Agnipath scheme will degrade combat effectiveness; Agniveers are "barely trained" and only fit "for sentry duties"; military is not a laboratory for social engineering and reform: former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash

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In forceful and outspoken criticism of the Agnipath scheme as it exists today, one of India’s most distinguished former Navy Chiefs and a former Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, has said that it will “degrade combat effectiveness” and that Agniveers are “barely trained” and only fit “for sentry duties”. Speaking specifically about the navy, Admiral Arun Prakash says “it must be recognized that at least 56 years are required before a new entrant can acquire handson experience to be entrusted with the operation or maintenance of lethal weapon systems and complex machinery and electronics.” This means that the 6 months training an Agniveer gets is woefully inadequate and, anyway, after 4 years he ceases to be in service. Therefore, as far as the navy is concerned, an Agniveer is probably never adequately trained.



In a 25minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Admiral Prakash very forcefully argued that the military “is not a laboratory for social engineering or reform”. He also said the Agnipath scheme should have been brought in on a trial basis and not enforced on all three services at one go. He also believes that the time when the scheme was introduced was not “the best time to cast the armed forced – already short of manpower – into turmoil with a radical and untried new recruitment system”.



Speaking specifically about Agniveer Ajay Kumar and the controversy over whether his family has received exgratia payment from the army following his death, Admiral Arun Prakash said that the 98 lakhs insurance money they have got is not the same as exgratia. He said he could not understand why even after 6 months the exgratia has not been paid. In the case of a regular jawan it’s paid within a few weeks. Admiral Prakash said this delay is most “unfortunate”.



Admiral Arun Prakash pointed out that there are significant differences between Agniveers and regular jawans and these are not just to do with length of training and length of service but also with the facilities they can avail of and the fact that Agniveers do not have a rank and carry a badge on their shoulders identifying them as Agniveers. Admiral Prakash said this will have a significant detrimental impact on the fraternity and bonding i.e. esprit de corps of the armed forces.



Admiral Prakash’s forceful critique of the Agnipath scheme raises the critical question how come recently retired or serving service Chiefs accepted this scheme as it stands and, in many cases, went on to forcefully defend it. Those are questions that these gentlemen must now answer.



I do not know of any other former service Chief and former Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee who has so forcefully critiqued the Agnipath scheme, pointing out the significant differences between Agniveers and regular jawans, the detrimental impact on bonding and fraternity between Agniveers and regular jawans as well as between Agniveers themselves and the detrimental impact on combat effectiveness. As far as I know, no other retired Chief has addressed this issue so comprehensively and so unequivocally. I, therefore, strongly recommend this interview.



I have only given you the main points made by Admiral Prakash. There’s an awful lot in the interview that you must see for yourself.




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