To Allow or Not to Allow: Nepal’s Predicament Over Recruitment in Gorkha Regiment 

New Delhi: The Nepal government is still undecided about whether to allow the Indian Army to recruit Nepali youths under the newly launched Agnipath scheme of short-term recruitment into the armed forces. 

Soon after launching the Agnipath scheme, the Indian Army via the Indian Embassy asked Kathmandu's views on recruiting Nepali youths in the Gorkha regiment. The Army had postponed the Gorkha recruitment due to Covid-19 pandemic. 

Nepali youths are taken in by the Indian Army under the tripartite treaty signed between Nepal, India and Britain at time of Independence. The Gorkha regiments make up the Indian Army’s 43 Battalions with soldiers from both Nepal and India in seven Gorkha regiments – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and the 11th.

New Delhi is awaiting Kathmandu's response as the recruitment process of Nepalis is scheduled for August 25 in Butwal and September 1 in Dharan. As per reports in Nepali media, the Sher Bahadur Deuba government has not taken any decision on the matter. 

Government officials in Kathmandu have said the Indian government did not discuss the matter with the Nepali side before launching the Agnipath scheme and only informed that it has resumed the recruitment under the new scheme.

The Indian Army will be recruiting 46,000 ‘Agniveers’, under the Agnipath scheme. The Nepali government is considering the social costs as 75 percent of the Nepali youths (Agniveers) who get selected would have to return home after four years. The scheme has a provision to retain 25 percent of them for 15 more years.

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The short-term four-year service provision in the Agnipath scheme will apply to the Gorkha regiment, which has raised questions about the recruitment scheme as some sections in the neighbouring country are asking whether it will violate the Tripartite Agreement between then British, India and Nepali governments signed in 1947 that ensures the recruitment in the Indian Army and ensured equal pay and pension and other facilities on par with the Indians. Some Nepali experts have even suggested to make this tripartite agreement bilateral with India.