Village Defence Guards

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 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 cases of murder and rape.

On 15 August 2022, Government of Jammu and Kashmir 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, seven to rape, and 15 cases involving rioting were registered against the Village Defence Guards. However, fewer than 2 percent of the defendants were convicted.

As recently as 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) set up new VDCs in Kishtwar district, which has over 3,251 VDC members out of which 800 are armed. In Jammu and Kashmir, there were 4,125 VDCs as of December 2019. 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. They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims. 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. As of 28 February 2023, there are over 100 Hindu men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri, Rajouri. 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.