The Guardian UK (May 22, 2012)
India's women turning to guns for protection. video.(Note; I failed to
watch it in my laptop but found the following alternative-bhuban)
India
Indian women turn to firearms against threat of violence. Guns are
increasingly popular with well-off Indian women who feel that they
should be able to defend themselves against crime
Jason Burke in Chandigarh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 May 2012 21.39 BST Indian women explain why
they are buying guns for protection, in response to rising rates of
sexual harassment and robbery. Link to this video When Dr Harveen Kaur
Sidhu travels from her home in an upmarket neighbourhood of the
north-western Indian city of Chandigarh, she always slips her
lightweight .22 revolver in her bag. The gun is a new purchase – Sidhu
got her licence only a year ago – but now the 33-year-old dentist won't
travel without it.
"I don't have faith in the police to protect me. 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," Sidhu said. She is not alone. A growing number of well-off,
educated Indian women are turning to firearms for protection.
The trend is part of a broader growth of gun culture in the land once
known for the non-violent principles of Mahatma Gandhi.
There are estimated to be 40m guns in India, the second highest number
in the world after the US. Licences are hard to obtain and most are
illegal weapons, many manufactured in backstreet workshops. Ownership
levels per capita remain low – three guns for every 100 people in India
– but there is strong anecdotal evidence that middle-class interest in
firearms is rising fast.
One sign is the emergence of groups such as the National Association
for Gun Rights India, founded in 2009, which lobbies for fewer
restrictions on ownership of firearms. "We are not trigger-happy
people. We are looking at [using firearms] as a last resort. We see
[guns] as a force equaliser," said Rakshit Sharma, the group's
secretary general.
His group, he said, receives "many inquiries from women who want to
know how to obtain a gun and stay within the law". The trend is
strongest in regions where a tradition for firearms is
well-established, such as Punjab in the north-west, due to local
wealth, a strong martial history and a brutal insurgency that ended
only 20 years ago.
The local taste for conspicuous consumption has also boosted sales.
"Business is very, very good. Better than it's ever been," said Satish
Kumar, a gunseller in Chandigarh, the Punjab state capital. "People buy
weapons, 10% for security and 90% for status. People will happily spend
80,000 rupees (£9,600) on a foreign-made handgun."
Kumar said only one in 50 purchases were made by women but the number
was rising. Data obtained earlier this year under India's new Right to
Information law revealed that nearly 31,300 arms licences have been
issued to women in the Punjab and 31,026 of them have actually
purchased arms.
One recent enthusiast is Anita Dhiman Dass, who lives in Ludhiana, a
prosperous centre of trade and farming 80 miles west of Chandigarh.
Dass, 46, got her first gun three years ago, has three weapons on her
licence and says a Ruger .22 pistol is her favourite. "It's so light. I
put it in my bag when I go shopping, to the mall, to the market or
wherever. It is very necessary. There is so much robbery these days.
They just snatch chains and bangles," she said.
Like Sidhu, Dass said carrying a gun made her feel secure. Her husband,
Ishwar, runs a car dealership in the town. His collection of 11 weapons
includes hunting rifles and vintage shotguns. Dass said a four-year-old
grandson was now "very fond of guns" and the family's new puppy has
been named "Sniper".
Navdeep, a housewife in Ludhiana, said she had a shotgun at home for
security when her husband was working away from home, and recently
bought a lighter pistol for use outside the house. "A lot of
lower-class men, they harass women, so a gun is very good way of
telling them to back off. If I am coming home late at night on my own,
it is very necessary. Even if the police come, it is too late," she
said.
The phenomenon may in part be a response to the failure of the state to
inspire confidence among many middle-class Indians, particularly women.
Almost all women interviewed by the Guardian said they felt an
increased level of threat.
General violence levels in India are actually down and homicides using
guns have dropped dramatically over the past decade, but levels of
reported sexual crimes have increased significantly.
Gang rapes in the capital, New Delhi, are commonplace. One recent news
magazine's investigation revealed widespread misogyny among the city's
senior police officers, many of whom said the crimes were the fault of
the victims.
"There are so many incidents, especially in Delhi. Women who are
working or who are travelling should definitely have a gun," said
Sidhu. She explained that changing lifestyles were making women more
vulnerable, particularly single women working or coming home late at
night. "Why should I be dependent on someone else, even my husband or
the police, for my own safety? I should be independent," she said.
"Imagine all the problems and mishaps which could be avoided if women
could defend themselves properly. The females have to be self-armed and
protected and should send out a strong message that we are not taking
this anymore."
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