Being Indian Army Agniveer far better than working in Gulf: Gorkha soldiers protest in Nepal

Nepal's Pokhara became the site of a demonstration on Wednesday, as former Gorkha soldiers and their supporters pressed India to resume recruiting Nepali youths into its army under the Agnipath scheme, Nepali news portal Ratopati reported. The protest unfolded with Indian Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth's scheduled visit to Nepal just days away.

One of the strongest bonds between India and Nepal has long rested on the enlistment of Gorkha soldiers into the Indian Army.

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Two-point memorandum submitted to Kathmandu

Ratopati reported that the Indian Ex-Servicemen Gorkha Brigade Nepal Pokhara organised Wednesday's demonstration and, through the District Administration Office, handed the federal government a two-point memorandum. Its demands: an immediate restart of recruitment, and renewed recognition for ex-servicemen organisations whose names include the word "soldier."

Brigade Chairman Colonel Krishna Bahadur Khatri, cited by Ratopati, warned that a 200-plus-year-old practice dating to the Sugauli Treaty now stood at risk because of the Agnipath scheme. "The process of recruiting Nepali youths in India began after the Sugauli Treaty and has been ongoing for 207 years. However, after India started the Agnipath scheme, the Nepal government, citing various reasons, has deprived Nepali youths from being recruited into the Indian Army," he was quoted as saying.

Nepali youth prefer joining Indian Army over going to Gulf countries for employment

According to Khatri, the freeze had not only cost Nepali youths jobs but also endangered a practice carried forward across generations of Gorkha soldiers. He framed the Agnipath scheme as a stronger option than the difficult, poorly paid work many currently seek overseas. Per the memorandum sent to the government and cited by Ratopati, "During the four-year period, youth earn approximately 4.5 to 5 million rupees with various facilities." The document went further in its comparison: "This profession [a job in the Indian Army] is hundreds of times better than going to the Gulf with 50 degrees Celsius temperature and working for a minimum wage."

What the Agnipath scheme involves

India rolled out Agnipath in 2022 as a fresh recruitment framework for its armed forces, under which so-called Agniveers serve four-year terms before as much as 25% of them become eligible for extended service. Reports suggest the Indian Armed Forces now want that retention share raised considerably. It is this scheme that has complicated the recruitment of Nepali Gorkhas.

The pipeline had already stalled around 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Once Agnipath came into effect, Kathmandu declined to let recruitment resume, citing doubts over how the new model squared with the arrangements that have traditionally governed Gorkha enlistment.

Indian Army chief's 5-day Nepal visit from August 16

India and Nepal's military relationship stretches back generations, with Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army for centuries as a defining thread in ties between the two forces. That relationship is set for a symbolic boost this month: General Dhiraj Seth is due in Nepal for five days beginning August 16, during which President Ramchandra Paudel will confer on him the honorary title "General of the Nepali Army," extending a practice observed reciprocally by both militaries.

The Kathmandu Post reported that General Seth is also expected to "pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Balendra Shah" while in the country. Nepal Army Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet explained the custom to the outlet: "Whenever a new army chief assumes office in either country, there is a tradition of exchanging high-level visits during which both chiefs are conferred with the honorary rank of General."

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Decision now rests with Nepal, says former Indian defence chief

Speaking to The Print on August 3, former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (Retd) said it is now up to Kathmandu to decide whether Nepali soldiers will serve in the Indian Army under Agnipath. He added that a separate recruitment scheme for Nepali citizens alongside a different one for Indians was not workable, The Print reported.

Both Chauhan and his predecessor, the late General Bipin Rawat, started their military careers in the 11th Gorkha Rifles, according to the report.