The Narendra Modi government is planning to amend the 1959 Arms Act, which will further restrict the number of weapons an Indian can own on a valid license.
The current limit of three was introduced in 1983 via amendments to Section 3 of the Arms Act 1959 that had placed no limits on the number of weapons that could be owned. The 2019 amendments seek to bring that number down to a single weapon, after which, an Indian citizen has a year to dispose off or place the extra arms in safe custody. Anyone who has seen a police safe house for weapons will know how safe the arms will be, in a slowly junking state.
With sincere apologies to Lepus Nigricollis, the amendments to the Arms Act are as hare-brained an idea as Modi government’s demonetisation in 2016. While the latter essentially killed agricultural incomes for the foreseeable future, besides stultifying the real estate industry, the new Arms Act amendments are likely to produce results contrary to the objectives they are setting out to achieve.
The ostensible reason for further restricting firearms is reducing crime, and some woolly-headed supporters even say it will help curtail suicide rates. Bizarre.
India is not going to be safer by reducing licensed ownership of firearms. Two ghastly crimes took place this week in two different Indian states – a veterinarian who was raped and killed and a six-year-old schoolgirl raped and strangled with her belt. Neither of these, or the thousands of horrendous crimes in India, have taken place using licensed firearms. In fact, the number of licensed firearms crimes in India is so few that a zero and a dot precede the single numeral. There are more voyeurism incidents in the national crime data bank than licensed firearms-related ones.
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Who loses most
There are essentially three types of licensed weapons owners in India, based on my observations over the years. The oldest continually owned guns are those that have been in the family for generations, licences and ownership passed down as heirlooms. The newest are the amazing crop of young Indians inspired to take up shooting as a sport, achieve glory like so many before. And they have consistently provided India with the largest chunk of medals in the recent past. But, perhaps the largest number of licensed weapons owners are those living on farms, or a semi-rural lifestyle.
It is the largest category that is going to be most affected. For this person, the weapons save the crop, the family from countryside bandits, and if the person is a veteran, then the gun brings a supplementary income. Most veterans acquire licences while in service so as to get reemployment. So, with a 12 gauge, or a made-to-look-sinister .22 rifle, the veteran stands guard outside a mofussil town bank.
When the additional weapon application has been vetted from the police station and district headquarters, the veteran will seek to buy an Indian Ordnance Factories .32 revolver.
This rudimentary revolver has a waiting list like that of a Bajaj Chetak of yesteryears, but it is a passport for sudden growth, for job prospects in the security business. And agricultural income is now supplemented by a pension and a personal security officer or PSO job.
The economic impact of the new Arms Act amendments will certainly be the heaviest on such veterans, for they have to make the difficult choice – keep the .32 revolver or the 12-gauge gun at the farm?
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Gangs of Wasseypur
After the amendments of 1983, the government at the time banned the import of weapons in 1986 to save foreign exchange. This allowed Indian Ordnance Factories-manufactured revolvers and 12-gauge guns to gain a greater share in the Indian market. IOF-licensed barrels were used to manufacture firearms by traditional gun makers, and this played a role in reviving the legally sanctioned small town gun manufacturers. There was a time India made some of the best damascene steel in the world. But the descendants of those skilled craftsmen now just about manage to survive and keep their skills alive.
In 2016, the Modi government amended the Arms Rules to allow private manufacturers to produce firearms. And in 2019, the same government wants to restrict ownership to one weapon. So, who will make firearms when the market is being squeezed to allow ownership of only one?
Auctioneers around the world occasionally sell exquisite firearms that were once Indian-owned. Buyers around the world covet such pieces. These were exported out once restrictions came in 1983, and it is certain some more will find their way out. The inherited weapons are like jewellery passed down through generations, but unlike the rocks, they are not for use or to be shown in public, just caressed by a connoisseur. This is the culture the government of India seeks to destroy, thus paving the way for more Gangs of Wasseypur–kind of possession.
The author is a Congress leader and Editor-in-Chief of Defence & Security Alert. Views are personal.
As per the situation, it seems that civilians must have a right to own and carry firearm for his/her self defence . But the reverse is happening. India will only become safe when the gun laws will be eased and all civilians will have firearms .
Wow so refreshing to see
Whenever I read about a gun topic in India, I recall the 26/11 incidence reported by a correspondent. After a shower of AK47 bullets, a local policemen will load a bullet ready the single bullet just loaded. He will then duck down, reload the single bullet for the next shot from his side. This was/is India . Buddy, the country has a long long way to go. before Ram Mandir is built and Ganges full of human defecated waste is cleaned.
may be only women should be allowed to carry guns – to deal with potential rapists.
Excellent article after a long time. Govt should do away with the limit on numbers of weapons owned by an individual. Once the person is given one licence he should be allowed to buy other weapon without going through the long procedure of going to authority and getting it sanctioned. He should buy the weapon and get it endorsed on the licence. Govt in 2016 opened the manufacturing of small arms to private parties under licence but if govt resorts to curbing the ownership of guns where will the manufacturers sell their produce.
Govt is trying to sell the idea of Make in India for Defence weapons similarly it should encourage private entrepreneurs to produce produce top quality weapons in collaboration with European gun companies and create a domestic market as well as international market resulting in higher GDP.
Veteran living in rural/semi urban areas should be encouraged to open shooting academies for training the aspiring shooters. This shall result in generation of employment, richer haul of medals in international competitions.
While I was a child in 1960s, SSB ( Special Service Bureau) used to camp in our village (Tehri Garhwal) Uttarakhand and train all men and women in firing .303 rifles because it is a border district and it was assumed that trained persons are the first line of defence against any aggression.
The kind of security provided to general public in the country is such that citizens should have easy access to weapons. Nirbhaya of Delhi, Dr Reddy of Hyderabad and unfortunate lady of Unnao would not lost their Dignity and Life had they been ARMED.
Last but not the least all our Gods are also armed why should the devotees be unarmed.
Brilliant Analysis !! I am amazed at the Author’s grasp of the subject. Every point covered highlights the fact that this amendment has been pushed by some one Anti Citizens and Anti Liberty. The Govt. Must wake up and scrap this , this will be greatest misdeed to the Law Abiding Citizens of the country and infringement of Liberty . The sport of shooting which brings us more glory will die . It is also force full seizure of legally owned private property , the total loss to public will amount to thousands of crores .
Having already one of the most toughest licensing sysytems for guns in the world ,the govt by doing this will surely kill any future sport shooters in the country as different guns are required for sporting and self protection and a single weapon will never suffice this ,add to this the voes of the farmers who need different weapons for crop protection and self protection in isolated places ,this will spell doom for them aswell.i hope that this amendement is rejected by the parliment
Excellent article. Firearms are freely available to criminals in the black market at a fraction of the cost of a legal licensed firearm. Taking away licensed firearms essentially is about disarming the law abiding citizens (potential victims) to give criminals a safe working environment. In no free democratic country of the world is a limit placed on the number of firearms one can legally own. Once you are verified to own 1 firearm, you can own N number. If you fail you can own none! Only in India do such mindless limits exist.
An excellent article reflecting the reality of how arms prevent crime for us ordinary citizens, especially our sisters, daughter’s, wives and mothers .
Kudos to the author for penning the article and The Print for publishing it. Given the largely anti-gun bias and dare I say, ignorance of Indian media this is a welcome surprise.
Rather than encouraging civilian marksmanship and the safe and responsible use of firearms, successive governments have only chipped away at the ownership of legally held firearms, first by restricting the number of firearms per person and the amount of ammunition one can hold at any one time and then stopping the import of firearms other than that for target shooters or those returning on a transfer of residence. The latter inflated the cost of used firearms and ammo to an unimaginable percentage because the locally made firearms and ammunition are sub-par in quality. The Indian Ordnance Factory (IOF), in particular, has gained immeasurably from this monopoly. One only needs to speak with members of the armed forces to get an honest opinion of IOF products.
Restricting or even doing away with all licensed firearms is not a solution to combating crime. On the contrary, firearms are a great force equaliser and especially helpful to the aged, weak or when one is outnumbered by criminals bent on harming ones person, family or civil society in general. Take for example the terrorist attack on Mumbai. It wouldn’t have resulted in as many innocent deaths if the ordinary citizen was armed and trained. The police cannot be everywhere every time and so long as governments persist with gradually disarming us, Indians will remain soft targets for terrorists and home grown criminals.
As the author rightly pointed out the number of crimes committed with licensed firearms is less than 1% and of these a large number, if not the majority, are suicides. These can be verified by looking up the National Crime Records Bureau statistics for the past years but not the present. Originally the figures differentiated between crimes committed with legally and illegally held firearms. However, I have been reliably informed that the two have now been combined. If this is indeed the case and the figures have been fudged, it should come as no surprise given what the government is proposing.
Rather than being satisfied by retaining the three firearm limit, the limit on licensed firearms and ammunition needs to be done away with. Imports must be permitted once again, sans ridiculously high custom duties, to break IOF’s monopoly. Lastly, the Indian private sector must be encouraged to develop and manufacture world class firearms.
Unfortunately, the public, by and large, have a warped perception of firearms and this must be corrected by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), National Association of Gun Rights India (NAGRI) and by firearm owners and enthusiasts. As long as we have a biased and/or apathetic public, the government of the day will not face much opposition when passing such unfair laws.
It is high time firearm owners and shooting enthusiasts sought the reversal of these draconian arms laws foisted upon a law abiding community, either via the courts and/or peaceful demonstrations.
This was such a poor article that even my puke is refusing to come out in a world where this exists
Sir Does this central Government understand this thing that every weapon has its own purpose 12 bore shotgun &rifle for crop protection trap & skeet rifle for big bore shooting pistol as side arms why do politicians keep group of security guards well armed with automatic weapons politicans keep on weapon for your security