Why in news:

• Recently, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha announced that Village Defence Committees (VDCs) similar to those in Doda district would be formed in sensitive areas of the Union Territory.

Key Points:

• The announcement was made after the demands were raised post the killing of six people in two days in Jammu and Kashmir's Upper Dangri village.
• As per the authorities, the locals have demanded that they be given weapons to combat the attackers.

Background

• Village Defence Guards (VDGs), formerly known as Village Defence Committees, is a militia formed in the mid-1990s in the Chenab Valley area of Jammu and Kashmir for the self-defense of locals, particularly Hindus in remote hilly villages, against militancy. It is made up of villagers as well as police officers.
• Jammu and Kashmir police established new VDCs in Kishtwar as recently as 2019. Kishtwar has over 3,251 VDC members, 800 of whom are armed. As of December 2019, there were 4,125 VDCs in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The Indian Army holds training camps for Village Defence Committees that include weapons training and intelligence gathering basics. On September 15, 2019, the Army trained VDCs in the Doda sector.
• Following the assassination of a Sarpanch in June 2020, former Jammu and Kashmir police chief Shesh Paul Vaid had suggested that the local civilians be armed and Village Defence Committees be formed with proper planning.
• VDCs were established in the former Doda district (now Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban districts) in the mid-1990s as a force multiplier against militant attacks. The then-administration of Jammu and Kashmir decided to arm residents of remote hilly villages and train them to defend themselves.
• The VDCs have later been renamed Village Defence Guards (VDG). The Union Ministry of Home Affairs approved a new scheme to establish VDGs in vulnerable areas of J&K in March of last year. Each VDG will be given a gun and 100 rounds of ammunition, just like a VDC member.

Village Defence Guards and Village Defence Committees

• Both the VDG and the VDC are civilian groups that are given guns and ammunition to fight militants until security forces arrive.
• Under the new scheme, the government will pay Rs 4,500 per month to those in charge of VDGs, while others will receive Rs 4,000 each.
• In case of VDCs, the Special Police Officers (SPOs) in charge of the VDCs were paid a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500. SPOs are the lowest rank personnel in the J&K Police, who are typically retired army, paramilitary, or police personnel.
• Each VDC usually consisted of a minimum of 10-15 ex-servicemen, ex-policemen, and able-bodied local youth enrolled on a voluntary basis. They were allotted weapons on the basis of the credentials of the volunteers and the security requirements of the region.

Emergence of VDCs

• The demand for arming civilians began after the killing of 13 people in Kishtwar in 1993. As the killings increased, forcing specific religious groups to migrate from villages to nearby towns, the Home Ministry decided in 1995 to establish VDCs to halt this exodus. Later, as militants expanded their operations to Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Poonch, Kathua, and Samba districts, the scheme was expanded to other areas of the Jammu division.
• The concept was also inspired by the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, when the government armed ex-servicemen and able-bodied youth in border villages to prevent Pakistani spies from infiltrating.
• Locals guarded their areas at night and even provided information to Army troops, which resulted in the decimation of Pakistani posts and the arrest of Pakistani spies.
• During the peak of militancy in most parts of Jammu division, particularly in the Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal regions, the hills of Udhampur, and Reasi and Kathua districts, VDCs played an important role in combating militancy. They were the most feared armed groups among militants in areas where poor road networks delayed the arrival of security forces.
• The villagers, who were well-versed in the local topography, averted many militant attacks and assisted in their capture and execution.

Controversies and issues

• Along with their successes, the VDCs were accused of human rights violations and other crimes, such as murder, rape, and extortion.
• According to official figures presented on the floor of the former Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 2016, 27,924 civilians were serving in 4,248 VDCs across the state. There were 221 FIRs filed against them, including 23 murders, seven rapes, rioting (15), NDPS Act (3), and 169 other cases.
• Following the restoration of peace, there were calls from some quarters to disband the VDCs in 2002. Since then, the demand has risen on occasion, but successive governments have refrained from disbanding them.
• However, the number of VDC members has decreased significantly over time, either due to their involvement in a criminal case or the government taking back their weapons once they turned 60. Besides, many VDC members have surrendered their weapons in the absence of remuneration.