Jammu: Indian army and police have imparted intensive arms and combat training to 85 Village Defence Guards (VDGs) from villages of the Jammu region, a move that has triggered serious concern among observers given the chequered past record of such groups in attacks on Muslim civilians.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the training programme was launched at the District Police Lines in Jammu. Senior Superintendent of Police Joginder Singh oversaw the training. The VDG members belong to Arnia, RS Pura and Kanachak areas close to the Working Boundary and Line of Control.

A police spokesperson said the VDGs are being trained in handling automatic rifles, minor combat tactics, self-defence techniques, bunker construction and methods to repel so-called enemy attacks. The training is being conducted by specialised trainers to prepare them as “first responders” in case of any contingency.

The police said that the VDGs have welcomed the training and the upgradation of their weapons from .303 rifles to self-loading rifles (SLRs), asserting that this has boosted their confidence. The SSP described the arming and training of VDGs as part of a “multi-layered security strategy”and ensure what he termed long-term peace.

However, political observers and human rights activists have expressed alarm over the move, recalling the violent history of Village Defence Committees (VDCs)—the predecessor of the present VDGs—which were repeatedly involved in attacks, intimidation and killings of Muslim civilians in the Jammu region, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s. Rights groups have documented cases of misuse of weapons, communal targeting and impunity enjoyed by such armed civilian militias under state patronage.

Analysts warn that re-arming and training these groups in a heavily militarised and communally sensitive region could further endanger civilian lives and exacerbate communal tensions. They say the move reflects India’s policy of outsourcing violence to armed civilian proxies in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, rather than addressing the root political causes of the conflict.