Indians For Guns

Great news!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ma ... p-firearms

Indian women turn to firearms against threat of violence

Guns are increasingly popular with well-off Indian women who feel that they should be able to defend themselves against crime

Jason Burke in Chandigarh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 May 2012 21.39 BST

When Dr Harveen Kaur Sidhu travels from her home in an upmarket neighbourhood of the north-western Indian city of Chandigarh, she always slips her lightweight .22 revolver in her bag. The gun is a new purchase – Sidhu got her licence only a year ago – but now the 33-year-old dentist won't travel without it.

"I don't have faith in the police to protect me. There are so many attacks on women these days. It's everybody's right to defend themselves. I think all women who are vulnerable should be carrying guns," Sidhu said. She is not alone. A growing number of well-off, educated Indian women are turning to firearms for protection.

The trend is part of a broader growth of gun culture in the land once known for the non-violent principles of Mahatma Gandhi.

There are estimated to be 40m guns in India, the second highest number in the world after the US. Licences are hard to obtain and most are illegal weapons, many manufactured in backstreet workshops. Ownership levels per capita remain low – three guns for every 100 people in India – but there is strong anecdotal evidence that middle-class interest in firearms is rising fast.

One sign is the emergence of groups such as the National Association for Gun Rights India, founded in 2009, which lobbies for fewer restrictions on ownership of firearms. "We are not trigger-happy people. We are looking at [using firearms] as a last resort. We see [guns] as a force equaliser," said Rakshit Sharma, the group's secretary general.

His group, he said, receives "many inquiries from women who want to know how to obtain a gun and stay within the law". The trend is strongest in regions where a tradition for firearms is well-established, such as Punjab in the north-west, due to local wealth, a strong martial history and a brutal insurgency that ended only 20 years ago.

The local taste for conspicuous consumption has also boosted sales. "Business is very, very good. Better than it's ever been," said Satish Kumar, a gunseller in Chandigarh, the Punjab state capital. "People buy weapons, 10% for security and 90% for status. People will happily spend 80,000 rupees (£9,600) on a foreign-made handgun."

Kumar said only one in 50 purchases were made by women but the number was rising. Data obtained earlier this year under India's new Right to Information law revealed that nearly 31,300 arms licences have been issued to women in the Punjab and 31,026 of them have actually purchased arms.

One recent enthusiast is Anita Dhiman Dass, who lives in Ludhiana, a prosperous centre of trade and farming 80 miles west of Chandigarh. Dass, 46, got her first gun three years ago, has three weapons on her licence and says a Ruger .22 pistol is her favourite. "It's so light. I put it in my bag when I go shopping, to the mall, to the market or wherever. It is very necessary. There is so much robbery these days. They just snatch chains and bangles," she said.

Like Sidhu, Dass said carrying a gun made her feel secure. Her husband, Ishwar, runs a car dealership in the town. His collection of 11 weapons includes hunting rifles and vintage shotguns. Dass said a four-year-old grandson was now "very fond of guns" and the family's new puppy has been named "Sniper".

Navdeep, a housewife in Ludhiana, said she had a shotgun at home for security when her husband was working away from home, and recently bought a lighter pistol for use outside the house. "A lot of lower-class men, they harass women, so a gun is very good way of telling them to back off. If I am coming home late at night on my own, it is very necessary. Even if the police come, it is too late," she said.

The phenomenon may in part be a response to the failure of the state to inspire confidence among many middle-class Indians, particularly women. Almost all women interviewed by the Guardian said they felt an increased level of threat.

General violence levels in India are actually down and homicides using guns have dropped dramatically over the past decade, but levels of reported sexual crimes have increased significantly.

Gang rapes in the capital, New Delhi, are commonplace. One recent news magazine's investigation revealed widespread misogyny among the city's senior police officers, many of whom said the crimes were the fault of the victims.

"There are so many incidents, especially in Delhi. Women who are working or who are travelling should definitely have a gun," said Sidhu. She explained that changing lifestyles were making women more vulnerable, particularly single women working or coming home late at night. "Why should I be dependent on someone else, even my husband or the police, for my own safety? I should be independent," she said. "Imagine all the problems and mishaps which could be avoided if women could defend themselves properly. The females have to be self-armed and protected and should send out a strong message that we are not taking this anymore."

Thanks,
Arrun

> Hey! Great News
> Hope the powers that be get some sense knocked into them.
> To begin with Air Rifle shooting must be introduced at high school level to get children familiar with the handling of guns.
Briha

NCC (JD) should be be made compulsory, to teach kids not only gun control but to give basic training as well.

To begin with Air Rifle shooting must be introduced at high school level to get children familiar with the handling of guns.

Brihaji,
you made an excellent remark there. I am 100% for shooting lessons in the school level. The 'Demystification' of the GUN is of utmost importance. Our youth should not only learn the gun handling and safety aspects but also the general attitude one must adopt with a weapon on one's self. It is a huge responsibility to bear arms.

best regards
tirpassion

I am 100% for shooting lessons in the school level. The 'Demystification' of the GUN is of utmost importance. Our youth should not only learn the gun handling and safety aspects but also the general attitude one must adopt with a weapon on one's self. It is a huge responsibility to bear arms. (Quote - tirpassion)


> If I may humbly opine - Gone are the days when as teenagers we were taught how to use a pocket knife / knot a rope / pitch a tent / ride a pony / know firt-aid / fix a bicycle chain / make a catapult etc. etc.
> Alas - todays teens know nothing of any of these but for using their fingers to punch the key board on their laptops or cell phones
Briha

If I may humbly opine - Gone are the days when as teenagers we were taught how to use a pocket knife / knot a rope / pitch a tent / ride a pony / know firt-aid / fix a bicycle chain / make a catapult etc. etc.

Oh yes Brihaji... you brought back the fond memories...
the bow made with bamboo where broom sticks were used as arrows (no wonder why my mother found the brooms to be always loosely tied and having found the reason used to complain that she had pain in her palm after bashing me up... ), the dart made with a sharpened nail tied firmly to a slit thin bamboo stick at one end and pigeon feathers tied to the other end. It was one of my favourite hand made toys. We used to do target dart throwing on a tree trunk with it. I still remember playing the game on a particular tree which had a brick wall on the backdrop. It was not that we were aware of the safety but it was simply because the place was discreet (we were termed as naughty boys, you know and naughty boys with a dart in hand specially were not very well seen by the parents of the goodies... ).

What I see today is that the definition of the naughty boy has radically changed. Alas!

best regards
tirpassion

brihacharan wrote:> If I may humbly opine - Gone are the days when as teenagers we were taught how to use a pocket knife / knot a rope / pitch a tent / ride a pony / know firt-aid / fix a bicycle chain / make a catapult etc. etc.
> Alas - todays teens know nothing of any of these but for using their fingers to punch the key board on their laptops or cell phones
Briha

There are still some teens that can do both of the 'traditional' fun things and are equally good at handling modern equipment like cellphones and computers.
They are extremely rare though, next only to Bigfoot

tirpassion wrote: Oh yes Brihaji... you brought back the fond memories...
the bow made with bamboo where broom sticks were used as arrows (no wonder why my mother found the brooms to be always loosely tied and having found the reason used to complain that she had pain in her palm after bashing me up... ), the dart made with a sharpened nail tied firmly to a slit thin bamboo stick at one end and pigeon feathers tied to the other end. It was one of my favourite hand made toys. We used to do target dart throwing on a tree trunk with it. I still remember playing the game on a particular tree which had a brick wall on the backdrop. It was not that we were aware of the safety but it was simply because the place was discreet (we were termed as naughty boys, you know and naughty boys with a dart in hand specially were not very well seen by the parents of the goodies... ).

What I see today is that the definition of the naughty boy has radically changed. Alas!

best regards
tirpassion

I used to do that as a kid, but we made the arrows out of bamboo branches straightened in fire. The tips were made out of mustard oil tin cut and shaped and then heated and then quenched in water (Neeraj brand mustard oil tin works better than others). We'll then hang a pieces of banana tree on a tree (we used a mango tree located in a nearby paddy field most of the times) with a rope and try to hit it while it's swinging.
I admit there was no backstop but nobody goes there since that was a graveyard.

Ah! those good ol' memories...

The Guardian's reporter Jason Burke's article on women seeking gun ownership.. read on...

Cheers
Rakshit...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ma ... p-firearms

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2 ... tion-video

While I applaud women taking the initiative to protect themselves, there is so much gun safety fail displayed in those videos, it just made me shudder. Forget the finger in the trigger and hand over the muzzle end every time the gun is handled. C'mon, no eye protection? No hearing protection? This stuff is so simple to do, it's just mind-boggling that people don't do it.

Even the dealer presents the gun, pointed at the camera, with his finger inside the trigger guard. Sigh! In some parts of the US, if you point a gun at someone (whether you think it's loaded or not), you're going to get beat up or shot.

Sorry didn't wanna hijack the thread and didn't see the post yesterday. Apologies..........

captrakshitsharma wrote:The Guardian's reporter Jason Burke's article on women seeking gun ownership.. read on...

Cheers
Rakshit...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ma ... p-firearms

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2 ... tion-video

In the video,found two interesting things when the couple that claim to own 11 firearms, display their guns.First is the C96 carbine.Never expected that there would be one in India.The second is the sawn off shotgun.Hope the fellow has a license from the central ministry of home,otherwise he can be in big trouble.

winnie there are quiet a few of these c96 mauser broomhandles in india. my father has one too complete with the detachable stock that becomes a hard case/holster.

According to Wikipedia

In rural areas of North India, where it is seen as a weapon of authority and prestige, it is known as a dunali, literally meaning "two pipes". It is especially common in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

Wiki didn't cite any sources and I'm not sure if they are licensed or not, hope somebody will be able to shed some light on this subject.

Just noticed that site cites gunpolicy.org which is a completely biased website. A lot of information there is wrong including India being second most armed country.

People will happily spend 80,000 rupees (£9,600) on a foreign-made handgun.

He meant 800K rupees, One would have to be extremely lucky (Compared to winning the California state lottery). Also £9,600 is around 800K INR.

His collection of 11 weapons includes hunting rifles and vintage shotguns.

Hope they are properly licensed. AFAIK only 3 and another .22lr in case of sport shooting can be possessed by one person. I guess they are in different family member's name.

A lot of lower-class men, they harass women, so a gun is very good way of telling them to back off.

I feel offended by the sentence above, I see rich brats eve teasing ladies too, not just "lower-class men".

The article is kinda biased and poor researched, didn't expect that from Guardian, would not be shocking if it was daily mail.