Indian authorities suspended Internet services in several parts of the eastern state of Bihar in a bid to stop public gatherings and violent protests over a military recruitment plan, police officials said on Saturday.
One protester was killed and more than a dozen have been injured in a series of protests in some regions of the country against Modi’s new policy to hire soldiers for short tenures.
The Agnipath or “path of fire” system aims to bring more people into the military on four-year contracts to lower the average age of India’s 1.38 million-strong armed forces and cut burgeoning pension costs, the government said.
Protesters, mainly young men, say the plan will limit opportunities for permanent jobs with the defence forces, which guarantee fixed salaries, pensions and other benefits.
Many took to the streets in Bihar, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to protest against this plan.
