The cry for disbanding Village Defence Committees (VDCs) was raised loud in the aftermath of 9th August disturbances in Kishtwar. Separatist leadership and harbourers of militancy accused VDCs of indulging in crimes.
The VDCs were set up in Jammu and Kashmir in mid-nineties following a number of massacres of the innocent inhabitants of the troubled region’s far-flung villages. As there were no police or army pickets near these inaccessible villages, the security forces provided military training to locals, and equipped them with weapons and wireless sets to counter militant attacks. At least 450 such VDCs are now functional in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ill-informed sections of media have spread the falsehood that only members of particular community were recruited as VDCs. But the ground situation is totally different. For example, take the case of VDCs in the border areas close to PoK in Poonch district. A group of Pakistan based Lashkar-i-Toiba that had sneaked into our side of LoC, killed a priest, Mir Hussain who had resisted the militants’ attempt of raping his wife. The priest’s brother, Fazl Hussain, returned from the Gulf where he had been working, and with the help of the Army constituted the first ever Village Defence Committee in the border district of Poonch. This group helped the Army destroy the biggest militant hideout in the famous Hill Kaka bowl in the mountains of Surankote in July 2003. At least 150 foreign militants were killed in the operation. To avenge those killings, a Lashkar group in April 2004 attacked Kulali village and killed 14 women and children while the men were out on an operation. Later, in June 2004, the militants executed another attack, which was repulsed by a woman, Khatoon Begum, who had learned from her son how to handle a 303 Rifle. Although she died in the attack her act helped save at least a dozen members of her family from the terrorists.
Khatoon Begum’s daring act lead to the foundation of all women VDC. “They were supported by our husbands and fathers and thus trained ourselves in the operation of 303 rifles, SLRs, grenade throwing and other military aspects of how to react and repulse a militant attack”. These residents of terror-infested areas wanted to live with honour and dignity and for that have waged a war against these gun trotters.
The ground situation today is that for last one year or so, Pakistani Rangers have continued firing and shelling our forward posts, destroying houses, cattle and crops on our side of the LoC. The firing is in contravention of the cease fire agreement of 2003. Villagers living close to the border have been forced to abandon their homes and cattle and seek shelter at safer places. Pakistani troops have clandestinely sneaked into our side and ambushed and killed our soldiers. Firing from Pakistani side to provide cover to the infiltrating jihadis continues without relent all along the LoC and even the IB. Militants are intermittently conducting attacks on civilian targets in towns and villages and innocent people getting killed. Militants’ attacks on security forces and police personnel continue and we have suffered some losses. The other day, a militant attack on an NC leader in Shopian claimed the life of his driver. Add to this the recent seizure by Jammu police of a large cache of arms and ammunition from Bai Nallah in Gagwal region of Samba district. Recoveries included five Chinese pistols, six wireless sets (five of whom were in broken condition), four launcher shells, seven set antennas, three set dips, two loaded pistol magazines with 200 rounds, two IEDs and some accessories. A VDC member Suresh Kumar spotted the consignment of weaponry along Bai Nallah in early hours of morning and immediately sounded police.
These facts on the ground show that there is no relent from the other side of the LoC in exporting terror to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. We are aware that the terrorists have some sympathizers and it is only that section which has political motives in fomenting trouble in Kashmir in one way or the other. Militants are under severe pressure and their ranks are depleting because new recruitment is not forthcoming. Those who are operating in the State are dogged by VDCs and the secrecy of their movement is largely exposed. This is the reason why disbanding of VDCs is demanded. The militants want to roam the heights of the mountains and the recesses of the forests as freely as they would like to.
The State is bound by the constitution to provide security of life and property to all citizens. It can explore any mechanism of providing security to that end. The raising of VDCs is essentially for self-defence. Those who are calling the arming of civilian population for self-defence as anti-democratic act should have raised this question when the militants took up arms and began killing innocent and defenceless civilians in Jammu and Kashmir two decades earlier. How can they rationalise militants taking up arms to kill innocent people while demonise the VDCs for defending themselves against these attacks? Raising hue and cry for disbanding of VDCs is a tactics of making smooth the path of militants to perpetrate more atrocities on the people of the State. It should not be forgotten that many members of the VDCs have laid down their lives in defence of the country. The VDCs have extensively contributed to the restoration of normalcy in the state and they made it possible for the mainstream political parties to fight and win the elections since their formation in 1995.
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