Check out this article by a fellow Indian pro-gunner titled “Arms, ammunition and the man”.
Ebenezer Stephen, a journalist by profession, has written pro-gun pieces for other Indian publications as well and is also a member of our pro-gun Group Indians For Guns.
Update: Newstodaynet seems to have removed the archived article from their website.
The Guardian reports that the cost of gun ownership in India has suddenly skyrocketed: to obtain a single-barrel shotgun, two people would need to be sterilised; for a revolver licence, the price would be five – civil liberties be damned!!
Read more about this ridiculous new birth control measure here.
Just got back from a 3 day trip to Hisar (also spelt Hissar). Had promised a few friends that I’d take them for some clay pigeon shooting but the timings never seemed to work out… So this trip had been due for quite some time now (sorry for the delay guys).
We departed from Delhi on Saturday around 2 PM. We were to leave a bit earlier but one of the guys got “the runs” (I won’t say which one) – I guess too much partying on New Year’s Eve 😉 We reached after dusk (it’s a four hour drive) dumped our bags at my uncle’s place and went straight to the fields. The next two days were spent shooting clays and off-roading. I didn’t shoot much myself, but I quite enjoyed myself being the designated off road driver. Off-roading is another passion of mine but one that I don’t get much opportunity to pursue, living as I do in the city 😛
The tally of those who made it for the trip was Anand, Christopher, Dennis and Prashant. Christopher had shot a bit earlier, but the rest were all first timers. That said I was truly impressed by the maturity, restraint and diligent observance of gun safety shown by all four. I have taken many newbies shooting but none have impressed as much as this bunch! Great going guys!!
We took some time off on Sunday and decided to visit the ruins of an ancient city (dated about 3000 to 5000 years old depending on who you believe) at a place called Agroha. I’d mistakenly told the guys that these were the ruins of an ancient Harappan city (thanks for clearing that one up Dennis & Prashant). Frankly, the ruins were less than impressive, partly due to the lousy restoration work done by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) but mainly because they haven’t even excavated 2% of the ruins! This in spite of the fact that the ruins were discovered way back in 1888-1889! We have so much of history in this country that I guess we just take our heritage for granted, not even caring about such priceless monuments.
We returned on Monday night, dog tired and dirty but I think I can safely say that everyone came away fans of the sport, and would want to do it again! 🙂
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.
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.