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New Delhi. In Pokhara, Nepal, former Gurkha soldiers and their supporters have demonstrated demanding the resumption of recruitment of Nepalese youth in the Indian Army. The protesters say that Nepali youth should get the opportunity to serve as Agniveer in the Indian Army instead of being forced to seek employment in Gulf countries. This demonstration has taken place at a time when preparations are going on for the visit of Indian Army Chief General Dheeraj Seth to Nepal. General Seth is going on a five-day visit to Nepal from August 16.

According to the report, a demonstration was organized by Indian Ex-Servicemen Gorkha Brigade Nepal Pokhara on Wednesday, August 12 in Pokhara. Along with ex-servicemen, their families and Nepalese youth also participated in it. The protesters submitted a two-point memorandum to the federal government of Nepal through the District Administration Office. Their main demand is to immediately resume recruitment of Nepalese youth in the Indian Army. Along with this, the demand for renewal of ex-servicemen organizations containing the word soldier is also included in the memorandum.

The history of relations between Gorkha soldiers and the Indian Army is quite old. Nepali citizens have been serving in the Indian Army for a long time. The protesting ex-servicemen say that this tradition has provided employment and respect to many generations. According to him, the halt in recruitment has closed the way for a large number of Nepali youth to join the army and it has also affected those families whose generations have been associated with the Indian Army.

The issue of recruitment of Nepalese Gurkhas into the Indian Army became complicated after the implementation of the Agneepath scheme. India had launched the Agneepath scheme in 2022. Under this, the initial service period of Agniveers is four years and depending on the performance and the need of the army, a maximum of 25 percent of Agniveers can be kept for further longer service. The rest of the Agniveer come out after completion of service and get a fixed lump sum amount. The Nepal government did not allow the recruitment of Nepali youth to proceed further, raising questions about this four-year service system and the future of the youth after that.

Former Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan has also said on this issue that now the decision has to be taken by the Nepal government. He said that there cannot be a separate recruitment system for Nepali citizens and separate recruitment system for Indian citizens. In such a situation, Nepal will have to decide whether it wants to send its youth to the Indian Army under the Agneepath scheme or not.

Former Gorkha soldiers protesting in Pokhara have made it clear that they are in no mood to back down on this issue. He says that if recruitment is not started soon, the movement will be intensified. This demand of the protesters has now emerged as an important issue between India-Nepal relations and the old tradition of Gorkha recruitment. At the same time, before the proposed visit of the Indian Army Chief to Nepal, this demonstration has brought the whole matter into further discussion.