Village Defence Guards
Armed villagers groups in Jammu and Kashmir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Village Defence Guards Village Defence Committees | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | VDGs |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1996 |
| Volunteers | 4,153 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Governing body | Jammu and Kashmir Police |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Elected officer responsible | |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent agency | Government of Jammu & Kashmir |
| Districts | |
| Notables | |
| Significant Village Defence |
|
VDGs are specifically trained to confront the terrorists who infiltrates from Pakistan. This militia effectively supplies crucial information to the police, thwarting acts of mayhem by the terrorists.
History
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims.[6][3]
Following the killing of a Kashmiri-Hindu Sarpanch in June 2020, former Director General (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir Police Shesh Paul Vaid said that Hindus and Muslims could be armed and Village Defence Committees could be set up with proper planning.[3] As of 28 February 2023, there are over 100 men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri, Rajouri.[7]
Organisation
Equipment
The VDG are equipped with weapons like the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, replacing Lee-Enfield rifles.[8]