Village Defence Guards (VDGs) formerly known as Village Defence Committees is a civilian

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

first established in the mid-1990s in the Chenab Valley area of Indian-administered territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

for the self-defence of locals, especially Hindus, in remote hilly villages against militancy. It consist of villagers as well as police officers. The VDGs have been accused of numerous human rights violations including dozens of murder and rape cases. On 15 August 2022,

Government of Jammu and Kashmir The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the governing authority of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and its two divisions and 20 districts. Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory in India under the terms of Article 239A (wh ...

accorded sanction to the creation of the VDG. VDG members are paid a monthly remuneration of 4,000-4,500 Indian rupees (US$48-$54). In the 1990s, according to official data, at least 221 cases including nearly two dozen related to

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, seven to

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

, and 15 cases involving

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

ing were registered against the members of the VDGs. However, fewer than 2 percent of defendants were convicted. As recently as 2019, the

Jammu and Kashmir police The Jammu and Kashmir Police or JKP is the law enforcement agency of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory). JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Jammu and Kashmir in India. Hist ...

set up new VDCs in

Kishtwar Kishtwar is a town, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar District in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the Doda district in 2007. It is located in the Jammu division. T ...

. Kishtwar has over 3,251 VDC members out of which 800 are armed. In Jammu and Kashmir there are 4,125 VDCs as of December 2019. The

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

conducts training camps for VDCs consisting of weapons training and intelligence gathering basics. On 15 September 2019, the Army trained VDCs in Doda sector. They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims. Following the killing of a Kashmiri-Hindu

Sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

in June 2020, former Jammu and Kashmir police chief said

Shesh Paul Vaid Shesh Paul Vaid also known as S. P. Vaid, is an Indian police officer and former Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu & Kashmir from 31 December 2016 till 6 September 2018. Early life Vaid was born and raised in the Mahanpur town of Ka ...

that Hindus and Muslims could be armed and Village Defence Committees could be set up with proper planning. As of 28 February 2023, there are over 100 Hindu men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri,

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on th ...

.The first VDC was set up under

when he was a

Superintendent of police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

in Bagankote village, Udhampur (now Reasi) in 1995.

References

{{Kashmir conflict Kashmir conflict Kashmiri Hindus

See also

References