment to the armed forces has recently undergone a sea change, again to put the Armed Forces at their Right place. The Agnipath Scheme has been introduced.  The Agniveers of the scheme wherein a soldier serves four years and 25% of them are to be absorbed on merit as regular soldiers.  Those discharged on completion of four-year term will not be eligible for any kind of pension or gratuity, neither will they be eligible for Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Canteen Stores Department (CSD) facilities, Ex Serviceman status nor other related benefits.

Ostensibly, the new scheme has been  introduced with a view to improve the age profile and thereby the combat efficiency of the Defence Forces. But many critics point out that the primary aim of the scheme is to reduce the pension bill of the armed forces in the long run while it may actually change the ethos of the Defence Forces and may be detrimental to the combat efficiency of the armed forces.

In case the defence expenditure is to be curtailed and pension expenditure reigned in, the defence production factories and the Defence Research and Development (DRDO) must be cut to size. Most of these institutions are white elephants and need to be corporatised/ privatised at the earliest. Many may claim them to be national strategic assets. Look at VSNL and  Air-India – they  were claimed to be national strategic assets once and on becoming corporatised/ privatised, their performances are well known. 

If the money saved in cutting defence expenditure is spent on education or healthcare, it is beneficial to the country; else, … it is a pointless exercise.

To maintain the Armed Forces young, part time soldiering is one solution. Implementing a four-year or two-year term may be workable in countries with mandatory conscription. Many countries with voluntary military service, voluntary retirement is allowed at eight/ ten years of service with about 50% pension.  For Officers, only those with command potential are allowed to continue after ten years of service. Thus, the steep pyramidal rank structure gets better with less  crowding at the top.

The Agnipath scheme is already under implementation. In four to five years time approximately 25000 to 30000 Agniveers will be released from the services every year. Useful utilisation of such a large number of trained soldiers will indeed be a gigantic problem. The government does indeed have some rehabilitation and resettlement plans for the discharged Agniveers. At least some of these personnel will be absorbed into the police, paramilitary services and other governemnt services. Going by the past record, it does not seem likely that the problem will be addressed in any meaningful manner.

Decades of reality belied all such current day platitudes.   A Veteran Indian soldier of the day finds it difficult to get employment in private/ public enterprises.  Most governmental institutions do give some preference to the Veteran soldier, but the opportunities available are limited compared to the number of retiring soldiers.  Many Veteran soldiers remain either unemployed or are under-employed with very minimal salary and benefits. But these present day veterans do have a pension and the problem of penury is not very acute.   How can you expect a soldier who returns after four-year military service to find a job? The numbers are going to be large and large scale unemployment of trained military personnel could lead to serious problems for the society at large.

Critics point out that unemployed Agniveers could become potential recruits for criminal gangs. Such trained manpower could also be exploited by insurgents and terrorists generally lead to criminalisation of civil society and contribute to increased lawlessness. Large numbers may also become mercenaries abroad to fight someone else’s war on foreign soil. This is seen as an accelerating trend.

The way out

To attract the best talent and to ensure that they put in their best and serve the nation with dedication, it is suggested that giving 5 percent additional marks to the Agniveers who complete four-year tenure with unblemished record for all entrance examinations held by the Central and State Government agencies for professional courses – medical, dental, engineering, management, law, AIIMS, IIT, IIM, etc and also for examinations of  the central and state public service commissions. Further this could be backed up by concessional scholarship schemes at the state and central level.

A study of US Military Veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, who joined various universities and colleges across America says that over 3 million veterans of the post-9/11 generation have entered higher education after service.  Most of them are between the ages of 25 to 34 and come from a host of different backgrounds and cultures. Majority served in the enlisted ranks of the military (82%) with about Army (47%), Navy (18%), Air Force (21%), Marine Corps (12%), Coast Guard 2%. Many of them are members of the National Guard or the Reserves (45%).

For successful utilisation of the Agniveers,  education is the key to their future.  If such large numbers of  US veterans pursue education as a means to future gainful employment, there seems no logical reason to believe that it is not practical in India.  Like the National Guard of the Reserves in the US, India too can raise its voluntary force with the Agniveers.

Like the US Veterans, the Agniveers are high-school graduates.  Research has shown that, on the average, US Veteran students maintain higher GPAs than traditional civilian students and are more likely to persist and graduate at higher rates as compared to their civilian counterparts.  Veteran students account for 3–4% of college students in the US.

Agniveers will bring valuable perspectives to the student community.  They possess maturity, discipline, work ethic, and leadership skills learned in the Defence Forces. They are also focused on achievement and success and are mission oriented. They are more likely to demonstrate appreciation, affiliation, and loyalty towards their institution. They will continue to  push themselves to achieve even higher levels of education over the course of their lifetime. They will bring along advanced technical skills along with proficiency in multiple languages. They will possess characteristics such as adaptability, self-discipline, leadership, management skills, work ethic, teamwork, professionalism, resilience, and mental fortitude – A sure recipe for a successful student in any field.