School me about India

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

I guess you know by now that I'm an American living in Hawaii, the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

In a sense, you can say that at times being an isolated American State is like living in another country.

I'm here be cause I like all kinds of firearms.

And if I can help others about firearms and gun rights, I like to help.

India, all, I and most other Americans know about India is from National Geographic and movies like Gunga Din.

I am aware that India is a large country with a population much larger than the US.

Other than that not to much else.

Know very little about it's politics, people, society, money and everything else.

So, What can you tell me, a foreigner about your country? And it's firearms indusry.

I know it's a lot to ask, so, Please try to keep things short, simple and to the point.

Thank You

[Rajat]

What can you tell me, a foreigner about your country?

I know it's a lot to ask, so, Please try to keep things short, simple and to the point.

What kind of a reply do you expect now?

[sammesanj]

Yogibear,
i'll start with firearms industry,
here in India civilians by Law are allowed to keep and bear firearms on a licence.
the firearms allowed to civilians are known as NPB(non prohibited bore) arms.
NPB are the fire arms or the calibers that are not used by any govt. agencies or
armed forces. and also no civilians under normal circumstances can keep semi-
auto. or full auto. rifles.
the biggest blow to firearms industry in India happened in 1984 when the import on
firearms was restricted(for civilians), only renowned shooters can import fire arms,
related to their sport. though IOF( INDIAN ORDINANCE FACTORY) manufactures firearms
for civilians but have a lot of quality issues, and are old school.(i.e .32 revolver made by
IOF is a copy or clone of century old webley&scott mark 4).
most commonly used calibers by civilians are .32, .22, .380 in handguns.
.315, .22, 30-06 in rifles.
Calibers like 9mm, .38 S&W are prohibited in India.
the armed forces use all modern and good quality newly imported firearms.

cheers
Sam singh

[goodboy_mentor]

Know very little about it's politics, people, society, money and everything else.

India has a very complex and murky politics mired in neck deep corruption. Regionalism, language, religion, caste system, money power and muscle power play very important role in Indian politics. You will find all kinds of people from cooks to crooks in this country. It is a very complex society with layers of regionalism, language, religion, caste system. You will find people who are ultra rich and also those who are ultra poor in this country. Those who know how to mint money in this country, are doing it with ease and those who do not know are struggling to make both ends meet.

So, What can you tell me, a foreigner about your country? And it's firearms indusry.

Rather than being merely a country, it is a sub continent composed of people of various nationalities who have migrated over to this country over the centuries. There is only one government owned company called Indian Ordnance Factories that manufactures few overpriced rifles and handguns of variable quality. To get an idea you may visit its website. There are some shotgun manufacturers in this country. If one eyes India as a potential firearms market, with population of ever increasing 1.2 billion people, India is a bottomless pit full of opportunity (provided you know and have the means to tackle the government hurdles).

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

Thank You

Appreciate the information.

I'd love to learn all I can about your country, good as well as bad.

People, politics, everything.

[Mark]

Aloha,

I guess you know by now that I'm an American living in Hawaii, the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Let me guess, you won't release your birth certificate either.

Something interesting that I have noticed is that India and fine rifles is very similar to Cuba having fine American cars pretty much from the same era. Some have been neglected but most were quality arms when purchased in the 20's-50's and have been well taken care of so you will see a good collection of classic arms how they were when original.

[YogiBear]

Aloha Mark,

I have no problem releasing My Birth Certificate, unlike certain Other people.

What is necessary to import a caliber Not mentioned above?

Can it be done? Or just forget about even thinking about it.

Example would be a S & W Model 610 in 40 SW/10mm cal. or S & W Model 57 or 58 in 41 magnum

Both are odd ball caliber revolvers in the US. But, if reloaded for, Excellent for almost every sport.

Is reloading even Legal in India?

Tell me about your monetary system.

[timmy]

Yogi:

I have studied the history of a number of nations/countries/people. However, None of these histories comes within light years of the complexity of India's history. Consider that India is home to mankind's first civilization (you might start by reading about Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa) and that most of the elementary and crucial scientific advances we enjoy today come from India, such as mathematics, anatomy, and chemistry. (Here, you may recall that we were taught that Western culture obtained these advances from Arabic culture during the Crusades and from trade. This is true, however the part that was left out was that the Arabs derived this knowledge and learning from India.)

So, in keeping with:

I'd love to learn all I can about your country, good as well as bad.

People, politics, everything.

I would suggest that your quest would best be served with healthy doses of intellectual curiosity, an open mind, a willingness to quickly discard any preconceived notions, and a strong expectation that you are going to fall in love with what you are learning.

There are so many books you can read, because India is so complex -- a nation that includes many unique and distinctive cultures with their own language and literary traditions, as well as history. So you can profitably start in thousands of places on your quest for learning. However, I would humbly suggest three books that might give you a good start, and which I've found and still find helpful:

1. The Timeline History of India, by Dilip Hiro, Barnes & Noble, 2002. I believe that history is best understood as hanging on a skeleton of dates, and this is a good place to start. I do wish the author would have been a bit more attentive to South India, but this is a book I refer to constantly.

2. India by Stanley Wolpert, University of California, 1991. Wolpert is widely recognized as a Western expert on India. I have read some of his other stuff that was somewhat underwhelming, but this book is short, succinct, and well written. It will serve to give you an interesting overview of Culture, including Religion, Philosophy, Science, and the Arts, along with smidgens of geography and a useful overview of history.

3. Cultural Atlas of India, by Gordon Johnson, Andromeda, 1996. I love large books like this that are full of maps, pictures, diagrams, and timelines. Johnson covers the regions of India and includes tidbits about Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. You get a notion of how the monsoon works and what it does, as well as a lay of the land and the people in different regions, and also interesting historical perspectives.

There are other books, but these, or others like them, will give you a good start. My suggestion would be to find somewhat bland books with a wide historical view, as you don't want your views shaped too narrowly by recent political discussions.

One thing I have found of immense value is watching Bollywood (and even some Kollywood -- Tamil) movies. Cinema is a great way to see how people view themselves and what they value. I personally find Bollywood to be as much fun to watch as Hollywood, and actually, perhaps a bit more so.

Another thing: Find an Indian association where you live. I will bet that there is one or more that you can find, if you look hard enough. Then, take in some of the cultural offerings that are available. For instance, I saw this woman at one such offering:

http://www.alarmelvalli.org/thedancer.html

I have personally seen the art treasures of the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum, among others, and have seen a number of musical performances, including one by Itzhak Perlman. I do believe that Alarmel Valli's Bharatanatyam is the single most beautiful art work I've ever seen. Breathtaking is far to banal a word to apply to her performance.

I have personally found that most Indians in the USA are reticent in discussing India with non-Indians. To put it bluntly, I believe that they have found too many jerks who dismiss India and Indian culture, history, and science as unworthy of attention, and this makes them reluctant to share. If you learn a little and open the conversation with what you know, I expect that the response will be amazement, smiles, and a willingness to discuss these things. As I work with the public, I find Indian folks coming into my place of business, and I am almost 100% successful in opening up a conversation with them.

For example, awhile back, a man came in with his wife, mother (or mother-in-law), and little daughter about 9 years old. Upon asking my advice about something, I told the man what I knew and said, "I can't tell you any more, or you'd think I was one of the 3 Idiots." Knowing this is never enough, I added, "Of course, you'd never mistake me for Aamir Khan." Then I began asking the little girl who her favorite actor and actress were, and shared mine. She asked me, "Do you ask everyone these questions?" Her dad and I laughed and said no together. Such encounters are always a real highlight of an otherwise very drab day.

India is just like learning anything else, only more so: a mind works best when open. You will be inundated by many concepts that you're not familiar with, so take your time and give them some thought. They aren't all that unfamiliar when you take them in their own context.

Have fun!

(Brothers, please forgive me for writing this: You know I am totally unworthy to offer opinions on this subject about which I know so little. So please forgive me for being like the first grader and wanting to blurt out what little I know with joy and eagerness.)

[ckkalyan]

Very well said timmy!

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

Can someone explain the monetary system in very simple terms?

What is 1 Lakh equal to in US $?

I haven't found a simple easy to understand conversion.

[spin_drift]

Aloha,

Can someone explain the monetary system in very simple terms?

What is 1 Lakh equal to in US $?

I haven't found a simple easy to understand conversion.

A hundred thousand (100 000)

[Mark]

One US Dollar is currently worth 49 INR (rupees), and 100,000 INR (one lakh) is currently worth $2,041

[mundaire]

Another term you may come across is "Crore" - 1 Crore is 10 million i.e. there are 100 Lakhs (also spelt Lacs) in a Crore, therefore 1 Crore is currently US$ 204,100

The Indian Rupee loosely tracks the US$ in the foreign currency market and traded for many years at around 43 to 44 INR to a US$ but in the last 6 months or so has fallen in value vis a vis the US$.

The breath of the what you have asked in your original post is truly overwhelming, would really help if you posted specific queries

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[ckkalyan]

YogiBear,

Hope this helps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee

The Indian rupee (Devanagari: रुपया) (sign: ; code: INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.

The modern rupee is subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa) though this division is now theoretical; as of 30 June 2011, coin denominations of less than 50 paise ceased to be legal tender.[2][3] Bank notes are available in nominal values of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees. Coins of the rupee are available in 1, 2, 5 and 10. Paise coins of the rupee have nominal values of 50, and lower denominations have been officially withdrawn.

The Indian rupee symbol (officially adopted 2010) is derived from the Devanagari consonant "र" (Ra) with an added horizontal bar

Indian --------------International ------------Indian comma --------------International comma
semantic-------------Semantic -----------placement ----------------placement

1 Lakh ------1 Hundred Thousand --------1,00,000 --------------------100,000
10 Lakhs ------1 Million -------------------10,00,000 ------------------1,000,000
1 Crore ------10 Million -----------------1,00,00,000 ----------------10,000,000
10 Crore ------100 Million ----------------10,00,00,000 ---------------100,000,000
100 Crore ------1 Billion --------------1,00,00,00,000-------------1,000,000,000


For example, the amount 3,25,84,729.25 is read as Three crores, twenty-five lakhs, eighty-four thousand, seven hundred and twenty-nine Rupees and Twenty-five Paise. The use of millions or billions within the Indian subcontinent largely depends on the educational background of the speaker and is not widely comprehended.

[mundaire]

ckkalyan, these days you'd be hard pressed to find any vendor who will give you even 50 paise back as change, for all practical purposes the paisa is dead and done with (w.r.t. cash transactions)! It still survives as far as electronic/ cheque/ card transactions are concerned and even then most people will simply round off the figure to the nearest rupee when issuing a cheque.

Cheers!
Abhijeet