Indian Pistols made by private companies

[jondoe]

Hi Guys
I have three questions.

Q1) I read the article about "Meher Singh" gun factory in Jammu, does any one know if there are any any private factories that manufacture pistols or revolvers.

Q2) Can a private company get permission to manufacturer pistols.

Q3) Which department in the government gives permission to manufacture arms.

Best Regards
Jon

[hamiclar01]

A1. No

A2. No

A3 Home ministry, I would assume

[mundaire]

Hamiclar has all three answers down pat! The manufacture of all rifled firearms is currently a government monopoly... as a matter of government policy. This is a carry over from the British colonial times, successive domestic governments have merely carried forward the same policy...

[winnie_the_pooh]

jondoe,

Q1) I read the article about "Meher Singh" gun factory in Jammu, does any one know if there are any any private factories that manufacture pistols or revolvers.

I have heard that at one point of time there was a private manufacturer making revolvers but have been unable to confirm it.At present only the IOF makes revolvers and pistols.

Q2) Can a private company get permission to manufacturer pistols.

As things stand,no.The govt. policy does not allow this.

Q3) Which department in the government gives permission to manufacture arms.

Grant of a license to manufacture firearms is covered by the Industrial Policy.License is granted by the Ministry of Home.At present it is granted only on a hereditary basis.No new licenses are being granted.

[tingriman]

...that explains why IOF are not bothering themselves about the quality. No import, no private manufacturing of small arms ....... where will you go my dear for a firarm??? ...... you are bound to buy here.... ...buy my crap ...


cheers,
tingriman

[jondoe]

Winney and Hamiclar
Thanks for the information. As law abiding citizens and as Tax payers we are forced to buy IOF crap after waiting for 1 year.
It is unfortunate that M.P's are able to buy imported handguns at throw away prices.
Please look at the article from Indian Express, I am sure you can see why our voices are never heard. As the representatives of common man in enjoying. Why would any one care for a minority of Indians that hold a arms license.


MPs queue up to buy imported guns
Anuradha Nagaraj

NEW DELHI, Jan 17: Many perks come to Members of Parliament. But this is an unusual one: Webley Scott revolvers, Colts or Smith and Wessons at 10 per cent of their market rates. As many as 168 MPs have bought guns from the Customs between April 1995 and December 1998.

Every contraband weapon that is seized by the Customs is sold to VIPs, most of them MPs, at throwaway prices. The customs armoury -- which has stored Webley Scott revolvers, Walther pistols, Remington rifles, Berettas, Smith and Wessons and Colts at different points of time -- sells the weapons to VIPs who perceive threats to their lives despite security provided to them.

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar bought a Webley Scott revolver in January 1996 for Rs 9,000. Lok Sabha speaker G M C Balayogi bought his Webley Scott for the same price in May 1996 when he was an MP. Environment Minister Suresh Prabhu is the owner of an R S revolver that cost him just Rs 7,000. Actor-MP Nitish Bhardwaj's Smith and Wesson cost him Rs 13,000, while Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi bought his Webley Scott for Rs 9,000. The market prices of these weapons (see chart) are four times or more in most cases and more than 10 times of the Customs prices in some.

Others who bought foreign guns include BJP's Rita Verma (Webley Scotts for Rs 9,000), tribal leader from Madhya Pradesh Arvind Netam (Webley Scotts for Rs 9,000), BJP's Sumitra Mahajan (Webley Scotts for Rs 8,000), Union minister and Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal (LLAMA pistol for Rs 7,000), former minister Kanti Singh (Webley Scotts for Rs 9,000) and Bahujan Samaj Patry's Akbar Ahmad Dumpy (Beretta pistol for Rs 5,000).

The market price of all these weapons shot up after the ban on their import in the early '90s, but they continue to be sold for a pittance at the Customs. Import of any weapon is banned in India. The only allowance made is when there is a case of shifting residence. Despite the ban, custom officials seize guns every year and these are promptly disposed of toMPs.

``Earlier we used to sell weapons to our officers,'' explains Donald D. Ingty, additional commissioner, Customs. ``We don't do that anymore. Now, the guns are only issued to MPs, as instructed by the Finance Ministry. The Finance Minister has to pass the order.''

The procedure is fairly simple. Any MP who perceives that there is a threat to his life can write an application saying so and send it to the Finance Ministry.

After having gone through the request, the Finance Minister has to authorise the sale. The only condition attached to this buy is that the weapon cannot be resold.

Former India opener Chetan Chauhan bought a 30.06 bore Parker Hale rifle for Rs 33,000 in March 1996. His reasons: ``I needed it for my security.'' Chauhan clarifies, ``I was an MP from Uttar Pradesh those days and you know what the condition of law and order in the state was then.'' Chauhan adds that the rifle is still in his possession.

Customs officers are complaining as they don't get the guns any longer.``There are numerous officers who have requested for weapons citing specific examples of threats to their lives,'' explains an officer. ``We probably need the guns more than anybody else. Unfortunately, we don't get them.''

Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

[brijendra]

atleast the cops should get priority in gun import liberalisation norms, plus we need good arms too..having a third class arm which has no reliability is like having no arms at all

[The Doc]

So according to this article , more percentage of politicians have a Webley Scott revolver . Interesting !

best,

Rp.

[m24]

What I would love to know is how many of them still retain the gun they've bought and how many have made money out of this whole program, selling it in the Indian market in mind-boggling rates. Because I am sure, our erstwhile MP's would have found a way in the system for resale, though the article states otherwise.

Regards

[Amit357]

Hi Guys the law makers of this country are taken care off,the hell with the people who made them the LAW MAKERs.m24 if you can find out the same do also look up how many of them are depositing them at the time of elections.Ordi is making crap because there is no accountabity in the country.I personally know of few people who had an IOF Pistol blow up in there hand,when they spoke to IOF Calcutta the ans was that you must have used high velocity ammo in the same.IOF 22 doesnt chamber the IOF CTGS.I guess nakel ke liye bhi akal chahye,I have fired all kind of ammo from the Browning of which the iof pistol is a ripoff and never have had any problem with it.IOF {cal} still has a few pieces of the FN Browning Pistol in there stock which hold the IOF Markings,{these r for ppl whom they wanna oblige}.Spoke to an ARMS Dealer in Canada and he didnt belive the price we pay for Arms here,finally he told me that India is a very rich country where ppl can pay 15K US for a Walther and 20K for 32 BDA.I feel trying to convince some for relaxtions of Arms control whether manufactoring or import is ,till some bigwig in the political circle thinks about it.

[winnie_the_pooh]

I personally know of few people who had an IOF Pistol blow up in there hand,when they spoke to IOF Calcutta the ans was that you must have used high velocity ammo in the same.

Can you please post some evidence to back this.I used to own one before selling it to buy another one.I have also owned an IOF .32 revolver.I used to and do fire my handgun/s often thanks to a healthy annual quota.Though I agree that IOF guns leave much to be desired,I have never seen or experienced even one blow up.

I would be happy to go anywhere in Punjab to photograph and document any such incident(blow up).Just name the place and time.

PS-I have seen a lot of Webley revolers with bulged barrels.Would you say that Webley made rubbish revolvers?