Opinion Jammu terror attacks: How revival of Village Defence Committees can play a role

Raised initially in the mid-1990s to take on terrorists, the VDCs had instilled a sense of security among the people. Able-bodied men and ex-service personnel were roped into these committees to retaliate whenever terrorists ventured into the villages. The experiment was successful, going by the decline in terrorist activities in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. The prolonged lull was disturbed by the operations launched by the security forces in October 2021 when nine army personnel including two Junior Commissioned Officers were killed in two separate encounters — in Surankote forests on October 11 and in the Mendhar sector three days later.

The tragic incident in Dhangri village prompted the Ministry of Home Affairs to rush 18 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to the two districts and revive the VDCs as VDGs. The CRPF has been tasked to train the VDGs in the use of automatic weapons, though the Jammu and Kashmir police is playing a pivotal role in organising the VDGs into a formidable force to combat terrorists. These VDGs need to have a planned strategy to take on the terrorists lest they be caught unawares in the event of an attack, leading to chaos.

The revival of VDGs is not confined to Jammu and Kashmir. The experiment has proved to be a deterrent in other parts of the country too. At the peak of insurgency in Manipur, the Village Volunteer Force (VVF) proved to be an asset. Comprising largely of surrendered militants, the armed VVF personnel not only took on the militants operating in their areas but were of immense help in collecting intelligence. These forces, though, were headed by officers drawn on deputation from the CRPF and the BSF as Liaison Officers and Area Organisers.

The Salwa Judum, a civilian force in Chhattisgarh to combat Maoists, was raised by a prominent Congress leader Mahendra Karma in June 2005. Supported by the state government, as many as 23 Salwa Judum camps were established in the Bastar and Dantewada districts. The initial series of successes in pinning down the Maoists prompted other states like Jharkhand and Telangana to raise similar militias to counter the Maoist menace.

The popularity the Salwa Judum had gained did not last for too long. Repeated complaints of human rights violations by the volunteers, of beating up people and even raping tribal women, resulted in a case being filed in the Supreme Court. On July 5, 2011, the Supreme Court declared Salwa Judum illegal and unconstitutional and ordered its disbandment.

In an ambush laid by the Maoists in Darbha valley of Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on May 25, 2013, as many as 27 Congress leaders and workers and security men were killed. Among those killed were Karma and Vidya Charan Shukla, the latter succumbing to bullet wounds while under treatment in Gurugram on June 11, 2013.

When Punjab was in the grip of militancy in the 1980s and early 1990s, certain villagers were given weapons to retaliate and the experiment turned out to be successful. They were brave enough to counter the militants for hours and successfully repulsed their attacks. It speaks volumes of their determination and courage that some of them, including women, went on to be honoured with the prestigious Shaurya Chakra and Kirti Chakra for thwarting the attacks by militants.

The reactivation of the VDGs would go a long way not only in instilling a sense of security and confidence in the villagers but would also serve as a deterrent to the terrorists who would expect stiff resistance if they ever ventured to attack the villagers. Apart from the VDGs being largely ex-servicemen, their being armed with automatic weapons, coupled with training, will be an asset in taking on terrorists. Additionally, they could serve as sources for the collection of intelligence. With the additional deployment of the CRPF, the response time for the security forces to rush to trouble spots would be drastically reduced.

It would be in the interest of the denizens of the Poonch and Rajouri districts to strengthen the VDGs and provide them with all logistical and training support on a long-term basis as a force multiplier rather than dismantling them after complete normalcy is restored. The proximity to the 120-km stretch of the Line of Control along Pakistan-occupied Kashmir warrants a permanent security blanket for all villages in the region, what with Pakistan always being up to some mischief.

(The writer is a retired Inspector General of Police, CRPF)