NEW DELHI–Protesters have set fire to buses and trains and vandalized property across India in a backlash against a new recruiting system that the government says will transform the country’s military.
Security has been tightened in several states in recent days, since the protests erupted after the government announced the changes last week. The internet has been suspended in parts of Bihar, one of India’s poorest states where protests have been among the most damaging.
At the root of these protests are deep frustrations among young Indians about the lack of jobs and their prospects for financial growth, analysts said. While India is among the world’s fastest-growing economies, with the World Bank projecting economic growth of 7.5% in the current fiscal year, the expansion hasn’t been accompanied by enough job growth to absorb the millions of Indians who enter the workforce every year.
“There’s a general sense of hopelessness” among the youth, said Surinder Singh Jodhka, a professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. In this environment, working for the government has become even more attractive. “Young people who are looking forward to some kind of secure, government job, their number has been growing,” said Mr. Jodhka.
Under the new policy, the Indian armed forces will recruit those between the ages of 17.5 and 21 as entry-level personnel for four years. After that initial service, they would be eligible to apply for permanent jobs with the armed forces, but there will be positions for a maximum of 25% of them, depending on the need of the military at the time.
Flames rise from a train set on fire by demonstrators at a railroad station last Friday in Hyderabad, India, as nearly 500 people protesting the nation’s new military recruiting plan vastly outnumbered police officers.
Photo:
Mahesh Kumar A/Associated Press
Defense Minister
Rajnath Singh
said the new recruitment policy would be a transformative change that would make the military stronger and…
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