Army unattractive for Youth

That is the headline in today’s Times of India. Guess what? How do you get today’s youth interested in the Army? Is it because of patriotism towards one’s motherland? How patriotic are our politicians? Would love to see even one of them join the army. But I am digressing. The whole point of this post is to highlight the fact that the Armed Forces in India just do not et paid well as compared to the civil services. You know why – the bureaucrats in cahoots with the politicians are the guys who decide the paycheck for the armed forces.

You have the 6th Pay Commission handing out hefty increments to all the civil services – you have the Maharashtra State Government (which by the way is perpetually broke) giving its bureaucrats a hefty pay hike (don’t know where the money will come from – more taxes maybe). In contrast you have the faujis returning their medals of honor to the President in protest against the step motherly treatment given by the 6th Pay Commission. Is that not a sorry sight! In times of conflict – external aggression or internal disturbances – who are the guys who come to the defence of the nation and the public. POLITICIANS, BUREAUCRATS --- NAAAH – it is the armed forces. They are the only class which have honor in our country – all the other services are pathetic and corrupt to the core – one licking the others arse to get whatever it wants – all at the tax payers expense. In any period of conflict or real danger – whether it is natural or man made – politicians/bureaucrats are always absent from the scene – it is the armed forces who are visible in action – the politicians/bureaucrats will come after the event to give their sound bites in front of cameras!

With the bureaucrats and ministers saying that they do not have the Rs 3700 crore to pay the arrears as per the 6th Pay Commission – but they find the funds for a much larger payout to the civil services. When we have such a sorry state of affairs – how do you expect modern youth to join the armed forces? You have to make the armed forces attractive – show that life is exciting and full of thrills and also financially rewarding for today’s youth to give it a shot.

The way to attract he youth would be through the modernization of the armed forces, by bringing in new roles for the youth, cyber warfare, cybernetics, spy satellite technology, imaging etc are some of the fields which could attract the youth. We need to change our mindset if we have to attract youth to the armed forces. Their pay packets should be in line with global standards so that the available talent is retained and groomed for the future.