Under a huge banyan tree on a village ground in Nawada district, Sahil Kumar, 20, is one among the 30 Army aspirants mulling over the uncertain future that lies ahead of them ever since the Union Government announced the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces.
“Life is meaningless now,” he murmurs while lowering his head and fighting back tears. For the past two-and-a-half years, he has been preparing for a job in the Army, running five km on the ground in the morning and four km on a nearby dry riverbed in the evening, every day. Being the only son of an agriculturist, Sahil says his father had big dreams for him and wanted to see him as an Army man. He too was working very hard, planning to marry off his two younger sisters as an Army man. “But this government has crushed all my dreams with one stroke, I’ve lost sleep, lost interest in life,” he says. His friends, who appear equally disheartened, try to console him, pat his back and chant in chorus, “Either the government withdraws the Agnipath scheme, or we all will withdraw from life.”
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