In Estonia, every year, nearly 1,000 young men (between the ages of 17 and 27) pay the state a total of 1,50,000 euros in fines and penalties only to avoid serving conscription when called up. Additionally, the state makes more money on misdemeanour fines, and penalties issued on those who fail to appear before the medical commission of the Estonian Defence Forces, which comes to about 2,00,000 euros annually. The country now also intends to make it tougher for youngsters to avoid conscription; the driver’s licence of evaders could be suspended on a court order once an amendment in law comes to effect January 1, 2019. The case of Estonia represents the drawbacks of conscription. It may be envisaged as a means to inculcate nationalistic fervor among the young and to make them disciplined. But the costs that a country may have to pay for such forced ‘militarization’ could be steep.
In India, the Union government is currently hammering out a military training programme for youth named N-YES, which is short for National Youth Empowerment Programme. N-YES aims to impart military training to 10 lakh young men and women “fresh out of classes 10 and 12 and, currently, enrolled in college” each year. These youngsters will also benefit from a slew of incentives.
Those enrolled in the year-long programme would receive a stipend; besides military training, those enrolled would be taught “vocational and IT skills, disaster management and Indian values through yoga, ayurveda and ancient Indian philosophy”. Of course, the funding for the body is expected to come from the budget currently allocated for the National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme. Further, the proposed training could qualify those enrolled for entry to the armed forces.
At first glance the programme may appear to be a benign exercise that could provide youngsters with training that could help improve their physical and mental faculties. But at a deeper level, there are a multitude of questions that arise on its intent and purpose. The biggest one of all is what would this militarily trained force of youngsters do? If one were to take Israel for an example, one factor that could be touted in support of conscription or military training is that the recruit would get to handle extraordinary situations that would help him or her to develop into a capable leader able to perform in the worst of situations. It is claimed that Israel has seen a spurt in the number of successful start-ups founded by people who have served in the Israeli Defence Forces. A report produced by ‘Forbes’ magazine analysing the reasons behind the success of start-ups in Israel has noted that one key factor supporting the innovation ecosystem in Israel is the “strong interconnections among its people, which promotes collaboration and exchange of ideas”. The report goes on to add that much of the collaboration “stems from shared army experiences, given every Israeli goes through the two or three-year mandatory military service”. But India does not have an Israel-like situation and is not at such a heightened level of threat as the tiny Jewish state.
Therefore, the need for military training to an impressionable demographic segment tailored around ‘values’ that are closer to a particular politically connected religious ideology – at the taxpayers’ expense – is definitely suspicious.
At present, youth organisations such as the NCC and NSS, in which membership is voluntary, are doing yeoman service to the country without any form of force or coercion. These movements can do much better if the funding extended towards their development or upkeep is not pilfered on its way down. Instead, that funding could be increased. It would be disastrous to try and replicate something from a different country and milieu in India, with its plural social setting. Whether the youth of the country require military training beyond the basic kind is a matter that requires deliberation from multiple angles, particularly given the prevalence of a huge employment gap in the country. Trained in warfare but unemployable in other sectors, these youngsters could easily fall prey to unimaginable socially evil instigation. In the name of nationalism, the government may be militarising the country that could yield undesired results in the long run.