When New Delhi stripped Indian-administered Kashmir of its restricted autonomy in 2019, the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) authorities defended the transfer, claiming it should wipe out a decades-old armed revolt within the disputed area.

Three years later, the identical authorities is reviving a civilian militia, known as the Village Defence Guards (VDGs), within the area’s southern Jammu space.

The transfer got here shortly after seven Hindu civilians have been killed within the space two months in the past – an indication of growing anti-India sentiments within the nation’s solely Muslim-majority area, additionally claimed by neighbouring Pakistan.

What is VDG?

First established in 1995 within the districts of Jammu space, the VDGs (then often known as Village Defence Committees) have been tasked with combatting the armed revolt in Kashmir. They had almost 4,000 members and greater than 27,000 volunteers.

Demands to disband the civil militia grew within the early 2000s when the revolt started to dwindle and insurgent teams – preventing both for full independence or merger with Pakistan – misplaced their affect.

However, since 2019, because the area’s minorities – primarily the Hindus and Sikhs – confronted lethal assaults by the suspected rebels, calls for to revive the VDGs began to achieve momentum.

The revived VDGs have been shaped alongside the strains of Salwa Judum, a infamous militia group created on the flip of the century within the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, the place the Maoists led a resistance motion of the Indigenous people resisting a company takeover of their lands and assets.

In 2011, India’s Supreme Court declared the deployment of tribal youths for the Salwa Judum or every other militia aimed toward preventing the Maoists as unconstitutional and ordered a direct disarming of the militia.

No Kashmiri particular person or organisation to date has challenged the revival of the VDGs in an Indian court docket.

Immediate set off

While the federal dwelling ministry had authorised the establishing of the VDGs in March final yr, the killing of seven Hindu civilians by suspected rebels in January grew to become a direct set off for the Hindu nationalist authorities’s determination.

On the night of January 1 this yr, the freezing silence within the sleepy village of Dhangri in Jammu space’s Rajouri district was damaged by a roar of weapons.

A gunman fired a number of rounds at Satish Sharma, a 42-year-old former Indian military soldier, killing him on the spot. His teenage son and youthful brother additionally acquired bullet accidents.

The identical night, three extra civilians have been killed in Dhangri in a similar way. Police suspect two gunmen have been concerned within the killings.

The subsequent day, because the villagers have been but to get well from the killings, two youngsters died in an explosion on the home of one of many victims. Days later, a civilian wounded within the January 1 assaults succumbed to his accidents.

The villagers mentioned it was a focused assault on the group. As the incident prompted fears within the space, calls to revive the VDGs grew to become louder.

Satish’s father, Satpal Sharma, 65, advised Al Jazeera it was the primary time such an incident had occurred of their village surrounded by fields of maize and mustard. “Life is no more the same here,” he mentioned.

Dhangri lies near the Line of Control (LoC), the demarcation line that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The space has largely been peaceable, in contrast to the Kashmir Valley the place gunfights between suspected rebels and Indian safety forces are widespread.

“We fear going out after dark. Shutters are down early, streets are deserted. The fear is overwhelming,” Satpal mentioned.

Hundreds recruited

Since January, lots of of civilians from Dhangri and different villages round Jammu are being educated and armed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary group.

“We presently have more than 150 VDG members active in the village,” Dhangri’s village head Dheeraj Sharma advised Al Jazeera.

Sharma mentioned the January killings highlighted the significance of arming the civilians. “With weapons, people can defend themselves.”

Uttam Chand, vice chairman of VDG in Kathua district, advised Al Jazeera the militia will “protect the society from any social evils”.

Chand mentioned their calls for for the revival of the militia group have been ignored for years. “We took a stand and raised our voice,” he mentioned.

“New people have joined the groups and old members have become active again. We want weapons and ammunition,” he added.

A VDG member is paid a month-to-month remuneration of 4,000-4,500 rupees ($48-$54). But Chand mentioned he’s nonetheless ready for his first cost.

Angrez Singh, a 55-year-old VDG member from Rajouri district, mentioned he stays vigilant throughout the nights.

“My weapons are for self-protection and the protection of our families and neighbours,” the previous serviceman advised Al Jazeera. “I have been a part of the militia since the 1990s. If you have a weapon, you can avoid any fear.”

Singh mentioned many males in Rajouri are prepared to affix the VDGs, however there aren’t sufficient weapons.

Fears of spiritual pressure

The authorities justifies the arming of civilians in Kashmir as a coverage to safeguard folks in distant terrains of the Himalayan area.

Muhammad Aslam Chowdhary, a senior police official in Rajouri, advised Al Jazeera that 700 VDG members have been sanctioned in Rajouri. He mentioned whereas some have been given self-loading rifles (SLRs), a majority have Lee–Enfield rifles, generally often known as 303 – a bolt motion, magazine-fed rifle invented within the late nineteenth century.

Chowdhary mentioned the VDGs will function below police supervision.

“They are defence groups and they have to do patrolling at nights to prevent any terror attacks. They will also help in search operations. They will also remain vigilant and there are WhatsApp groups where they will provide information,” he mentioned.

Ajai Sahni, a New Delhi-based safety knowledgeable, mentioned he didn’t see any destructive impact of forming the VDGs if the scheme was appropriately carried out.

“They are an emergency force that will be used to resist an attack. They will not be allowed to do any operations anywhere or use weapons outside of the villages,” he advised Al Jazeera, including that the common safety forces can’t be out there in all places.

But not everybody within the area has welcomed the transfer to arm the civilians, with many politicians and consultants fearing it may spark religious tensions.

Shafiq Mir, a politician in Rajouri, mentioned the weapons could possibly be misused by folks to settle private scores as had occurred up to now.

“Our concern is that weapons should not be given to civilians in this way. The neighbours of these VDG members who are from other communities are not feeling secure. Even when there are small issues in the locality, they will not feel safe as the guns could be misused,” Mir advised Al Jazeera.

Mir mentioned the federal government ought to strengthen the deployment of armed forces in areas of safety concern slightly than arming civilians.

Mir’s fears aren’t unfounded. The civil militias within the Nineteen Nineties have been accused of many felony actions, together with murders and rapes.

Official information reveals a minimum of 221 instances have been registered towards the members of the VDGs within the Nineteen Nineties. Nearly two dozen of those instances have been associated to homicide, seven to rape, and 15 instances concerned rioting.