Irate Candidates Manhandle Air India Officials at Mumbai Recruitment Rally

Over 25,000 job seekers crowded Mumbai airport for 2,216 Air India loader positions, causing near-stampede conditions. The chaos highlights India's unemployment crisis, with highly qualified candidates applying for basic roles, sparking political debate on job creation.

Yesterday a recruitment fair of Air India in Mumbai went almost out of control as over 25,000 applicants showed up for only 2,216 vacancies of airport loaders. At the scene outside Mumbai airport, having a hard time controlling the crowd, applicants rushed to get closer to the form counters, being rather aggressive towards the Air India personnel.

This fueled further discussion and the event was caught on video; thousands of people would fight for a chance to apply. That is why they received many reports of applicants waiting for hours without food or water, some suffering from health issues.

The incident shows that India has been grappling with a problem of unemployment for a while now. Even then, the chance of becoming an airport loader at such a small wage ranging between ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 per month attracted very educated people. Among them, one candidate, Prathameshwar, a second-year BBA student, came from Buldhana district more than 400 km to participate in the testing session. Another MCom degree holder, who came all the way from Alwar, Rajasthan, was a candidate in the process indicating how much the youth of India is desperately seeking for an employment opportunity.

This incident happened a few months back in Ankleshwar of Gujarat where nearly 1800 candidates appeared for a mere 10 vacancies in a private company. The outcome was that a railing came crashing down and while no one was seriously hurt the situation was both dangerous and embarrassing.

These occurrences have raised political concern, especially from the opposition which has been vocal on the government’s management of unemployment. On this, the Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad said that the situation has reached such a pass that people are ready to go to any extent just to get a job.

Also Read: India Post Announces Massive Recruitment Drive for 2024

To date, Air India has not publicly engaged the viral video or provided information on the management of the recruitment exercise. The developments highlighted the need for employment generation and the need for proper handling of the recruitment process in the context of the growing competition for employment in India.