The All Nepal Indian Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association organised a peaceful protest in Kathmandu on Monday, demanding the resumption of Gorkha recruitment in the Indian Army, a process that has remained stalled for years. Former soldiers and their supporters gathered in the capital to press a range of demands connected to the halted intake of Nepali youth into Indian military service, an issue that touches thousands of families across Nepal. The demonstration was reported by Setopati and OnlineKhabar.

A peaceful show of strength in the capital

The protest, held in the heart of Kathmandu, remained peaceful, with the demonstrators raising various demands related to Gorkha recruitment. For the association, which works for the welfare of former Gorkha soldiers who served in Indian uniform and their families, the event was an opportunity to draw public and official attention to a freeze that its members view as unjustifiably long.

The issue is not an abstract policy debate for those who marched on Monday. Every year without a fresh intake means another cohort of Nepali youth denied the employment, pension benefits and social standing that a career in the Indian Army has historically provided to families in many districts of the country. Ex-servicemen bodies argue that the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers should resume under the terms that governed the tradition for decades.

A recruitment halt that began with the pandemic

The ties between Nepali soldiers and the Indian Army run deep. Gorkha soldiers have served in Indian ranks since 1947, when a tripartite agreement among Nepal, India and the United Kingdom divided the Gorkha regiments following Indian independence. India retained six of the regiments, and the recruitment of Nepali citizens into those units continued essentially uninterrupted for more than seven decades.

That tradition came to an abrupt stop in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced India to suspend the annual recruitment of Nepali soldiers. What was initially framed as a temporary health measure turned into a prolonged freeze. In 2022, the Indian government introduced the Agnipath scheme, a new recruitment model built on short four-year contracts under which recruits, known as Agniveers, serve limited terms with only a fraction retained in long-term service.

The scheme, which applies to recruits across India, does not carry the pension benefits and long-term service conditions that Nepali recruits had traditionally received. Kathmandu objected, asking New Delhi to either exempt Gorkha recruitment from the new system or allow the previous arrangements to continue. Since then, the traditional intake has remained effectively stalled, and the issue has featured in discussions between officials of the two countries without a publicly announced resolution.

Key points in the dispute include:

  • Recruitment of Nepali citizens into the Indian Army has been suspended since 2020, initially because of the pandemic.
  • India's Agnipath scheme, introduced in 2022, replaced long-service recruitment with short four-year contracts for new intake.
  • Nepal has sought the continuation of traditional terms for Gorkha soldiers, including pension-related benefits.
  • Ex-servicemen organisations in Nepal have repeatedly pressed for the resumption of recruitment.

Why the demand runs deep

The demand for resumption is rooted in economics as much as in sentiment. For decades, service in the Indian Army has been among the most dependable sources of employment for Nepali youth from hill and mountain communities, and pensions sent home by retired soldiers remain a significant source of income and foreign currency for Nepal. Tens of thousands of former Gorkha soldiers and pensioners live in the country, and families in districts that traditionally supplied recruits long planned their sons' futures around recruitment rallies held at centres such as Butwal, Dharan and Pokhara.

For ex-servicemen, the issue also carries a question of dignity and continuity. The Gorkha regiments are among the most decorated formations of the Indian Army, and the community's identity is closely tied to military service spanning generations. With the pipeline closed, organisations such as the All Nepal Indian Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association argue that an entire generation of young Nepalis is being cut off from a legacy that sustained their households for decades.

Waiting for a breakthrough

Monday's protest adds a public voice to a question that has been the subject of prolonged diplomacy between Kathmandu and New Delhi. Nepal has sought assurances that Gorkha recruitment will preserve its traditional character, while India has maintained that its new recruitment rules apply uniformly to all intake. Where the two positions will meet remains unclear, and no breakthrough was announced in connection with the demonstration.

Until the two governments reach an understanding, similar protests are likely to continue as ex-servicemen groups keep up pressure on both sides. For the members of the association who gathered in Kathmandu on Monday, the core demand is straightforward: allow the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers, suspended since 2020, to resume so that young men from their communities can once again follow the path they themselves once took into the Indian Army.