On December 11, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said, “Our Nepali citizens are not only serving the Russian Army but also reportedly serving in the Ukranian Army”. Nepal has urged Russia to stop their recruitment – almost 200 Nepali citizens have joined the Russian Army under dubious circumstances and six Nepalis have been reportedly killed – and to investigate the number of Nepalis fighting for Ukraine. Some have also joined the French Foreign Legion, such is the adverse effect of Nepal apparently rejecting Agniveer.
Former Army Chief General Mukund Naravane’s book Four Stars of Destiny spills the beans over the ownership of Agniveer scheme. As we have known, it was thrust on the three services by the prime minister’s office (PMO) and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval as Rahul Gandhi stated in parliament. Originally designed by late General Bipin Rawat, it was to be a pilot project for 5,000 Army personnel but the transformative reform took all three services by surprise says Naravane.
Last month at the Army’s Chanakya Dialogue a former Navy chief said that former CNS Admiral Karamvir Singh had rejected, in writing, the draft Agniveer scheme. Despite this, the government’s manipulation of incumbent service chiefs in praising the Agniveer project is astounding. What no government or military official has revealed is the stalemate over recruitment of Nepali Gorkha Agniveers since June 2022 and the Covid embargo period. Had General Rawat, a second generation Gorkha officer been alive, Agniveer in its current avatar would not have materialised.
I spent the last month in Pokhara, Nepal, the heartland of Nepal Domiciled Gorkhas (NDG) recruitment, interacting with ex-servicemen and other stakeholders. Not a single NDG has been recruited or become an Agniveer for nearly four years. Nepal has not communicated any reason for not subscribing to the Agniveer project. The Tripartite Treaty of 1947 governed Gorkha recruitment from Nepal by the British and Indian Armies. In June 2022, India announced the Agnipath scheme without consulting Nepal. Gorkhas are recognised as great warriors around the world and were key to the British empire that extended from Honduras to Hong Kong. In 2014, prime minister Modi praised the Gorkhas for shedding their blood for protecting the territorial integrity of India. For India, Gorkhas joining Indian Army is much more that ‘recruitment’. It represents the strategic bonding between India and Nepal.
Also read: Why India Should Be Worried About Chinese Army’s Plans to Recruit Nepali Gorkhas
Nepal’s Congress led government in 2022 passed on the decision on Agniveer to the new Maoist-led government which said it was seeking political consensus – diplomatic euphemism for rejecting Agniveer. In Nepal, public view on the scheme is divided. Most find it to be deeply flawed but their bottom line is firmly centered on pensionary benefits. The generous One Rank, One Pension
(OROP) has transformed the quality of life of the ex-servicemen. The minority view – “something (Agniveer) is better than nothing” highlights the need of job-seekers even if it for four years sans pension. But politics has trumped strategic and financial factors.
In last year’s elections, Communist parties – CPN UML, CPN Maoist and CPN Socialist – captured 68% of the vote. The Maoists’ 40-point demand in 1990 prior to the civil war demanded abrogation of foreign recruitment especially in Indian Army. No government in the coalition era – that has become inevitable under the new constitution – can oppose Communist thinking, especially on Agniveer. The hope that under the power-sharing agreement, after one year, the Nepali Congress-led coalition will accept Agniveer is unrealistic.
Recently, Nepal Army Chief Lt. General Prabhu Sharma, who is also an honorary General in the Indian Army said that he is not against recruitment in Indian Army but he is against recruitment as Agniveer. In 1974, an unstrategic Indian project to terminate Gorkha recruitment was aborted; then Army chief, General Gopal Bewoor from 11 Gorkha Rifles persuaded former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to dump the lunatic scheme. Today we have a Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, from same the Gorkha regiment but the manner of his deep selection has compromised him.
India, for now, is determined not to budge from Agniveer . Two reasons are offered – first, the government wants to end Gorkha recruitment as there is sufficient male recruitable population (MRP) in India. The more compelling reason is the Modi government’s policy of dismantling colonial legacy of recruitment of foreign soldiers. The real reason though is financial – salary and pension costs.
Agniveer is designed to reduce the strength of the Army and cut pensions. The latter alone in 2021-22 accounted for Rs 1.21 lakh crore which was more than allotment for modernisation. Av (Agniveer) is the rank prefix of a soldier and is the lowest rank in PBOR (Personnel Below Officer Rank). This is a new rank and tenable by Agniveers.
Nepal is conveying to India that Agniveer is breach of Tripartite Agreement of 1947 and consensus is required between original signatories to change terms of engagement; and in order to accept Agniveer, the ruling government is seeking political consensus. The future of the Gorkha Brigade and its 38 battalions is bleak given the inflexible positions of both countries.
Last year, after returning from Nepal, following his appointment as honorary General of Nepal Army, Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pandey said this on Gorkha recruitment: “If they don’t decide soon their vacancies will be given to others”. As there has been no recruitment for four years, a shortfall in Gorkha regiment is being made up by Kumaonis, Garhwalis and now Nagas while other tribes are being considered. General Pande is also mulling over reducing Gorkha battalions. Indian Domiciled Gorkhas who constitute 40% of recruitment are not a match for NDGs. In 2017, 6/1 Gorkha Rifles was raised comprising 100% IDGs. It has become difficult now to preserve 6/1 GR’s IDG sanctity and content as few IDGs meet the qualitative requirements (QRs) even after lowering standards and fewer are available. So the plan to fill up NDG shortfall with IDGs is a non-starter.
During his visit to India in June, prime minister Dahal did not raise the issue of Agniveer. Nepali foreign minister Narayan Saud told the BBC in August that any alteration of Tripartite Treaty between Nepal, India and UK must be based on consensus. Strangely, neither Nepal nor India has cared to call for talks on Agniveer. Meanwhile, recruitment is restricted to IDGs and tradesmen. The Gorkha Training Centres are training them and Agniveers of Indian regiments. The Colonel of Gorkha Brigade Lt. General Ajai Singh, who is also General Officer Commanding (GOC) in C Southern Command and has served in Nepal 25 years ago as a Pension Paying Officer, is visiting Nepal as President of the Gorkha Brigade next month and will meet cabinet ministers and government officials besides ex-servicemen .
It is a stunning irony that just when India is celebrating the biopic Sam Bahadur on Field Marshal Manekshaw, who became a household name in India and Nepal owing to his bonding with Gorkhas, their downsizing and ultimate phasing out is becoming a reality.
By 2030 there will be no pure Gorkha battalions and about half present number; and by 2037, none at all. This government will be credited with ending foreign recruitment but snapping a strategic connection with the most crucially located neighbour while opening the door to Nepali Gorkhas in PLA in the not too distant future. India-Nepal relations will never be the same again. Not a happy new year for the Gorkha Brigade!
Ashok K. Mehta, a major general, is a founding member of the erstwhile Defence Planning Staff now the Integrated Defence Staff.
