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Army dreams cut short in recruitment hubs
The tradition of soldiering is on shaky ground after the army suspended its recruitment rallies across the country two years ago to check the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak
JHAJJAR/BHIWANI/ROHTAK/SONEPAT: Manjeet Kumar, a wiry six-footer pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree, just turned 21, but skipped the celebrations. The milestone birthday marked the end of a childhood dream — joining the Indian Army and honouring the lasting legacy of World War II hero Honorary Captain Umrao Singh, one of India’s best known soldiers and the pride of Palra village outside Jhajjar in Haryana, Kumar’s village.
Singh’s wartime heroism against the Japanese in Burma, recognised with Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross, has shaped the lives of generations of young men such as Kumar from Palra and nearby villages, inspiring them to serve the army — a move that, over the years, has created a glorious tradition of soldiering in the region.
That tradition is on shaky ground after the army suspended its recruitment rallies across the country two years ago to check the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The precautionary measure has not been rolled back by the government despite the situation stabilising, cases continuing to drop and normalcy returning in several areas. India has resumed international flights after two years, schools have reopened, and shopping malls and cinema halls are back in business. But not the army recruitment drives.
The army used to conduct up to 100 recruitment rallies, on average, every year in the pre-Covid era, with each covering six to eight districts, defence minister Rajnath Singh told Rajya Sabha on March 21 while responding to a question on the subject. Before Covid struck, the army recruited 80,572 candidates in 2019-20 and 53,431 candidates in 2018-19.
The recruitment freeze is likely to have consequences for the army’s battle readiness too, as up to 60,000 soldiers retire every year, officials familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named. To be sure, the pandemic has not affected the officer intake in the army.
The government is aware of the concerns of the army aspirants, and it is constantly evaluating the situation to restart the recruitment process at the earliest, said a defence ministry spokesperson.
Recruitment notification will be issued as soon as the situation improves further, said army spokesperson Colonel Sudhir Chamoli.
Pointing towards Captain Singh’s bust outside the village stadium, Kumar says, “Babaji (as the war hero is addressed in Palra) ki raah par chalne ka sapna dekha tha bachpan se. Woh sapna bikhar gaya. (Since childhood, I dreamt of following in the footsteps of Baba ji. That dream is shattered). I am overage now. I took part in a recruitment rally only once in 2019 but could not make it.”
Captain Singh, who passed away at the age of 85 on his birthday, November21, 2005, was awarded Victoria Cross for showing extraordinary courage against the enemy in Burma’s Kaladan valley in 1944.
“Though twice wounded by grenades, he beat off four Japanese attacks…When the final attack came and all his ammunition was expended, he seized a gun rammer and closed with the enemy in furious hand-to-hand fighting…He was found in an exhausted state beside his gun and almost unrecognisable with seven severe wounds and ten dead Japanese around him,” reads Singh’s citation.
He was 24 and a havildar then.
Two months after he died, the army organised a recruitment drive exclusively for Palra in Singh’s memory in January 2006 and 25 men were recruited.
Everyone in the village knows about how Babaji bravely fought against the Japanese, says army aspirant Jagdeep Kadian who will turn 21 next month, and fears his dream too will slip away soon if recruitment rallies are not restored at the earliest.
Candidates must be between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age to get recruited as general duty soldiers in the army. The rare, and initially unavoidable freeze on recruitment has dashed the hopes of an entire generation of young men across the country for whom army was the only career option.
“Time nikla ja raha hai. Umeed jaati nazar aa rahi hai. Humari zindagi ka sawaal hai. (Time is running out. Hope is fading. It’s a matter of our lives),” says Kadian, a third year BA student.
Hindustan Times interviewed scores of army aspirants across a dozen villages in Haryana’s well known recruitment hubs where demands to resume recruitment and relax the age eligibility criterion by at least two years have reached a crescendo.
Sukil Dahiya, an 18-year-old from Sisana village in Sonepat, says any further delay in restarting recruitment will mean fewer attempts for boys like him who are within the age bracket laid down for recruitment.
“What is our fault? We are really going through a hard time because of this ban on recruitment. Many of us don’t have a plan B,” says Dahiya.
If it is Umrao Singh in Palra, then it is the heroism and accomplishments of 1971 war legend Colonel Hoshiar Singh, who was from Sisana, that have inspired Dahiya and several other young boys in the village to join the army. Colonel Singh was awarded the hallowed Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest wartime honour, for his heroism in capturing a Pakistani location called Jarpal across the Basantar river in Shakargarh sector during the 1971 war.
The officer, who died in 1998, was badly wounded but refused to be evacuated from the battlefield till a ceasefire was announced. He joined the army as a sepoy and rose to become an officer.
“Many of us grew up hearing about Colonel Singh’s unbelievable stories of courage. He has been a role model for us. Almost every family in the village has someone in the army. We really pray that this recruitment nightmare ends and we have some clarity about our future,” says Sisana’s Deepak Kumar, 21.
Deepak Kumar’s case is slightly different from the army aspirants applying in the general category as his father served in the army. In such cases, the aspirants can avail the UHQ (unit headquarters) quota for recruitment carried out at different regimental centres scattered across the country. A similar quota exists for sportsmen too.
While recruitment rallies have not been conducted after the pandemic began two years ago, some UHQ recruitment was initiated during this period but that too has not been completed. For instance, in Kumar’s case, the process began in December 2020 but it’s still not over.
“The physical fitness tests, medical examination and checking of documents is over. But the written exam has not been conducted,” says Kumar. While he has turned 21, he is still eligible for recruitment as the process began earlier in his case.
Army aspirants in Union minister and former army chief General VK Singh’s village Bapora near Bhiwani are also dealing with disappointment and frustration over the stalled recruitment.
Pushpender Singh is about to turn 19 and has been preparing for the army physicals for almost three years in the hope of making the cut when his turn comes. “I have been running daily and doing chin-ups, push-ups and sit-ups. My friends are also following a rigourous routine to clear the physical fitness tests. Some of them are overage now. Sab ka dil toot gaya hai (Everyone’s heart is broken). The government should announce age relaxation,” he says.
In February, General Singh installed a Soviet-origin T-55 tank at the entrance of Bapora to honour the soldiers from the village, now a symbolof its military tradition.
A common sight across Haryana villages HT travelled to over two days is that of scores of young men turning up at the local stadia or grounds in the morning and the evening to prepare for the army physicals.
“We spend hours working on our fitness. We don’t know if our hard work will pay off. Our morale is in the pits and the future looks bleak,” says Palra’s Kartik Yadav, who turns 20 in August.
The recruitment rallies have been put on hold at a time when the army is facing a manpower crunch. It currently has a shortage of 81,000 soldiers in the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) cadre, a senior army official told the parliamentary standing committee on defence that tabled its report in the two houses on March 16.
“As of 1st January, the sanctioned strength was 12,12,000 and we have a shortage of 81,000 which is 6.7%,” the official told the panel.
Bapora’s Rahul Tanwar, 17, hopes the freeze on recruitment will be lifted by the time he becomes eligible for it in a couple of months even though there is no indication from the government as to when it plans to restart the process.
“I am ready for my first attempt. All of us work really hard to get recruited, and I feel sad for those who have become ineligible because of their age. The government should restart recruitment activity at the earliest as with every passing day someone’s dream is dying,” he adds.
Captain Umrao Singh’s son Vijay Singh, 65, a farmer, says young boys have been preparing for recruitment despite knowing that it has been on hold for two years.
“It shows how committed they are. The government should step forward and do whatever it can to help them realise their life’s ambition. And I don’t think they are asking for too much,” he says.
“Moreover, some traditions are too glorious to be interrupted,” he adds.
Apart from the disappointment of many who seek to join the army and serve the country, the freeze on recruitment is also impacting the strength of units, particularly those serving in border areas, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
“Going ahead, the two-year gap in recruitment could also affect cadre management issues. Now that things are back to normal, the government could speedily issue a recruitment programme,” Hooda said.
