It is no denying the fact that the role of Village Defence Committees (VDCs) set up by the Police in mid- nineties in fighting militancy and terror attacks in erstwhile Doda district and later in other hilly and vulnerable areas of Jammu division, by training and arming village volunteers, has been superb. Not only men but the women, shoulder to shoulder with the males have on numerous occasions, given a tough resistance to and repulsed many militant attacks in the villages. However, the mode and the manner of paying monthly remuneration to the members on these VDCs was not only faulty but erratic, irregular and even on arbitrary basis. ‘Excelsior’ repeatedly has been voicing concern about the fate of these Village Committees having been unspecific and not suitably addressed by the Government. However, for many months and even years, some of these VDC members had received no remuneration at all. Unfortunately, the role of the then State Governments, therefore, had been that of an apathetic nature instead of helping or cooperative one towards these Defence Committees. It all resulted in and created space for gradual disbanding of dozens of VDCs and therefore, removal of hundreds of its volunteers in Doda, Udhampur, Kathua, Rajouri etc but sill nearly 28000 volunteers of these VDCs continued with the ”mission”. However, an element of uncertainty about future role and about utility and importance continued to prevail over the entire issue. It is, however, quite in the fitness of things that the Central Government has now decided not only to revive the Village Defence Committees but even to have the provision of more of them to be set up depending upon the requirements. To infuse new spirit of importance into these Defence Committees, various steps are proposed to be taken up. A deputation of the VDC members who had met with the Union Home Minister a few days ago had acquainted him with more detailed analysis of the entire scenario under which these Committees had been set up and about the unsatisfactory position currently prevailing in respect of these VDCs. Besides, militant activities having been not only seen but upped too in parts of Jammu division particularly in vulnerable areas that became an added factor in reviewing the VDCs in right perspective by the Union Home Minister bestowing on those all the required power and strength. Even the non-existent VDCs are proposed immediately to be revived and those ”vacancies” duly filled which got created due to deaths of the members or some having quit due to not getting the monthly payments hence a comprehensive approach has been proposed to be had in respect of the whole issue. How it can be forgotten that their contribution, in holding at considerable bay the terror activities in the remote village areas in Jammu division to usually target minority Hindu community members, had been enormous to the extent that members of these communities had started feeling secure and stopped migrating from their villages. However, since the Government distributed weapons among the village volunteers and provided them the requisite training from the Police force, gradually no militant group could dare indulge in any more terror attacks and these Defence Committees were set up at a time when terrorists otherwise used to roam freely in villages. Obviously, with such a vast spread, security forces could not normally be deployed in each and every village to deal with them as when, where and how they could strike could not precisely be known easily beforehand. These VDC members, it may be recalled, had actively helped the local police and the army to neutralise many militants operating in the vulnerable areas. For the past many years, while on the one hand, claims of no decision to disband the VDCs were made, on the other hand promises to absorb the resultant ”unemployed” members in the Police force were never kept . Again, whenever remuneration was paid, that was given only to the two designated SPOs attached with each VDC to share by all which created all sorts of confusion. All these issues now stand resolved even to the extent of rechristening these Defence Committees as Village Defence Groups (VDGs) and strengthening them further. Chief components thereof are such Groups to work under the control of the concerned SSP or an SP and the incentive in the shape of each and every member on the VDG now onwards to be paid on equal basis as every member is proposed to be treated of the same rank and, therefore, to be paid Rs.4000 to Rs.4500 per month on the basis of the categories -V1 and V2 pertaining to more vulnerable and less vulnerable areas, respectively. These measures having decided to be taken, have put to rest any type of further uncertainties as the Government has come out with a clear and detailed plan about the functioning and, therefore, future of these Village Defence Committees turned Village Defence Groups. This all must now clear all the mist and dubieties about these village defence groups and the fate of the members thereof.
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