One dead as India protests against new short-term army jobs widen
Man dies in Telangana state as protesters throw stones at police and set fire to train coaches in demonstrations against a new military recruitment policy.
Flames rise from a train set on fire by protesters at Secunderabad railway station in Telangana state, India [Mahesh Kumar A/AP]
Published On 17 Jun 202217 Jun 2022
Updated:
19 hours ago
At least one person has died and more than a dozen injured as protests against a new short-term government recruitment policy for the military enter a third day in India.The death was reported on Friday from the southern Telangana state – a sign the protests were spreading – where police opened fire as a crowd gathered at Secunderabad railway station and torched train coaches. It was not clear if the man died in the police firing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced this week an overhaul of the recruitment process for the 1.38 million-strong armed forces, aiming to bring in more people on short, four-year contracts to lower the average age of personnel.
But many potential recruits object, saying they should be allowed to serve longer than four years.
Opposition parties and some members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) say the system will lead to more unemployment in a country grappling with joblessness.
Police said they used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters in several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan after crowds took to the streets, blocked railway tracks and roads, and damaged vehicles and government buildings.
Railway authorities said movement of nearly 200 trains were affected as they cancelled dozens of passenger train services and deployed additional police to railway stations to prevent further destruction, media reports said.
In Gurugram, a satellite city of India’s capital that is home to offices of several multinational firms, authorities banned gatherings of more than four people at one place in an effort to forestall demonstrations.
“This order shall come into force with immediate effect,” Gurugram’s administration said in a notice, a copy of which was posted on social media by the district’s information department.
While there have been no reports of protests in Gurugram, some demonstrators were out in the neighbouring district of Palwal on Thursday.
Some of the world’s major companies have offices in Gurugram, including Microsoft, Meta and Google. It is also home to manufacturing facilities of major Indian companies such as Maruti Suzuki.
