The day the Agnipath scheme was announced, K. Ram went into shock. For the next two days, the 22-year-old had only one thought—how to commit suicide.
In 2019, Ram, who lives in a village near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, first attended an open rally the Army held in a ground in Visakhapatnam. He had to cover 1.6km in a little more than five minutes. He overshot the deadline by a few seconds. Though dejected, he decided to soldier on.
“After 2019, I discontinued my degree, focused on my running time and improved my physical health,” he said. “I took coaching from an academy to crack the written exam. After two years, there was a call for posts in the Army. I applied and even got the admit card number; the date of test was also announced. But it was cancelled at the last moment,” said Ram.
His parents, daily wage labourers, borrowed Rs1 lakh to help him realise his dream though they did not approve of him joining the Army.
“I am not not against the scheme,” he said. “I do not know why it is tough for everyone to understand that, for three years, we have been frustrated and desperate. Just hold the tests for the applicants who have already applied or have partially cleared the tests and then introduce any scheme you want.”