‘As Agniveer I Felt Discarded; At JNU I Have Found A Purpose’
Ajay Pal, who abandoned Agniveer posting to return to studies, says the recruitment scheme is a sham which leads the gullible youth up the garden path. His views:
I come from Tanu, a small village in Rajasthan’s Barmer district. I belong to a farmers family— simple people with big hearts, who taught me to value honesty, hard work, and standing up for what’s right. Like many young people from rural India, I dreamed of wearing the uniform and serving the country. So when the Agnipath scheme was launched, I signed up with pride and became an Agniveer in the Indian Air Force.
In the beginning, it felt like everything I had worked for was finally paying off. The training, the discipline, the sense of purpose — it all gave me a deep sense of pride. But slowly, the cracks started showing. We weren’t regular soldiers. We were on a four-year contract, with no job security, no pension, and no clear future. We were trained to serve, but not supported to live after that service.
People often ask me — why did I leave the Air Force? The truth is, I didn’t leave because I didn’t love the uniform. I hung up my boot because the system did not love us back. When those four years ended, there were no real options before me. At the start of it all, we had been promised skill development, jobs, preferences — but on the ground, there was nothing solid. Just broken promises and a silence that hurt more than any command ever did.
That’s what pushed me to think deeper. I decided to return to study, again. I got admission into Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a place known for ideas, resistance, and questioning injustice. It felt like home. And now, I’m contesting the JNU students’ union election as a councillor candidate with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). For me, this election is not just about student politics. It’s about telling the truth — about my life, my challenges. Also, the truth about Agnipath, about how this scheme leads the youth of this country up the garden path.
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You see, Agnipath isn’t just a policy. It’s a message. It says: “We’ll use your youth, your dreams, your strength — but we won’t stand with you when you need us.” That’s not the idea of India I want to believe in. That’s not the nation I wore the uniform for. That is not the country of my dreams.
At JNU, I’ve found a new purpose — fighting for dignity, education, fairness and transparency. It’s one of the few places where students from villages like mine can dream big. For, a semester costs just ₹268. But even that is under threat now. The same government that gave us Agnipath is now trying to corporatize education, limit opportunities, and silence student voices.
My campaign is about fighting back — not with anger, but by standing firmly with the truth. I’ve seen what happens when the system forgets its own people. I have witnessed it, I have lived it. And now, I want to make sure no one else is forced to do that.
I’m not just a student. I’m a former Agniveer. I’ve served this country in uniform, and now I want to serve it through my voice. From the sands of Barmer to the classrooms of JNU, my journey is not just mine — it’s the story of every young Indian who deserves better.
As told to Deepti Sharma
