Map of the Village Defence Committees's active region
Size
11,885 square kilometres (4,589 sq mi)
Population
924,345
Legal jurisdiction
Chenab Valley
Governing body
Jammu and Kashmir Police
General nature
Local civilian police
Operational structure
Elected officer responsible
Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs
Agency executive
Dilbagh Singh,[1][2] IPS, Director General of Police
Parent agency
Government of Jammu & Kashmir
Districts
List
Kathua
Samba
Udhampur
Reasi
Rajouri
Poonch
Doda
Ramban
Kishtwar
Notables
Significant Village Defence
Patrolling, Area Domination, Surveillance[3]
Village Defence Guards Scheme (VDGs) formerly known as Village Defence Committees are groups of volunteer armed civilians first established in the mid-1990s in the Chenab Valley area of Jammu and Kashmir in India for the self-defense of local minorities, especially Hindus and Sikhs, in remote hilly villages against Pakistan backed terrorism.[4][5] VDGs operate under police supervision. They are an emergency force that are used to resist an attack. They are not be allowed to do any operations anywhere or use weapons outside of the villages.[4][6]
On 15 August 2022, Government of Jammu and Kashmir accorded sanction to the creation of the VDG.[7] VDG members are paid a monthly remuneration of 4,000-4,500 Indian rupees (US$48-$54).[4]
In the 1990s, according to official data, at least 221 cases[6] including nearly two dozen related to murder, seven to rape, and 15 cases involving rioting were registered against the village defence guards.[4] However, fewer than 2 percent of the defendants were convicted.[8]
As recently as 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir police set up new VDCs in Kishtwar district,.[9] which has over 3,251 VDC members out of which 800 are armed.[9] In Jammu and Kashmir, there were 4,125 VDCs as of December 2019.[10] The Indian Army conducts training camps for VDCs consisting of weapons training and intelligence gathering basics. On 15 September 2019, the Army trained VDCs in Doda sector.[11] They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims.[12][13] Following the killing of a Kashmiri-Hindu Sarpanch in June 2020, former Jammu and Kashmir police chief said Shesh Paul Vaid that Hindus and Muslims could be armed and Village Defence Committees could be set up with proper planning.[13] As of 28 February 2023, there are over 100 Hindu men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri, Rajouri.[14] The first VDC was set up under Shesh Paul Vaid when he was a Superintendent of police in Bagankote village, Udhampur (now Reasi) in 1995.[13]
^"SP Vaid Removed As Jammu And Kashmir Police Chief". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
^"Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid removed, Director General of Prisons Dilbagh Singh to take over". The Financial Express. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
^"Doda Police Briefs Heads of VDGS About Their Charter of Duties". The Chenab Times. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^ abcd"Why India's revival of civil militias in Kashmir is raising fears". Al Jazeera. 13 March 2023.
^"Revival of Village Defence Committees". Drishti IAS. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
^ abNanda, Showkat; Loke, Atul (8 March 2023). "India Is Arming Villagers in One of Earth's Most Militarized Places". The New York Times.
^"J&K Govt launches Village Defence Guards Scheme-2022". Greater Kashmir. 16 August 2022.
^"India arms Hindu militias to combat Kashmiri fighters". DAWN. 29 April 2023.
^ abSharma, Arun (2019-07-17). "J&K cops overhaul village defence committees, PDP says Centre design to arm RSS workers". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^"J&K village defence committees protest over pending salaries in Jammu, seek L-G GC Murmu's intervention". Firstpost. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^"Indian Army organises training sessions for village defence committees in J-K". ANI News. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^"J-K: Police to revamp village defence committees to curb terrorism". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^ abcBhat, Sunil (13 June 2020). "Give arms training, weapons to minority Hindus, vulnerable Muslims in Kashmir: Former J&K DGP Vaid". India Today. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^"India revives civil militia after 7 Hindus were killed in disputed region of Kashmir". Associated Press. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
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