Posted by Charleston Voice, 05.22.12
Heads up to the ladies in India: If NAGRI is anything like the NRA in America it is NOT a defender of individual gunowner rights! Beware of all groups who propose to be on your side.
Ted Nugent would be pleased.
Heads up to the ladies in India: If NAGRI is anything like the NRA in America it is NOT a defender of individual gunowner rights! Beware of all groups who propose to be on your side.
Millions of women in India have purchased handguns in recent years to protect themselves from crime, violence and sexual assault.
Ted Nugent would be pleased.
As more women attain higher education and jobs in India than ever before, they have increasingly become a target for criminals and sexual predators.
As a result, a large number of Indian women are arming themselves to fend off criminals, and something of a “gun culture” has emerged in the country.
In fact, India reportedly has about 40 million guns in circulation (a modest number compared to its 1 billion-plus population) -- but even so, the country ranks second in the world behind the United States in terms of gun ownership.
However, India has strict gun control laws, and getting licenses for weapons is very difficult -- which means that most of the country's pistols and revolvers are owned illegally.
As a result, a large number of Indian women are arming themselves to fend off criminals, and something of a “gun culture” has emerged in the country.
In fact, India reportedly has about 40 million guns in circulation (a modest number compared to its 1 billion-plus population) -- but even so, the country ranks second in the world behind the United States in terms of gun ownership.
However, India has strict gun control laws, and getting licenses for weapons is very difficult -- which means that most of the country's pistols and revolvers are owned illegally.
Dr. Harveen Kaur Sidhu, an affluent 33-year-old woman who lives in Chandigarh, Punjab, explained to the Guardian why she carries a revolver in her pocketbook.
"I don't have faith in the police to protect me," she said. "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."
In Punjab, which has a long military and warrior tradition and is probably the center of India’s gun culture, more than 31,000 gun licenses have been issued to women.
"A lot of lower-class men, they harass women, so a gun is very good way of telling them to back off," an anonymous Punjabi woman told the Guardian. "If I am coming home late at night on my own, it is very necessary. Even if the police come, it is too late.”
India has an organization called the National Association for Gun Rights India (NAGRI), which, like the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the U.S., advocates for citizens to have easy access to purchase handguns.
“During colonial times, British imperialists disarmed the entire Indian nation -- to further their own agenda," NAGRI's website states. "However, 63 years after independence, the rights of our citizens are once again being trampled over -- this time by our own democratically elected government! All citizens have the natural God-given right to self-defence, which is recognised by the Indian Constitution as well as the Indian Penal Code; however this right is meaningless without the right tools of self-defence!”
"We are not trigger-happy people," said Rakshit Sharma, NAGRI's secretary general, the Guardian reported. "We are looking at [using firearms] as a last resort. We see [guns] as a force equalizer.” Finish reading @Source
"I don't have faith in the police to protect me," she said. "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."
In Punjab, which has a long military and warrior tradition and is probably the center of India’s gun culture, more than 31,000 gun licenses have been issued to women.
"A lot of lower-class men, they harass women, so a gun is very good way of telling them to back off," an anonymous Punjabi woman told the Guardian. "If I am coming home late at night on my own, it is very necessary. Even if the police come, it is too late.”
India has an organization called the National Association for Gun Rights India (NAGRI), which, like the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the U.S., advocates for citizens to have easy access to purchase handguns.
“During colonial times, British imperialists disarmed the entire Indian nation -- to further their own agenda," NAGRI's website states. "However, 63 years after independence, the rights of our citizens are once again being trampled over -- this time by our own democratically elected government! All citizens have the natural God-given right to self-defence, which is recognised by the Indian Constitution as well as the Indian Penal Code; however this right is meaningless without the right tools of self-defence!”
"We are not trigger-happy people," said Rakshit Sharma, NAGRI's secretary general, the Guardian reported. "We are looking at [using firearms] as a last resort. We see [guns] as a force equalizer.” Finish reading @Source
