Crowds in northern India were pushed back by police firing shot in the air on Thursday as protests grew against a new military recruitment system. Authorities shut off the internet in at least one district as the protests have gotten more chaotic. Prime Minister Narenda Modi and his government announced an overhaul of the recruitment for India’s armed forces to reduce the average age of the military personnel and reduce pension expenses.
Reservations about the new proces have been raised by military veterans, opposition leaders and potential recruits, in addition to some members of Modi’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the Palwal district in the northern Haryana state, crowds threw stones at a government official’s house and police protecting the building fired shots to keep the mob in its place. A BJP building was set on fire by protesters in eastern India’s Bihar state in Nawada city, along with attacking railway property across Bihar. The new recruitment system proposed will bring men and women between the ages of 17 and six months and 21 for a four year tenure in non-officer ranks. Only a quarter of the recruits will be retained for longer periods. Typically, soldiers were recruited separately by the navy and air force and would enter service for up to 17 years at the lower ranks. The shorter tenure has caused concern for recruits.
Read more: Violent protests erupt in India against new military recruitment scheme
