India begins privatisation of defense industry

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has obtained a licence from the government
to produce small arms and associated ammunition. This, according to
sources in the company, has been done in anticipation of a large order
from the armed forces. This is the first licence handed out for making
arms and ammo in the private sector. Even though the stated goal of
M&M is to supply to the Indian armed forces, one can always hope
that the highly lucrative civilian market will not escape their
attention. Finally we might get to buy some quality Indian made guns
& ammo. Something to look forward to…

You can read the original article at Rediff here.

I’m in "The New Gun Week"

The following article by yours truly was published in “The New Gun
Week” 10 Dec 2004 issue: “Gun Rights in Modern India: Colonial Roots of
Gun Control”. The original was posted by me here in October 2004.

The article can also be viewed in the Gun Week archives. Edit: The New Gun Week ceased publication in December 2011 and has been succeeded by The Gun Mag, archives are no longer available online.