If Nepal doesn’t choose in time, India could also be forced to withdraw vacancies for enlisting soldiers under its new Agnipath scheme within the current recruitment cycle, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said on Wednesday.
If India makes such a move, it could jeopardize its already precarious relationship with Nepal, where China has made significant strategic inroads over the years.
The Indian Army plans to induct 40,000 “Agniveers” in two batches following recruitment rallies and selection processes across the country and in Nepal, with approximately 25,000 starting training in December and 15,000 starting in February.
According to TOI, even before the Agnipath scheme was announced in mid-June, the annual intake of Nepali Gorkhas within the Indian Army had gradually decreased from over 4,000 p.a. to around 1,500.According to Gen Pande.
Nepal is unlikely to require any decision before the final elections within the country on November 20,” citing opposition to the Indian Army recruiting Nepalese youth.
It’s a call for Nepal to create, Army Chief Pande said, adding that India had explained the “benefits” of demobilizing 75% of the young soldiers after four years with the Seva Nidhi exit package of Rs 11.7 lakh each.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal met with government minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday, every day after meeting together with his counterpart, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, to debate bilateral relations.
Nepal has halted recruitments under the Agnipath scheme, with protests scheduled to start on August 25, in protest of the induction of soldiers for less than four years with no pension or ex-servicemen benefits.
In response to an issue at a session of the United Service Institution of India, Gen Pande stated that vacancies allocated to Nepalese Gorkhas should be “redistributed” to others for the present if Kathmandu doesn’t allow recruitment rallies by the deadlines.
The Army plans to induct a complete 40,000 Agniveers in two batches following recruitment rallies and selection processes across the country and in Nepal, with approximately 25,000 starting training in December and 15,000 starting in February.
Even before the Agnipath scheme was announced in mid-June, the annual intake of Nepalese Gorkhas within the Indian Army had gradually decreased from over 4,000 to around 1,500.
The figure under the Agnipath scheme will almost certainly be lower. “In my opinion,” Gen Pande said, Nepal “is unlikely to require any decision before the country’s general elections on November 20,” citing opposition to the Indian Army recruiting Nepalese youth.
“It’s a choice for them (Nepal),” the military chief said, adding that India had explained the “benefits” for the 75% of young soldiers who would be demobilized after four years with the Seva Nidhi exit package of Rs 11.7 lakh each.
In a related development, Nepalese Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal called on the secretary of state S Jaishankar on Wednesday after meeting together with his counterpart, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the day before to debate bilateral relations.
The Indian Army began recruiting Nepalese Gorkhas in 1947, as a part of a tripartite agreement signed by India, Nepal, and therefore the UK.
Approximately 30,000 Nepalese citizens are currently serving within the Army’s seven Gorkha Rifles regiments, each of which has five to 6 battalions. There also are over 1.3 lakh ex-servicemen in Nepal who receive pensions from the Indian Army.
Indian-domiciled Gorkhas from Darjeeling, Dehradun, Dharamshala, and other places now conjure 40% of the GR troops, up from a negligible proportion previously.
The number of Nepalese Gorkhas within the 12-lakh-strong Army could also be small, but it is a long-standing tie that has strongly linked India and Nepal since Maharaja Ranjit Singh raised a battalion of Gorkhas to serve in his army around 1809-1814. A year later, the nation’s army followed suit.
Though the Indian Army has around 20 other infantry regiments with multiple battalions, the Gorkhas stand out with their distinctively tilted hats, lethal inwardly curving kukris, and never-say-die attitude.
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