Now Reading: Agnipath only route for Gorkhas, Nepal must decide: ex-CDS Chauhan
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Agnipath only route for Gorkhas, Nepal must decide: ex-CDS Chauhan
Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (retired) has said the recruitment of Gorkhas from Nepal into the Indian Army will be based on the Agnipath scheme, and that the decision…
Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (retired) has said the recruitment of Gorkhas from Nepal into the Indian Army will be based on the Agnipath scheme, and that the decision rests with the Nepal government. Speaking at ThePrint's Off The Cuff event, he said the 1947 tripartite agreement between India, the UK and Nepal required equal conditions for Nepali soldiers, and India has fulfilled its part of the bargain.
Chauhan said there cannot be one recruitment scheme for Indian citizens and another for Nepali citizens. Nepal has so far refused to accept the Agnipath scheme, arguing it was implemented without consultation and violates the tripartite agreement. Over 1.22 lakh Nepali citizens receive a pension from the Indian government, worth an estimated three percent of Nepal's GDP.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The tripartite agreement of 1947 was signed when Nepal was a monarchy and its terms locked in equal pay and pensions for Gorkha soldiers in the Indian and British armies. India's shift to the four-year Agnipath model in 2022 changed the service conditions that the treaty was meant to guarantee, leaving Kathmandu with a political dilemma. If Nepal accepts Agnipath, it risks domestic backlash for endorsing a scheme that reduces long-term service benefits. If it refuses, it cuts off a vital income stream: pensions to Nepali veterans are equivalent to nearly three percent of Nepal's GDP, a flow no government in Kathmandu can afford to lose for long. The next signal to watch is whether Nepal's foreign ministry opens formal talks with New Delhi on a revised recruitment framework.
Source: theprint.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
