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Exercising, running: Craze for army recruitment beats Covid-19 fears in west UP villages
Youngsters in villages of western UP are fascinated with recruitment in the army, paramilitary forces and police. Recruitment rallies draw a heavy influx of youngsters who prepare throughout the year to get their dream job.
The nasty and infectious coronavirus may have brought cities to a halt and sent people scurrying indoors but has failed to dampen the fervour of hundreds of youngsters in west Uttar Pradesh villages who aspire for recruitment in the armed forces and police.
To them, it is of no consequence that the recruitment rallies have been postponed due to corona outbreak. Fascinated with the ‘uniformed job’, they are using the time to prepare for the fitness test so that their dream may come true.
Groups of youths can be seen working on their exercise regimen and running on village roads every morning, some taking adequate precautions while others are nonchalant.
Fitness and completing a run of 1600 metres ahead of other competitors is the first key to success. And to succeed in their efforts, they are out to even beat the looming danger of corona.
Every morning and evening, the youth come out of their houses to do their exercises and running practice to keep their chance of getting selected in the next recruitment rally alive. These high spirited youngsters can be seen stretching, jogging and running on all roads passing through villages. Their concentration is solely on recruitment, with no thought to spare about corona times.
Titu Pehalwan of Syal village heads a group of 20 to 25 youngsters of his village which is dominated by the Gujar community. On being asked about the danger of corona, he carelessly says,” Corona will do nothing to us. We are Gujars and will beat it off.” His disciples burst into laughter in unison.
Almost 20 kms away from here on the outskirts of Amhera village, Shoaib Ali, Paritosh Sharma, Akash Siwach and Sumit are stretching to prepare for the 1600- metre run.
But unlike Syal youths, they are taking all precautions during their exercise. “We are educated and pursuing bachelor’s course. So we are aware of the importance of social distancing and sanitization. We wear masks, keep bottles of sanitizer and maintain a safe distance from each other,” explains Shoaib who had participated in two recruitment rallies of the army in the past but couldn’t qualify.
Explaining the recruitment procedure, Paritosh Sharma clarifies that all aspirants gather on a ground and are asked to run 1600 metres. The authorities get a few frontrunners separated from others. These lucky separated aspirants then undergo a written test followed by a medical test and other formalities.
Prince, Abhishek and Saurabh of Gawdi village say, “That is why a run of 1600 metres is key to open the lock of our luck and we are aiming at the next recruitment rally without fearing corona.”
Luvkush Gujar and Anuj Kumar of Syal say,” We can’t ruin our preparation for corona. The recruitment rally was to be organized in May which would be delayed because of lock-down but we need to keep ourselves prepared for a tough competition “.
In fact, youngsters in villages of the entire region which includes Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad districts, are fascinated with recruitment in the army, paramilitary forces and police. Recruitment rallies draw a heavy influx of youngsters who prepare throughout the year to get their dream job.
Shoaib Ali says, “Getting a uniformed job elevates the status of the youths and their families in villages.”
An 18-year-old of Gawri village has another explanation. “These jobs suit us after getting substandard education in colleges and schools of villages and nearby towns”. His friend Abhishek explains further, “Most parents can’t afford costly education and so they encourage their wards to try for these jobs which require more physical fitness than good educational profile. And it also fulfills the wish of getting a government job.”
The fascination for the ‘uniform’ has existed here since decades. Sandeep Pradhan of Sial village claims that over 300 to 400 people of his village are either in the army, paramilitary forces or UP and Delhi police. It has become an undeclared tradition in the village for youngsters to get themselves recruited and those who are in such jobs have turned their role models.
Saidpur in Bulandshahr district is a village which not only has a reputation of being a patriotic village but its military legacy is also a matter of pride for its residents. It has a history of serving the armed force since the First World War (1914-1919). A group of 155 soldiers of this village participated in the First World War and 29 of them laid down their lives for the motherland during British rule. The village has an inter college which has been named Military Heroes Memorial Inter College.
The villagers claim that at least 2,500 people of the village are still serving in the armed forces and police and almost every house has an ex- serviceman.
Lt General (retd) Kapil Agarwal, who belongs to Meerut, digs into history to explain the reason behind the fascination for the armed forces in the region. He reminds that Meerut has a big Cantonment since British period and was a centre of Punjab, Sikh and Dogra regiments till 1980. Recruitments in these regiments were carried out in large numbers through recruitment rallies. These regiments have been shifted but the Cantonment still has two major fighting formations, which have officials and jawans in big numbers.
He says,”Youths watch them doing physical training and running and find their lifestyle fascinating. Besides, many of their elders had served in the armed forces since decades and they also encourage young members of their families to join the forces, which offer one of the finest jobs in the country.”
