Village Defence Guards

Village Defence Guards
Village Defence Committees
AbbreviationVDGs
Agency overview
Formed1996
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionJammu and Kashmir, India
Governing bodyJammu and Kashmir Police
General nature
Operational structure
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyGovernment of Jammu & Kashmir
Districts
List
Notables
Significant Village Defence
  • Patrolling,
    Area Domination,
    Surveillance[1]
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Village Defence Guards (VDGs) formerly known as Village Defence Committees is a civilian militia first established in the mid-1990s in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir for the self-defence of locals, especially minorities such as Hindus, sikhs and vulnerable section of Muslims in remote hilly villages against militancy. It consist of villagers as well as police officers.[2]

VDGs are specifically trained to confront the terrorists who regularly infiltrate from Pakistan. This militia has effectively supplied crucial information to the police, thwarting potential acts of mayhem by these terrorists.

As recently as 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) set up new VDCs in Kishtwar district,[2] which has over 3,251 VDC members out of which 800 are armed.[2] In Jammu and Kashmir, there were 4,125 VDCs as of December 2019.[3] 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.[4] They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims.[5][6] Following the killing of a Kashmiri-Hindu Sarpanch in June 2020, former Director General (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir Police said Shesh Paul Vaid that Hindus and Muslims could be armed and Village Defence Committees could be set up with proper planning.[6] As of 28 February 2023, there are over 100 men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri, Rajouri.[7] The first VDC was set up under Shesh Paul Vaid when he was a Superintendent of Police (SP) in Bagankote village, Udhampur district (now Reasi district) in 1995.[6] As of 2024 the status of VDGs are active and are working in close coordination with the security forces, they are also equipped with weapons like L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle and are better trained to tackle militancy reletaed situation.

  1. ^ "Doda Police Briefs Heads of VDGS About Their Charter of Duties". The Chenab Times. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Sharma, 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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Indian Army organises training sessions for village defence committees in J-K". ANI News. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ a b c Bhat, Sunil (13 June 2020). "Give arms training, weapons to minority Hindus, sikhs and vulnerable section of Muslims in Kashmir: Former J&K DGP Vaid". India Today. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  7. ^ "India revives civil militia after 7 Hindus were killed in disputed region of Kashmir". Associated Press. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-03-02.