The depth of the job crisis in the country and the despair of its youth have broken through the coiffured veneer.

Armed forces job aspirants disappointed at the Agnipath recruitment scheme exploded in protest from Bihar to Jammu on Thursday, blocking roads and tracks, torching trains and stoning the police.

Amid the agitation, the government offered a one-time relaxation in the upper age limit for 2022, raising it to 23 years from 21, possibly to meet the criticism that the scheme’s introduction has been particularly harsh coming after a two-year freeze in recruitments.

In epicentre Bihar, the BJP came under fire with Warsaliganj MLA Aruna Devi having to run for her life after her car was attacked, Chapra MLA C.N. Gupta’s house being vandalised and the party office in Nawada torched.

Trains were torched at Gopalganj, Chapra and Kaimur Road railway stations, while the protesters virtually seized Ara railway station in Bhojpur district, setting up pitched battles with the police.

Across the country, youths carried placards and posters and shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Rajnath Singh, accusing them of playing with their lives, calling the Agnipath scheme a “cruel joke” and demanding its immediate rollback.

Under the Agnipath scheme, youths aged 17.5 to 21 (but 23 for this year) will be recruited to the armed forces for just four years without pension or ex-servicemen status, with only one-fourth of them retained for another 15 years on regular service terms.

All recruitment of ordinary soldiers will be through this scheme, and those who had already applied or appeared in recruitment tests must apply afresh.

“We want the existing system of recruitment to continue. Joining the army is our passion but the government has cheated us,” said a youth in Gurgaon, Haryana.

In Himachal Pradesh, a large number of army job seekers protested at Gaggal airport ahead of Modi’s visit. Later, the police stopped a march by protesters from reaching Dharamshala, where Modi held a road show.

“This government had earlier asked us for votes with folded hands, promising one-rank-one-pension (Orop), but now they are rendering us jobless with this no-rank-no-pension scheme,” a protester said in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

He added: “We will not tolerate this autocracy; we’ll sacrifice our lives if the scheme is not scrapped.”

Orop had been one of Modi’s key campaign promises in 2014 but ex-servicemen say his government has not implemented it in letter and spirit so far.

Military veterans have condemned the Agnipath scheme as a “death knell for the armed forces” and expressed anguish over the future of the thousands of youths who look forward to the defence recruitment process every year.

In Jammu, a group of would-be soldiers said most of them had cleared their medical and physical tests last year and were waiting for the written examination when the announcement of the Agnipath scheme dashed their hopes.

“Now they are saying it (existing recruitment process) stands cancelled and we have to start afresh under the new scheme. The government has played a cruel joke on us,” a protester said.

Palwal in Haryana witnessed heavy stone-throwing and police baton-charges, prompting the state government to suspend Internet services in the area. Hundreds took to the streets in Gurgaon and Rewari.

The demonstrators blocked NH19 by setting tyres on fire, broke the railings on both sides of the highway and torched three police vehicles, a Haryana officer said.

In Rajasthan, protests were seen in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer and Sikar. Around 200 youths had blocked the Ajmer-Delhi highway on Wednesday evening.

Around 15-20 youths on Thursday stopped a train at Nangloi railway station in outer Delhi by lying down on the tracks, the police said. They were protesting a delay in the railway recruitment exam and the Agnipath scheme.

Protests were seen at Arnia in the R.S. Pura sector of Jammu and in several parts of Uttar Pradesh including Bulandshahr, Unnao and Gonda.

Allies, MP

Even BJP allies JDU and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) of Jitan Ram Manjhi appealed to the government to reconsider the scheme while BJP parliamentarian Varun Gandhi questioned the logic behind the reform.

Varun wrote to Rajnath saying the scheme would deepen the dissatisfaction among jobless youths and asked the government to make its stand clear.

Leftist student groups have called for protests from June 18.

A statement from the CPM-backed SFI said: “Already 11 people have committed suicide after the announcement of Agnipath scheme. The effects of Agnipath scheme — generate 35,000 jobless recruits looking for other work each year, leading to militarisation of society, complete annihilation of the job security and financial stability” and affecting the morale and professionalism of the forces.

CPIML Liberation-backed student body Aisa has called for an all-India strike on Friday. In Delhi, the group will protest at the Income Tax Office Junction.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: “Young people are very angry. Their demands are just right. I appeal to the Centre — youth should be given a chance to serve the country for their whole life, not just four years. Those who (have become) overage due to lack of recruitment in the army for the last two years should also be given a chance.”