| Agencyname: | Village Defence Guards |
| Nativename: | Village Defence Committees |
| Abbreviation: | VDGs |
| Formedyear: | 1996 |
| Country: | India |
| Divtype: | Union territory |
| Divname: | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Governingbody: | Jammu and Kashmir Police |
| Police: | Yes |
| Local: | Yes |
| Speciality1: | Anti-militancy operations |
| Sworntype: | Defence Guards |
| Minister1name: | Amit Shah |
| Minister1pfo: | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Chief1name: | Dilbagh Singh,[1] [2] IPS |
| Chief1position: | Director General of Police |
| Parentagency: | Government of Jammu & Kashmir |
| Officetype: | Districts |
| Activity1name: | Patrolling, Area Domination, Surveillance[3] |
| Activitytype: | Village Defence |
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 and vulnerable Muslims, in remote hilly villages against militancy. It consist of villagers as well as police officers.[4]
VDGs are specifically trained to confront the terrorists who regularly infiltrate from Pakistan. This militia has effectively supplied crucial information to the police, thwarting potential acts of mayhem by these terrorists.
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.[5] 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.[6] They were mainly set up to protect Hindus and Muslims.[7] [8] 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 men armed and provided weapons training in Dhangri, Rajouri.[9] 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.