‘Youth are migrating or ruined by drugs’: Punjab CM on falling Sikh Regiment recruitment

The Sikh Regiment is one of the Indian Army’s most decorated units, with a long-standing tradition of valor and battlefield excellence.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has raised concerns over a drop in youth joining the Army’s Sikh Regiment, attributing the trend to widespread migration and drug addiction among the state’s youth.

Speaking at an event at the Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur on April 3, Mann said the head of the Army’s Western Command had personally sought the state government’s help in addressing the shortfall, The Indian Express reported.

“Recently, the head of the Army’s Western Command met me. He told me a very worrying thing and I was saddened to hear this. He asked for the government’s help, saying that the Army was not getting enough recruits for the Sikh Regiment,” Mann said. “There is such a vast history of gallantry of the Sikh Regiment but today there are not enough youth available to be recruited in it.”

Sikh Regiment is not getting enough recruits: CM Bhagwant Mannhttps://t.co/GLCXWUi2rMpic.twitter.com/ZXHY7c2Btj

Man Aman Singh Chhina (@manaman_chhina) April 6, 2025

The CM said a major reason for the decline is that many young men from Punjab are either going abroad or are unfit due to drug use. “They are no longer fit and cannot pass tests,” he said, assuring support to the Army and vowing to preserve the regiment’s legacy.

The Sikh Regiment is one of the Indian Army’s most decorated units, with a long-standing tradition of valor and battlefield excellence.

This needs to be addressed on top priority by Punjab! https://t.co/5c0nHJi4FD Gul Panag (@GulPanag) April 6, 2025

Backing Mann’s remarks, Brigadier (retd) I S Gakhal, former Commandant of the Sikh Regimental Centre, told The Indian Express that the CM was “correct” in assessing the situation. “We cannot reveal the exact numbers by which the recruitment falls short, but suffice to say that the situation is not pleasant,” he said.

Gakhal cited migration as the primary reason behind the shortfall but also pointed to waning interest in the Army under the Agnipath recruitment scheme and declining physical standards among Punjab’s youth. “The youth in Punjab has also physically declined in standards,” he said.

Efforts are underway to revive interest in Army service, he added. “The Sikh Regiment and veterans of the regiment have sent groups to each district for recruitment awareness. We have registered over 10,000 youths for this purpose. These youngsters will now be given coaching for the competitive examination for recruitment.”

However, Gakhal warned that if recruitment numbers continue to dip, it could lead to the disbanding of one or two battalions or a shift to a mixed-class composition in the regiment — an experiment that was tried and abandoned in the 1980s under then-Army Chief Gen K Sundarji.

He also pointed out that the Punjab government already has an organisation — the Centre for Training and Employment of Punjab Youth — tasked with preparing candidates for military service. “They should have been doing something about the shortfall,” Gakhal said.

He called on the state to actively promote the Agnipath scheme and provide post-service job reservations for Agniveers to make Army recruitment a more attractive option.