Poll-bound states have higher representation in India's defence forces

Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand account for a significant share of defence personnel, as the government's Agnipath overhaul draws criticism ahead of Assembly elections

Data available on state-wise representation of defence personnel bears out that youth from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur join the armed forces in significant numbers.

 

This comes as the Opposition, including the Congress, linked overhauling the Agnipath scheme to the upcoming elections in five states.

 

Assembly elections are slated to be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur around February-March 2027.

 

On Wednesday, Congress Rajya Sabha member and spokesperson Pawan Khera termed the decision as another “flip” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

 

“With elections approaching in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Himachal Pradesh — states with high per capita recruitment rates in the Indian Armed Forces — the government has announced a major change to the Agniveer scheme,” Khera said.

 

 

After Agniveer was announced, besides the Congress, BJP’s allies also flagged their concerns on the scheme after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

 

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP bagged 240 seats, falling short of the majority mark by 32 seats, and relied on its allies to form the government. In one of their first demands at the time, allies, such as the Janata Dal (United), Telugu Desam Party and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) demanded a review of the Agnipath scheme.

 

These parties spoke of the resentment against the scheme among youths.

 

Widespread protests had taken place in Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana when the scheme was announced in 2022.

 

According to the government’s reply in the Rajya Sabha in July 2022, train services were affected due to agitation and protests against the Agnipath scheme at 62 locations. A total of 2,132 trains were cancelled between June 15 and June 22. 

 

A total refund of nearly ₹102.96 crore was given because of train cancellations and “a loss of ₹259.44 crore due to damage and destruction of railway assets in agitations against Agnipath scheme was incurred.”

 

The state-wise data of recruitment under the Agnipath scheme is unavailable. But there is data available on the state-wise recruitment in the defence forces. The Department of Military Affairs, which comes under the Ministry of Defence, furnished the data in a reply in the Lok Sabha on April 1, 2022.

 

According to the data, there were 1,133,083 (around 1.13 million) personnel of junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks as on December 31, 2021 in the Indian Army.

 

Of these, 22,880 were from Nepal and 14 from Bhutan. JCOs and other ranks recruited from Indian states and Union Territories comprised 1,110,079 (around 1.11 million).

 

Among these, Uttar Pradesh had the maximum representation of 162,724, or 14.65 per cent. Punjab’s share was 90,290, or 8.13 per cent, Uttarakhand’s 59,978 or 5.4 per cent and Manipur’s 8,565, or less than one per cent.

 

Goa’s representation was 219, including 15 JCOs and the rest of other ranks.

 

UP and Punjab were the top two states in terms of representation of JCOs and other ranks in the Indian Army, followed by Maharashtra (84,373) and Rajasthan (80,034).

 

Uttarakhand, along with Bihar and Haryana, was also among the top states in terms of representation of JCOs and other ranks in the Indian Army.

 

In the Indian Navy, of its 10,169 officers, there were 1,486 from UP, the highest for any state.

 

While coastal states, such as Kerala (1,033), Maharashtra (745), Andhra Pradesh (601) and Tamil Nadu (579) led in the representation in the Indian Navy’s officer ranks, Uttarakhand (413) and Punjab (381) also had a significant presence. And, 56 were from Manipur and 35 from Goa, Daman and Diu.

 

Among Indian Navy’s 63,700 sailors, those from UP were the highest at 11,946, followed by Rajasthan (8,202), Haryana (6,237), Bihar (5,964), Andhra Pradesh (3,677), Madhya Pradesh (3,043), Maharashtra (2,854), and Kerala (2,542).

 

There were 1,578 sailors from Uttarakhand and 1,464 from Punjab, 459 from Manipur and 92 from Goa.    

 

Among the Indian Air Force’s 12,143 officers, 2,134 were from UP, 1,137 from Haryana, 824 from Maharashtra, 749 from Kerala, 729 from Delhi, 664 from Punjab, 632 from Uttarakhand, 63 from Manipur and 29 from Goa.

 

Of the 138,994 Airmen in the Indian Air Force, those from UP were the highest at 35,942, followed by Bihar (21,931), Haryana (16,024), and Rajasthan (15,868). There were 5,425 airmen from Uttarakhand, 1,924 from Punjab, 1,417 from Manipur and 43 from Goa. 

                                                       The big picture

• Army: Uttar Pradesh (UP) leads with 14.65% of JCOs and other ranks, followed by Punjab (8.13%) and Uttarakhand (5.4%)
• Navy officers: UP tops the list with 1,486 personnel; Uttarakhand has 413 and Punjab 381
• Navy sailors: UP leads with 11,946, followed by Uttarakhand (1,578) and Punjab (1,464)
• Air force officers: UP has 2,134 personnel, followed by Punjab (664) and Uttarakhand (632)
• Airmen: UP leads with 35,942, while Uttarakhand has 5,425 and Punjab 1,924