Army eyeing tribals for soldier job

March 4th, 2008 | posted by Anjali

NAGPUR: Army is eyeing the naxal-hit Gadchiroli and

Gondia districts for recruitment as it considers that a major manpower bank on account of the sizeable tribal population

there can be put into the tough soldier job.

The move is also expected to help residents in this trouble-torn

areas for getting into the mainstream.
Adivasis can be good soldiers due to their living conditions in forests making them

adaptable for jungle operations especially in the North-East.

The Army recruitment office (ARO) here will hold a

recruitment rally from April 15 to 21 in Bhandara district, which has also been declared a naxal-hit

area.

However, major emphasis will be on recruiting candidates from these two districts. The rally will be open

for candidates from other districts of the region too.

Earlier, there were plans to have a recruitment rally at

Gadchiroli itself. However, the district authorities did not offer the facilities on account of safety

reasons.

Though the Army officials would be equipped to protect themselves, it would have been difficult for the

civil authorities to provide security to the candidates which will be in large numbers.

Instead, Bhandara being

closer would serve the purpose, said Colonel R Srivastava of Army recruitment office here.

The office has asked

for more tribal vacancies for these districts from other recruitment offices in the state.

The Army has a system

of recruiting soldiers through a system of recruitable male population (RMP).

Each state is given a quota on the

basis of RMP, out of which vacancies are given for candidates from different sections of the society. (Maharashtra has the

second highest quota of 11 per cent after UP which has a quota of 21 per cent.)

The quota is then divided into

various recruitment offices in the state. As a result, the ARO here has asked for adivasi quota from areas like Aurangabad

and western Maharashtra to be used in Gadchiroli and Gondia. If the quota from other centres is transferred, it can be used

to the fullest during recruitment in Gadchiroli and Gondia, said the officer.

The main social section of the

quota in Maharashtra includes Marathas Mahars and Adivasis.

There are chances the tribals may be accommodated in

the Bihar regiments which have sizeable recruits from this section, said the source.

Source:

Vidarbha