History of Gun in India

Ancient Indian Weaponry, Indian History

2011-11-29T03:25:00.001-08:00

Ancient India as one comprehends in present times is one enriched in Oriental culture, heritage and everything that can be considered richly, adorned and grand an affair. However, owing to several petty kingdoms vying for the big picture to conquer all of India, wars, battles and capturing had been the order of the day. As a result, man had learned fast the art of weaponry to suit their needs and save themselves and their land. And this can precisely be the reason for which ancient Indian weaponry and the skilled kinds have entered the prestigious pages in Indian history. India`s widespread use of war horses was not some ancient or structural phenomenon, but a relatively late development, originating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries or even later.

However, in order to employ war horse and other implements in warring tactics, it is essential to comprehend the art of ancient Indian weaponry in Indian history. Gunpowder technology, including gunpowder weaponry had facilitated the formation of large empires in ancient India. To start with, a great deal of energy had been put in to ascertain the date and route of the introduction of this technology. For example, it is claimed that some kind of combustible substance analogous to gunpowder was known in ancient India, but that it fell into abandonment. After this incident, the technology of gunpowder and firearms was introduced into India during the fifteenth century from the Middle East, most probably before the arrival of the Portuguese. Cannons in ancient Indian weaponry were, according to historians, introduced by the Turks and were first used during the early Delhi sultanate. From the thirteenth century onwards superior varieties of gunpowder played a prominent part in sieges, albeit through various kinds of flame-throwers and fire-lances erupting from so-called `coviative` projectiles.

Coming down a little later into the centuries, ancient Indian weaponry turned into a combination with the more forceful counter-weight trebuchet (maghribt) and, perhaps, also with more explosive mining devices. These weapon systems may very well have revolutionised the operation of sieges in India. Going by historians, these more forceful gunpowder devices were introduced in India through Sino-Mongol channels. Before the arrival of Vasco da Gama and Babur, ancient Indian weaponry and gun making had achieved a high standard. And this time, inspiration was gained not through Central Asian, but, most probably, through Middle Eastern channels. These Indian guns must have been fairly expensive wrought iron or brass and bronze specimens, since the country did not develop the much cheaper faculty to produce cast-iron guns. In the long run this weighed down heavily upon the mass production of standardised guns. But, it also appears that during the sixteenth century, Indian artillery was not inferior to its European counterpart. In this context, it needs to be remembered that in Europe there still did not exist effective field artillery and it was only during the late-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that European armies successfully adopted ever lighter cast-iron field guns. Hence, India developed very effective units of camel artillery, which in fact consisted of heavy firearms on swivels attached to the back of dromedaries. Though obviously, these shutamal or zamburak were much lighter than the lightest European field artillery.

It is still a matter of disputation to what extent ancient Indian weaponry served well on the opponent battleground. On the whole, field artillery, or the `artillery of the stirrup` as it was called under the Mughals, performed extremely well defensively, mostly behind cover. Examples can be stated with the famous wagenbtng (abiir) used by Babur, or the ones fastened with chains or hide-straps to prevent the enemy`s horses from riding through. As such, these weapon tools served well in the classical tactic of steady centre with moving flanks, with the cannon gradually replacing heavy cavalry or elephants. The victories of the early Mughals were mostly due to the ingenious mish-mash of the old with the new, i.e. mounted archers and modern gunpowder technology. Although the use of artillery spread somewhat rapidly during the sixteenth century, its successful operation in actual service remained for a very long time the well-paid expertise of foreigners: either Rumi from the Ottomans Empire or Europeans. A major problem of the larger and heavier ancient Indian weaponry like field-guns was their lack of mobility, both over long distances and on the battlefield itself. For some reason or other, not the quality of the guns, but the carriage and traction section remained the least developed part of Indian artillery. Again it needs to be kept in mind that, until the late seventeenth century, the condition of field-artillery in Europe was not much of difference.

Cannons under the ancient Indian weaponry section were more effective in a setting where the targets did not move; in other words, in siege operations against forts. Nonetheless, in terms of siege tactics, the introduction of the true gun did not make for ground-breaking change, at least in India. Since guns rarely broke through mud, brick or stone walls directly, most of the efforts of the besiegers were concentrated on targeting the inside of the fort. And the preferred point for shooting down was from a mound (pashib), which reached as high as the top of the enemy`s wall. Especially the heavy mortar, although more powerful, was a continuation of earlier tactics which relied on flinging over stones, fire and explosives from various ballistae and more primitive gunpowder devices.

Apart from this, ancient Indian weaponry also employed mining, which remained an important siege instrument as well. All this intended that besiegers assayed to move extremely close to the adversary`s walls, often through zigzag trenches or covered passages (utbat). In general, though, Indian sieges were decided neither by shooting nor by mining, but by diplomacy and new alliances. Though the besieged could perhaps withstand the siege technology of the day, they could not rationally reject endless offerings of cash and employment, almost in the form of enticements. Except for new conquerors who wanted to establish an early example of their superiority, taking a fort became an affair less of shelling and more of wooing the besieged. Even the strongest of Indian forts always were `units of political bargaining power`. Ancient Indian weaponry had assimilated within itself considerable prowess to thus successfully influence alien adversaries.

The crucial importance of negotiation in capturing forts reveals itself most explicitly in the umpteen sieges of Aurangzeb in which his commanders outstripped each other in offering the best deals to the besieged Marathas. After their submission, the latter were permitted to leave the fort unscathed, together with all their personal belongings. Not surprisingly, within a few months after the Mughal train had taken up another siege, the fort was easily recaptured by their former occupiers. Triumphantly applying the clever line-up of ancient Indian weaponry and its machinations, Aurangzeb`s main strength was not his artillery but his reputation of writing feigned letters and making false professions. Equally instructive and interesting is Mir Jumla`s desertion of the Mughals which was decisive not because of his admirable artillery, but because he knew the exact prices of all the chief officers in the camp of his former allies. In those rare cases where diplomatic offers did not work, sieges remained extremely awkward and lingering an affair. Hence, it would have been really interesting to become knowledgeable whether the introduction of artillery affected the military architecture of Indian forts at all.

Source: http://www.indianetzone.com/38/ancient_indian_weaponry.htm

WEAPONS OF PUNJAB

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Source; Sikh heritage

A cannon at Patiala Fort

Flintlock Gun, Anandpur Sahib

1.A variety of pistols.

2. 17th Century Katar.

3. 19th C. dagger of Sardar Fateh Singh.

4. 17th century dagger of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

5. 18th century sword. Patiala Fort.

6. Nailed mace or kharmai. Patiala Fort.

7. 16th to 18th century arrows. Patiala Fort.

Ceremonial guns

2011-11-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

The marriage of Yuvraj Rajbir Singh of Jind 1939 - with 'Chhattar' above his head to ward off the 'evil eye'

Guns of Mehrangarh Fort

2011-11-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Source: Captain suresh's album on Flickr

Guns of Mehrangarh Fort

Royal Gun at Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, India

Bayana gun

2011-10-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Source: Bijapuri Ed sentners album on Flickr

Bayana gun

English Gun, Elephanta Island

2011-10-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Courtesy::Markymark2 on flickr

English Gun, Elephanta Island

Neelam and Manek Guns, Uparkot Fort, Junagadh

2011-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

Source: PavanGupta on FLICKR

The Neelam and Manek Guns, Uparkot Fort, Junagadh, Junagadh District, Gujarat, India

In the early sixteenth century, when Portuguese arrived on the western coast of India, Bahadur Shah was ruling Saurashtra. Initially Bahadur Shah was able to thwart any Portuguese attempt to occupy Indian Territory. Soon he got in conflict with the Mughal Emperor Humayun, probably after Bahadurshah’s attack on Chittorgarh. Humayun inflicted heavy losses on him and his empire was repeatedly pounded by incessant barrage of Mughal attacks.
Pressed hard by the Mughals at one side and the Portuguese at another, he made a peace pact with the Portuguese. The Portuguese agreed to assist him against Humayun and in exchange Bahadur Shah accepted their rule on a part of Diu and allowed them to construct a fortress. He had unwittingly provided them a foothold.
In the meantime, Mughal threat receded as Humayun got engaged in battles with the smart and shrewd Sher shah. Bahadurshah seized the opportunity and tried to regain his strength. And then he realized his mistake in allowing the Portuguese to build the fortress as by that time the Portuguese had a complete control on Diu.
Bahadurshah got support from Turkey and a Turkish fleet arrived on the coast of Gujarat in an attempt to expel Portuguese and to reestablish the trade between India and Turkey. These two canons Neelam and Manek were brought by that convoy, led by Suleiman. The canons were cast in Egypt in 1531. Neelam the larger among the two is 17 feet long.

One day the Portuguese anchored their ship on the coast of Gujarat and invited Bahadurshah for a peace treaty. Bahadurshah boarded it, but never returned. He was killed on the ship and his body was thrown into the Arabian Sea. These two canons are witness to that lost war, the beguiling way in which Bahadurshah was ensnared and to the Portuguese occupation on Diu that lasted from 1538 till 1961. This is an example of a long saga of small accession allowed by local Indian kings to imperial powers eventually leading to colonial rule.

The Neelam and Manek Guns, Uparkot Fort, Junagadh, Junagadh District, Gujarat, India

Neelam Tope was molded in 1531 in Egypt, and is 17 ft in length. It is marvelously wrought and elaborately meticulous (and was likely implausibly destructive in its heyday). The inscription on it makes its function clear, "to fight the in cursive Portuguese, who are the infidel enemies of State and religion".

Machine Gun nest inside Jhansi Fort

2011-10-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Source: adayinlifeTOI

An Abandoned cannon on Cabo De Rama Fort In Goa

2011-10-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

An Abandoned cannon on Cabo De Rama Fort In Goa

Courtesy: goaeasy

A gun glows with glorious tales of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan

2011-08-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu

School students keenly observe the miniature model of the State gun of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, at the Government Museum Egmore on Monday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

Little school kids walk into the main building of the Government Museum Egmore to be stopped in front of a miniature model displayed as the ‘exhibit of the week'.

“So, what is that?” asks a museum staff. “It is a bullock cart,” says a girl. Most of them have no clue as to the display – the miniature of the gun used by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan to fight the expansion of English East India Company.

C. Maheswaran, curator, anthropology section, patiently tells them the story — rather, the history — behind the miniature model. “At the fall of Tipu Sultan in 1799 A.D during Mysore War III, the English East India Company captured the State gun of Hyder and Tipu. In memory of this historical moment, it created a model of the gun in brass at its gun carriage manufactory in Madras the same year,” he says, adding the state gun is in Srirangapatinam.

The children keep nodding their heads and walk away and the next batch of noisy kids troops in.

“It is like a time capsule. We don't know where the gun carriage manufactory was in Madras but it was fabricated under the supervision of Major John Maintland,” he says.

Inscriptions

The swell of the muzzle of mounted gun is shaped like the conventional head of Yazhi (the mythical animal). Urdu inscriptions are noticed on the stock of carriage. On the vertical bar, the word ‘Seringapatam' (Srirangapatinam) is noticed and on the horizontal bar the words, ‘progress' and ‘decline', are inscribed in equi-distance.

“There is this word ‘Hoonsur” inscribed in Kannada. Probably, it could be the place where Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan manufactured the guns,” says Mr. Maheswaran. Interestingly, the Government Museum acquired this miniature exhibit for Rs 60.

Mizoram guns for cannons in assembly

2011-07-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Source: TOI
AIZAWL: The Mizoram assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a special motion seeking two cannons, which were displayed in Aizawl for 105 years and then taken away by the first battalion of the Assam Rifles, to their rightful owners - the Mizos.

Moving the motion, Zoram Nationalist Party ( ZNP) legislator Lalduhoma said according to "The Making of Aijal," a book written by Lt-Colonel J Shakespeare, the first superintendent of the Lushai Hills (now Mizoram), the two cannons were thrown into the river in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) by the 34th Native Infantry of the British in 1857 fearing that they might fall into the hands of mutineers during the Sepoy Mutiny. Later, they were retrieved and brought to Rangamati (now in Bangladesh) and then to Lunglei in South Mizoram in 1892 and again to Aizawl (then Aijal) to be displayed near the statue of the Queen Victoria erected in front of the Quarter Guard of the North Lushai Hills Military police battalion by Lt-Col GH Loch, the then commandant of the battalion.

The book also says the two cannons were used in the historic Battle of Waterloo when Napoleon was defeated by the British army in 1815 and has immense historical importance.

"Since the Lushai Hills Military Police was rechristened as the first battalion of the Assam Rifles in 1917, the two cannons remained at the same place till 2003, the year when Assam Rifles shifted base," said Lalduhoma. He added that the first battalion of the paramilitary force took the two guns to their new place of posting and were now keeping them in Nagaland.

He said the paramilitary force feels that the two cannons are war trophies and would be displayed at the Assam Rifles Museum in Kolkata. "The two cannons were brought to Aizawl by a civil administrator (Shakespeare) and the Assam Rifles has no right to ownership just because they were displayed inside their headquarters," added Lalduhoma.

He urged the state government to make concerted efforts to restore the two cannons and bring them back to Aizawl.

Cutting across party lines, all members who spoke during the discussion on the motion, said the two cannons belonged to the people of Mizoram and should be restored to their rightful owners. Chief minister Lal Thanhawla said he has already written to the Union home minister and the director of the Assam Rifles to instruct the authorities of the first battalion of the paramilitary force to return the guns.

Ancient weapons still in vogue in Khasi Hills

2011-07-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Source: TOI

SHILLONG: In these days of super advanced weapons of mass destruction, there is still a remote corner in this country where ancient weapons are sharpened by hundreds of enthusiasts with religious regularity every day, not for killing but for the sheer fun of getting sporty and of course, earning money.

Welcome to the pristine and exotic Khasi Hills, where tradition and modernity blend in perfect harmony. Every day, hundreds of Khasi youth take up the ancient bow and arrow to find their targets. The popular game of "teer", which is perhaps the first "gambling" to be given official recognition is "fought" out every day in Shillong.

The game churns out lakhs and even crores of rupees to stakeholders, including the state government, which earns handsome revenue from it. "So, you see, while for others in this country of the great Arjuna and Rama, bows and arrows might be curios of the distant past and seen only in TV serials, here in the Khasi Hills these ancient weapons of precision not only help earn money but also hold a place of pride in the traditional heritage of the people," said an elderly archer even as he took aim at the Polo Grounds for the final round of the day's archery.

Funny cannon in Mehrangarh Fort - Jodhpur

2011-04-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

Source: Flickr Phil Marion's

cannon in Mehrangarh Fort - Jodhpur, India

Uttar Pradesh gun manufacturing units exposed

2011-03-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Source: TOI

Radhika Tanwar

The broad-daylight murder of DU student Radhika Tanwar on March 8 has once again reinforced Delhi's image as India's crime capital.

The weapon which was used in the gruesome killing was a country-made .315 pistol. Headlines Today has exposed who arm the capital's trigger-happy residents and has unearthed illegal gun manufacturing units, just over 100 km from Delhi. These killer factories churn out the lethal weapons and are making a killing out of gun running.

Deep inside Etah in UP, as full-fledged gun manufacturing units run with impunity, gunsmiths have no qualms expressing their deadly skills. "I am into this for eight years now. I make guns, for a living, of all types, whatever you order. Here is a .315. We make guns on order, most of them coming for Delhi," Ulasi Ram told Headlines Today.

Most of these guns are sold off in Delhi, an admission made by none other than the Delhi Police in reply to a RTI query.
Former police commissioner Arun Bhagat says, "UP has become a source for gun making. It's very seriousâ€¦I think the CBI should go on the offensive."

The business of gun running is booming in Etah, with at least 1,000 gunsmiths churning out the blood spilling machines.
Gunrunner Sitaram says, "People come from outside. We give them an address and then take it there. What's the fear? This region has a thousand gun makers."

Pistols: Howdah Pistols

2011-01-25T00:38:00.000-08:00

Source: Firearmhistory blog

During the age of British colonial rule of India, English sportsmen would often hunt in the same manner of Indian kings before them (i.e.) riding on top of an elephant. The large saddle mounted to the back of an elephant is called a Howdah, and this is where the sportsman would sit in. Often though, when hunting dangerous game like lions, tigers or leopards, there was a chance that the animal could charge the elephant and climb up to the howdah and attack the hunter. In this situation, a rifle could not be effectively used. Therefore, there was a need for a shorter length, large caliber, multi-firing weapon designed to work at close ranges for defensive purposes. To fill this need, the Howdah Pistol was developed. In this post, we will study this unique weapon.

The first Howdah pistols were simply rifles with the barrels sawn down to a shorter length. The shorter length made the weapon easier to point and manipulate at close ranges and confined spaces. Since these pistols were really rifles originally, they used rifle cartridges of that era, such as .577 Snider or .577/450 Martini Henry cartridges. Sawing down the barrels was a quick solution, but not always a good one. One of the major issues was that shortening the barrels of a rifle would alter the center of gravity and affect the balance of the weapon. Therefore, some manufacturers began to design their own Howdah pistols.

The above images are of a Howdah pistol manufactured by a well known London-based manufacturer named Purdey. It was made during the the first half of the 19th century. This is a very high-quality weapon, judging by the fact that the barrels are of the type known as "damascus barrels", which were more expensive to make. The barrels have been browned to protect them from rusting. The wooden stock is of high quality walnut wood and features checkering (i.e. a fine grid of squares) on the grip. The lock is a double lock of the percussion cap type. Typical of Howdah pistols of that era, the caliber of the barrels is pretty large, with each one accepting a ball of 0.661 inches in diameter. The 7.5 inch long barrels are smoothbore (i.e. there is no rifling on the inside). It has two triggers, one to operate each barrel. The sights are rudimentary: it has only a small bead mounted as a front sight and no rear sights. However, for the ranges it was meant to be used at, sights aren't exactly needed. The weapon is extremely well balanced and relatively light. Since it fires such a huge caliber, recoil from this weapon is pretty high. However, recoil was not much of a concern for hunters of that era, because this was designed as a last ditch defensive weapon; and as far as the hunter was concerned, it was better to end up with a bruised wrist than be eaten up by a tiger or leopard.

Howdah pistols were made by several well-known firms of that era: Manton, Purdey, Rigby etc. They came in double barrel, four barrel or even three-barrel configurations. They were used in both India and Africa and carried by many British officers as well. At that time, revolvers were not very mechanically reliable and the .36 caliber Colt Navy revolver was considered too weak. The howdah pistol was considered to be the perfect solution to a charging tiger (or a charging native tribesman). As revolver technology improved though, the howdah pistol gradually became outdated and these days, the only howdah pistols one can buy are antiques or replicas of antiques.

Bira Gun

2011-01-25T00:36:00.000-08:00

Source: Firearm History Blog

One of the variants of the Gardner Gun is an interesting weapon called the Bira gun. This was invented by a Nepalese General, Gehendra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and named after the reigning Nepalese monarch of the time, King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah. It has the distinction of being the last mechanically cranked machine gun ever manufactured.

The history of the Bira has to do with the political situation between Nepal and British India at that time. Under a Nepalese-British agreement, the Nepalese government allowed the British to trade with Nepal and Tibet and allow recruitment of Gurkhas in the British Indian army. In turn, the British agreed to sell firearms and ammunition and a wide variety of armaments to the Nepalese. However, despite Nepalese requests to purchase machine guns, the British declined to do so, because they feared that the Nepalese would clone these (which they already did with some other British origin firearms) and then they would have too many automatic weapons and could challenge British power in India.

Undaunted, the Nepalese set upon building their own machine gun design around 1896-97. Without a background in firearms design, it was decided to start by borrowing a design from somewhere else, in this case, a British model of the American Gardner machine gun. The firing mechanism was essentially the same as the Gardner gun, but there were some other significant differences.

The first difference is that the caliber of this weapon is different from the Gardner gun. Since the Nepalese had already built up a large supply of ammunition for Martini-Henry rifles, it was decided to make their machine gun use the same cartridges as the Martini-Henry (i.e.) the 0.577-450 cartridge.

Unlike the Gardner gun is that the Bira doesn't have a vertical magazine for holding ammunition. Instead, it uses an drum magazine mounted horizontally on top of the barrel. The flat circular drum magazine can be clearly seen in the picture above. The drum magazine could hold up to 120 rounds, in 60 rows of 2 rounds each, one on top of the other. The magazine weighs around 14 kg. when empty and about 19 kg. when fully loaded with ammunition.

Biras were mostly made of iron and steel parts, but the wheels were made of teak wood and brass was used for the wheels controlling the vertical elevation and horizontal traverse, as well as the gearing used for these.

The Bira has twin barrels very much like the Gardner gun, but there is no cooling water jacket around the barrels.

One more curious difference is that the crank is turned backwards (i.e. counter-clockwise) instead of forwards. This was done because the General opined that it was easier to pull instead of push and since pulling is a more natural movement, it is easier to operate the weapon for longer periods without fatigue.

Since Nepal did not have any modern factories during this time, each gun was hand-made. This meant that they could not interchange parts at all. In fact, in some cases, individual screws on a Bira were marked to fit in specific holes! Similarly, the magazines were also numbered to match the serial numbers of specific guns, since they were hand-fitted individually and would only fit in a particular gun. In the above picture, you can see the serial number plate of the gun: it is the oval yellow plate located between the crank and the drum magazine.

Due to the hand-made nature of manufacturing, only 50 or so Bira guns were ever manufactured. These were put into storage and none of them ever saw any wartime service. By then, the Maxim machine gun had been invented and the Bira became obsolete almost as soon as it was made. In the late 1970s, some Bira guns were put on sale in the market and acquired by collectors in the United States. When one was fired in 2009, it was found that it was still pretty accurate once the sights were dialed in. It was also found that in spite of one of the extractors of the gun being damaged, the gun could still fire due to its rugged design!

Combined Firearms: Daggers & Combined Firearms: Axes

2011-01-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

The Gunhistoryindia.com thanks the Firearmshistory blog for posting a wonderful piece.. an amazing confluence of technology and history that is noticeable in the piece is worth a praise.

Combined Firearms: Axes

In the early days of firearms history, there was no automatic reloading mechanism for firearms, so once the firearm was discharged, the time taken to reload a firearm was pretty high. During this time, the user of the firearm was at great risk of a counter-attack unless he had some other weapon to defend himself. With this view, there were several weapons developed that would combine a firearm with some other weapon. Unlike a rifle with a bayonet attached, these weapons were primarily designed as axes, swords, daggers etc., but had a pistol attached.

The first class of weapons that we will study are the pistol-battle axes. These first appeared in Europe in the late 1400s and still continued to be used into the 1800s in some parts of the world.

Public Domain Image taken from W.W. Greener's The Gun and its Development, Second Edition

The weapon in the illustration above is a pistol-axe made in Germany in the beginning of the 17th century. The reader may note that this weapon has a wheel-lock firing mechanism near the head of the axe. The barrel is six inches long and fires out of the top of the axe. The handle behind the wheel-lock is about 2.5 feet long and has the trigger mechanism at the end of the handle. This weapon was designed to be used by a horseback rider.

Click on image to enlarge

The above illustrations show two more fine German made pistol-axes, from the Dresden museum. As before, these use a wheel-lock firing mechanism as well. The triggers for these two axes are located just below the wheel-locks. The axe heads have a blade edge on one side for cutting and a ice-pick like spiked point on the other side to pierce through tough plate armor. The top spikes of the axes are removable to reveal the hollow barrels inside. Note that these two axes are much more expensive and have better workmanship than the previous one and also have intricate engravings on the body of the axes.

Click on images to enlarge

The next two illustrations are an axe using matchlock firing mechanism and another one using the flintlock firing mechanism. This particular flintlock axe was made in Germany in the late 17th century. Flintlock axes were also heavily used by the Polish Cavalry between the 16th and 18th centuries and was one of their trademark weapons.

Indian made battle axe. Click images to enlarge

The above illustrations are an Indian made Tabar axe from the 17th century. This one uses a matchlock firing mechanism as well. There is no real trigger, as the matchlock is mounted on a long thin lever around a pivot point, as can be seen in the first illustration. The fire is applied by simply pulling the other end of the long thin lever. This axe is an all-steel construction and originally had gold inlay, most of which is worn off. Judging by the carvings on the axe head, this was probably owned by a Hindu, since at least four human figures are depicted.

Indian made battle axe. Click to enlarge

The next illustration is a weapon dating from the 19th century. This is a pistol axe taken from the Santal tribe of India. The Santals are a tribe that traditionally occupied areas of the modern day Indian states of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Assam. This particular weapon is 16.5 inches (approx. 42 cm.) long, of which 8.5 inches (21.6 cm.) is the pistol barrel. It is a very light weapon and the thickness of the barrel at the muzzle is only 0.2 inches (approx. 0.5 cm.).

Axes were the most common weapons to be combined with pistols, since these two were the easiest to combine together. These designs were very widespread indeed. In the next few posts, we will see other weapons that were combined with pistols.

PART 2..

Combined Firearms: Daggers

In our last post, we studied the combination of a firearm with a sword. In this post, we will look into a relative of the sword, the dagger, which was also combined with firearms throughout history.

The combination of a firearm with a dagger was more common than combining a firearm with a sword. For one thing, they were cheaper. Also, unlike a sword, a dagger wouldn't be unbalanced as much and the firearm is also easier to manipulate and aim than if it was attached to a sword. As with swords, many of the early combined dagger pistols were made in Germany.

Image taken from W.W. Greener's The Gun and its Development, Second Edition. Click image to enlarge.

In the above image, we have a fine 16th century pistol dagger. This specimen uses a wheel lock mechanism. Note that unlike the pistol swords we saw in the previous post, this one has the barrel pass through the middle of the blade, thereby giving it better balance. The removable muzzle stopper piece is seen at the right bottom of the image. The muzzle stopper is removed to load the weapon and when replaced, forms the point of the dagger blade. The weapon is fired by depressing a small stud in the handle. The weapon is also beautifully ornamented, indicating that it was made for a rich customer.

In 1838, the United States Navy commissioned the Elgin Cutlass pistol, which is the only combination firearm ever to be officially accepted as a standard weapon by a military anywhere in the world. This combined a percussion lock pistol with a 11.5 inch long bowie knife.

This weapon was not only the first combination firearm officially accepted in military service, it was also the first percussion lock weapon adopted by the US navy. They were originally designed for use with the Navy South Sea Expedition. This is a .54 caliber weapon with a 11.5 inch blade. It had some success, especially in a battle in the Fijian islands in 1840. However, only 150 of these specimens were ever made. A few were used in the Civil war, but were unpopular with the troops. Some of them made it to civilian hands and were used in the Wild West.

Click on images to enlarge.

The above two weapons are Katar knives from India, circa the 18th or 19th centuries. Both weapons feature two firearms attached to them. In the first picture, we have two flintlock pistols, one on each side of the blade. The heavy blade has an engraving of the Hindu Dieties Shiva on one side and Kali on the other. The blade is made of the best pattern welded steel and the handles and sides have floral patterns that are inlaid with gold. The second Katar has two percussion lock pistols, one on each side of the blade. Like the first one, this is also heavily engraved. One side of the blade has a scene with two cranes and the other side has two elephants charging at each other. The blades are designed to be used as thrusting as well as slashing weapons and could easily go through mail or even plate armor.

In all the above weapons, they all feature single-shot pistols. After the advent of revolvers in the mid 1800s, some weapons began to incorporate revolver technology along with daggers.

The above images feature two examples of a type of weapon called the "Apache Revolver". This is a weapon that was produced in the late 19th to early 20th centuries (about 1870 to 1918). Most of these weapons were produced by French or Belgian (especially around the town of Liege) manufacturers, such as N. Dolne and J. Deleaxhe. The reason for its name is because it became famous as the sidearm of a notorious Paris based gang of criminals called Les Apaches. This distinctive weapon consists of a pepperbox revolver using pinfire cartridge technology, coupled with a knuckle duster (a.k.a. brass knuckles) and a wavy blade. The blade, the knuckle duster and the trigger are all foldable. Folded up, it measures only 11 cm. in length and can easily be carried in a pocket. When it is unfolded, it expands upto 20 cm. in length. The whole weapon weighs about 380-400 grams. It was generally carried with the first chamber unloaded, so that it could not be accidentally fired while it was still in the user's pocket. The user could put his fingers into the finger holes of the brass knuckles and punch someone with it, without unfolding it. Alternatively, the user could unfold it and use the brass knuckles as the handle and either shoot the revolver or stab the enemy with the blade. The firearm part was definitely underpowered and inaccurate and the blade was only a couple of inches long, nevertheless it was used quite a bit in the Paris underworld. Note that the sample on the left is heavily engraved. Quite a few gangsters had this done to show off their weapons and such weapons may actually be the first examples of "gangsta bling"! These weapons continued to be used in the 20th century. One example of a combination brass knuckles and pistol, called the Le Poilu, was manufactured by the French during World War I.

The next two examples are the sort of weapons that were designed along the principle of Swiss army knives. Both are dated to the 1860s and are both made by different firms in Sheffield, England. The first one is made by the firm of Unwin and Rogers and combines a pistol with two folding blades. The pistol is in .28 caliber and uses a rimfire cartridge. Unwin and Rogers received their patent in 1861 and made these weapons in many other calibers as well, such as .32, .34 etc.

The second one is made by another Sheffield firm called R. Turner & Co. This one uses a percussion cap and is in 0.22 caliber. It also contains a knife, corkscrew, hole punch, hook and tweezers. The cylindrical knob at the left side of the body is the cocking lever and is pulled out to cock the weapon. The picture below shows the other side of this weapon

The user would remove the barrel and breech and load the weapon and put the percussion cap in the end of the breech nipple. The user would then pull the cocking knob at the back of the weapon. On firing the weapon, the breech and barrel would also leave the weapon as a secondary projectile.

In the next post, we will cover some other combinations of firearms with other weapons.

Bowman: Guns, freedom and more guns

2011-01-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

An Interesting take by this one From the COLLEGIAN. He actually says GUNS ARE OBSOLETE and we DONT need them.

Source: collegian

by Chadwick Bowman

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

I can confidently say that as young man living in America, I have never been in a situation where I look back and say “wow, good thing I had my gun.”

There is this antediluvian notion in this country that claims guns are a necessity for everyday life. The Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights were adopted in 1751; it is now 2011.

The issue is this: The Bill of Rights and the Constitution were written in an era that we are so far removed from, it is ridiculous that we still abide by the same social norms that were accepted in the mid-18th century.

If folk from 1751 were present today, they would try to coax me into the idea that I had to marry in my teens to a girl detached from love, solely for economic and status advancement. And that I should find a plot of land and grow my own wealth, and instead of playing basketball, I should go fowling, angling, shooting or fencing.

I would tell such folk to go fly a kite. Unless that person were Ben Franklin, he had already done that…

“But Chadwick, it’s in the Constitution, so therefore it’s the American standard.” It’s not. We’re in a different time. Today, we tweet, abuse credit cards, watch “Man v. Food” and smoke marijuana, which my Grandma says “turns your brain into a sponge.”

The Second Amendment was necessary in its day. It has become irrelevant and far more detrimental to society than beneficial.

In the wake of the Tucson shootings, the on-going battle over gun control is again raging, and this is an opportunity for Democrats to take charge on legislation to restrict the access to the dangerous weapons.

Unfortunately, the red party-of-guns lives for the nostalgia of the day when you got on a horse and rode west to fend off bandits and foreign enemies, with a refined, yet pleasantly voluptuous and promiscuous lass you met at a saloon in St. Louis.

The reality is, with gun laws as lackadaisical as they are, we now have East St. Louis, which a prominent professor of this university claims should be declared a “disaster zone” due to its crime rates, poverty and history of violence.

Estimates from justfacts.com say that in 2010, roughly 47-53 million American households own a gun or 40 percent of the population. Of those gun owners, a Gallup poll reports that the reason they own a gun is to protect themselves against crime, the second reason is to use at the shooting range.

Some Republican lawmakers came out claiming that if there had been more guns at the supermarket in Tucson, the situation would have had a better outcome. No. This conviction is an utter malign belief and is highly counter-intuitive. Unless Jason Bourne was in Safeway that day, chances are those rip-roaring gun advocates would be so anxious to pop off rounds that the final outcome would have been not only more innocent by-standers shot, but most likely everyone who had a gun drawn. Point being: amid the chaos and calamity, how is Jared Loughner going to be differentiated as

the bad guy?

The logical concept is to separate everyone from their guns. Guns are a dead, obsolete technology.

“But Chadwick, I want my guns to shoot animals!” Wow. Okay, Elmer.

The Democrats need to do what is right in this situation. This is one of those scenarios in American politics where the smartest, most intuitive citizens need to force legislation upon the people, even when it is not the popular choice. The leadership roles that Congress and the President have taken oaths to uphold need to make decisions that are blatantly and obviously the correct ones, which will make for a safer country. A safer country, even when many citizens do not have the intellectual abilities to understand that it is the safest choice for them.

Editorial Editor Chadwick Bowman is a senior Sociology and Journalism major. His column appears Tuesdays in the Collegian. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com.

250 years on, Battle of Panipat revisited

2011-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Source: rediff

Colonel (Dr) Anil Athale (retd) recalls how the Battle of Panipat, 250 years ago, changed the history of the Indian subcontinent for the next century and half.

The doyen in the field of military history, Dr Srinandan Prasad underscored the importance of this field. According to him, wars are an acid test of the economic, social, technological and moral strength of a nation. On the other hand the result of wars affects all fields of human endeavour. History of nations can well be understood as history of its wars. On this score other than the exception of Shivaji and Ranjit Singh, Indian history is a succession of military defeats.
The events of January 1761 were momentous and had its impact for the next century and a half. The freedom that India [ Images ]ns lost was only regained in 1947. It is an event that needs to be studied and remembered even after 250 years since modern India again faces a similar Af-Pak threat.
The invasion of Nadir Shah of Iran in 1740 forced the Marathas to consider the strategic importance of Punjab [ Images ]. The Marathas were at the same time also involved in fighting in the south in Karnataka [ Images ] and against the Nizam whose capital then was at Aurangabad. Both these theatres of war were on an average 1,000 miles away from Maharashtra [ Images ]. The 1750s saw them over stretching in fighting in far flung areas.
The discord with the Rajputs meant a loss of potential allies as well as a secure base close to Delhi [ Images ]. The loyalties of various Mughal nobles were always suspect as most of them disliked the overlordship of the Marathas. When the Marathas took on the might of Abdali, the King of Afghanistan, it was a decisive moment in the Indian history. The Marathas not only had the plans to defeat Abdali but also wanted to move on to Bengal to reduce the growing British power there.
The Marathas had committed several policy blunders in the preceding years. Right from the time of Shivaji, friendship with Rajputs was a constant in Maratha policy. But in the 1750s, they got involved in the internal fights of the Rajputs and played one side against the other. Maharaj Surajmal Jat was a staunch Maratha ally. But when he demanded to be made governor of Delhi, the Marathas preferred the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja ud Daulla. His 50,000 strong cavalry was thought to be a greater asset. The fact that he was Shia and wary of Sunni Afghans, made the Marathas rely on him. But in the event Abadali lured him to his side by invoking Islamic solidarity.
The Sikhs under various 'Misals' (fighting groups) were similarly well disposed towards the Marathas. But the overconfident Marathas ignored them. Thus at Panipat, the Marathas who were fighting for India, nearly thousand miles away from their home base, found themselves lonely and friendless. Faulty Maratha diplomacy was largely responsible for this mess and the blame goes directly to the Peshwa or the prime minister of the Marathas.
On 14 April, Sadashivrao Bhau left Poona on his way to Delhi with the bulk of Huzurat or the Peshwa's army. The fighting strength of the army was around 50,000. Nearly three times that number also accompanied as followers. Most of the experienced soldiers like Mehendale, Samsherbahadur, Winchurkar, Pawar, Gaikwar of Baroda and Mankeshwar went with this force.
A major addition was the French-trained infantry of Ibrahim Khan Gardi that had a strength of 8,000 men armed with the latest French-made rifles. Gardi had an artillery park of 200 excellent guns and also war rockets. Many Goans, Portuguese and some western mercenaries manned the artillery. In May and June on reaching Agra [ Images ], Malharao Holkar and Jankoji Shinde joined the Maratha army with their cavalry. By the time the Marathas reached Delhi the strength of their army had swelled to nearly 2 lakhs.
It was a confident Maratha army that embarked on this venture. The Maratha war aims were to re-establish their domination in Delhi and deal with the Afghan threat. In addition the Peshwa had also instructed Bhau that after settling Delhi, he was to proceed to Bengal to reduce the British power there.
The Marathas were treaty-bound to come to the aid of Mughal Emperor. In Delhi itself however the Marathas had very few friends. Most Mughal courtiers resented the Maratha domination and some like Najib Khan were instrumental in inviting Abdali.
In a similar way, in 1739, it was the Mughlal politicians that had invited Nadir Shah of Iran. Nadir Shah made no distinction between the Hindus and Muslims in looting and walked away with the Mughal Emperor's peacock throne and the Kohinoor diamond besides other goods worth Rs 100 crore. Despite this past, the hatred of Marathas proved stronger than common sense.
Abdali had invaded India not merely for loot but dreamt of establishing Afghan supremacy in place of the Mughals in Delhi. In this the Rohillas, people of Afghan descent living north of Delhi were fully on his side. The local support to Abdali was to prove crucial in the end.
On August 2, 1761, the Marathas entered Delhi and captured it after only slight resistance.
Between August and October 1760 negotiations continued between Abdali and the Marathas. Abdali wanted control over Punjab right upto Sirhind. The Marathas were not prepared to concede the rich province to him. All this while the Afghan army remained across Jamuna while the Marathas remained at Delhi. In October the Marathas marched north of Delhi and reduced the fort at Kunjpura to dust. Qutub Shah, the Afghan general defending the fort was killed so were nearly 10,000 Afghans. Qutub Shah's severed head was paraded by the Marathas in vengeance for the death of Dattaji Scindia.
Abdali was shaken up by the loss of Kunjpura and the bitterness generated by Qutub Shah's death made peace virtually impossible. While Bhau was thus engaged in the north, on October 25, Abdali crossed the Jamuna near Bhagpat and located himself between the Marathas at Kunjpura and their rear in Delhi.
Bhau had initially planned to advance further north and get in touch with the Sikhs. But the move of the Afghans caught him by surprise and he turned back towards Delhi. On reaching the plains of Panipat, he found his path to Delhi blocked by Abdali camped to his south. The opportunity to attack the Afghan army while it crossed the river had already passed. The Maratha army entrenched near Panipat, blocking the road to Afghanistan. Govindpant Bundele, a Maratha general with long experience in the north, was allotted the task of cutting off the supplies of Abdali.
The two armies entrenched themselves in the vicinity of Panipat, the Marathas blocking Abdali's route to Afghanistan and he in turn blocked the Maratha route to Delhi and down south. A war now became inevitable. In the initial period the Marathas were successful in cutting off supplies to the Afghan army and appeared to be in a better position.
On December 17, Govindpant Bundele, the experienced general in charge of procuring supplies to the Maratha army, was killed in an encounter. After this the Maratha supply position deteriorated rapidly. All the valuables in the camp were collected and sold to get food. The countryside around Panipat was dominated by Muslims of Afghan descent further complicated the problem of supplies for the Marathas. Soon the horses of the famed Maratha cavalry began dying of starvation. Bhau's essentially sound strategy of waiting for Abdali to attack his entrenched position and then destroy him with his artillery failed due to the problem of logistics.
The Marathas were unwise to carry a large number of non-combatants including wives along with them. This proved a severe handicap as it not only slowed down the movement of the army but also put extra burden on the supplies. A large part of the fighting strength had to be diverted to protecting the camp. The Maratha morale was however still very high and an attack in December offered the best hope. This was not to be and Bhau waited till January 14, 1761. Finally he was forced to battle as the Marathas could take the starvation no more and begged him to finish the agony once and for all. It was this army weakened by starvation that fought the decisive battle of Panipat.
On January 14, the Maratha army in a huge square formation began slowly moving south towards Delhi. The aim of the Marathas was to fight through the Afghan army to Delhi and safety. The Marathas battle array perforce had to keep a sizeable number of troops to guard the rear. The Marathas had formed a rough sphere with guns in front defended by infantry and cavalry. The aim of this formation was to keep the guns free to engage the enemy.
While Ibrahim Khan and his trained Gardis were familiar with these tactics the cavalry oriented Maratha armies of other generals were not. The ferocity of the Maratha attack in the early phase was such that the Afghans reeled under it and began running away. The Maratha artillery and rockets took a heavy toll of the enemy. It was at this juncture around mid-day that confusion occurred when the dismounted Maratha cavalry troopers left their position and masked the fire of guns. This proved fatal and Afghans regained their footing.
At this time a bullet hit Vishwasrao, the eldest son of the Peshwa. Bhau at this stage lost his cool and left his elephant and joined hand to hand combat. Rumours of leader's death set panic wave in the Marathas. At this crucial moment, Abdali unleashed his reserves of 12,000 chosen cavalry that attacked and broke the centre of the Maratha army.
A near victory now turned into a rout and Marathas began running in the direction of Delhi. A fearful slaughter took place and the Marathas were completely routed. The Afghan casualties were also very heavy and soon after the battle Abdali quickly left for Afghanistan.
On his way his army suffered heavily due to the attacks by Sikhs. In battle of Govindwal the Sikhs rescued many Maratha prisoners who were being carried off to Afghanistan as slaves. Many widows never came back and instead married Sikh soldiers. Many Marathas instead of coming back to Maharashtra went to the hills of north and settled there. In all the Maratha losses were put at 22 generals and nearly 1 lakh soldiers. The estimated population of Maharashtra at that time was around 80 lakh and it was indeed a heavy blow and flower of the youth of one whole generation perished at Panipat.
There was scarcely a home in Maharashtra that did not lose at least one member of its family at Panipat.
The battle of Panipat was a turning point in the history of not only Marathas but whole of India. A British historian writing about this battle has opined that but for this defeat' whole of India would have been 'Marathaised'.
Panipat was the first major battle that Marathas fought with reliance on artillery and fire-arms based infantry. The defeat at Panipat discredited this form of war and Maratha armies again reverted back to cavalry mode of fighting. The Maratha faith in efficacy of guns was shaken up so thoroughly that in many future battles with the British, they never hesitated to abandon the guns.
The Maratha defeat at Panipat can be primarily attributed to their failure to harmonise the cavalry mode of warfare with the drilled infantry and artillery based set piece battles. This problem was to plague the Marathas for long time to come.
Politically the Maratha loss was not felt for very long as they soon recovered and re-established themselves at Delhi. The Marathas however never again attempted to control Punjab and their western frontier remained on the Sutlej river for a long time. The Sikhs were other beneficiaries of the battle of Panipat. The weakened Afghans could no longer hold Punjab and soon a powerful Sikh state came up and ruled from Lahore [ Images ].
The Marathas fought at Panipat for a national cause. Their failure to defend India left a deep psychological impact on them. The ideal of Hindavi Swarajya and aim to dominate the entire country was given up.
Panipat inculcated a kind of diffidence in the Maratha psyche that brought in defeatist mentality when it came to a really great contest. The tendency now on was to retreat in good time rather than risk everything on an uncertain prospect. This caution that can be seen in many later day battles can be directly traced back to the happenings at Panipat. Panipat was a major national trauma and never again were the Marathas to repeat the daring feat of Bajirao the first and his dash to Delhi. Most post Panipat wars fought by the Marathas were defensive wars. The offensive spirit of the Marathas was the biggest casualty at Panipat.
The disaster of Panipat took place mainly due to bad politics on part of the Marathas. The lessons from Shivaji's time were forgotten and Marathas fought simultaneously both in the south as well as in the north. Half the Maratha army was in south when the life and death struggle was being fought at Panipat. The Rajputs were alienated, the Jats spurned and Sikhs underestimated. With even one of these as allies, Panipat would never have taken place.
Unfortunately this lesson was never learnt and even in the fight against the British the Marathas fought alone except in 1804 when Holkar took the help of Jats of Bharatpore and defeated the British.
Colonel (Dr.) Anil Athale studied Maratha history as first Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses fellow in military history between 1991 -1996.

Colonel (Dr) Anil Athale (retd)

Guns Used by Indian Revolutionaries: Chandrasekhar AZAD, Bhaga Jatin, Dhingra

2011-01-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

Chandrasekhar Azad

In 1931 azad was living in Jhunsi area of Allahabad. One of his close friend Tiwari shook hands with the Britishers on the cost of heavy wealth. On 27 Feb 1931 Azad was planning some activities with Sukhdev. Tiwari saw him there and reported their presence to police. Within few minutes policemen surrounded the whole park. On the initial encounter, Azad suffered a bullet on his thighs thus making it impossible to escape. But he somehow made the chance of Sukhdev to survive by covering him. After sukhdev escaped he kept the police on hold for a long time. At last only one bullet was left. Being surrounded, Chandrashekhar Azad shot himself, keeping his pledge to not be captured alive. It is said that the Indian soldiers who saw him die did not approach his dead body for 20 minutes. He had always induced the guilt of Indian soldiers and policemen working for the British government, wherever he went, claiming that 'they were not of the true Indian blood'. His COLT pistol is still kept in Allahabad Museum and is a great attraction of tourist. His very rare photographs are also placed there in museum.

Source: defence.pk

The 0.32 bore colt automatic pistol with a magazine of 10 was used by the revolutionary in the encounter in which he was killed Sir John Bower who conducted the operation as a superintendent of police, Allahabad carried the prized momento (pistol)to the United Kingdom.

Source: Page no; 870 Encyclopedia of Hindu world

Maddanlal Dhingra

Curzon Wylie had retired from the Indian Army to become political A.D.C. to the Secretary of State for India in 1901. Madan Lal was infuriated and wrote home to say that he deplored an attitude which asked Anglo-Indians like Curzon Wylie to interfere in what were essentially India's private affairs.

Madan Lal bought a Colt revolver and also a Belgian weapon and started practising shooting at a private range. The National Indian Association had its annual general meeting on July 1, 1909. After dining at the Savoy, Curzon Wylie proceeded to the Association's At Home in Jahangir Hall of the Imperial institute. When the programme concluded, Wylie was seen descending from the staircase. Madan Lal engaged him in conversation and, then, suddenly, pulled out the revolver and fired five shots into his face at point blank range.
As Wylie fell down, a Parsi, Cowas Lalkaka tried to shield the victim. The sixth bullet killed him. When overpowered by the crowd Madan Lal tried to shoot himself but there were no more bullets left.

Source: India forum

Dhingra then went to Koregaonkar who was to accompany him to the Imperial Institute. He had an early lunch and afternoon tea at his own residence at 108 Leadbury Street. He left his house at 2 pm armed with a revolver. He bought a brand new dagger with a leather casket and put it in his pocket. He then went to ‘Funland’ and fired 12 rounds from a distance of 18 feet. Of these, 11 were close to the bull’s eye. He then asked his revolver to be cleaned.

At 7 in the evening, he dressed in lounge suit and a blue Punjabi turban. He loaded his Colt revolver and placed it in his right coat pocket. He placed one revolver each in another coat pocket and his vest. As he was unable to memorize the statement written by Savarkar, he wrote it in pencil on a sheet of paper and placed it in his inner coat pocket along with some newspaper cuttings. He put 10-12 shillings in his pocket. He hailed the first cab that came his way and left for the function.
The assassination
On 01 July 1909, Dhingra went as planned to the meeting at Imperial Institute. As luck would have it he had forgotten to take the invitation pass. However, as he was an Associate Member, he gained entry after signing in the visitors’ book. Koregankar also arrived armed with a pistol. After the meeting was over, Curzon Wyllie seemed ready to leave. “Aji jaao na. kya karte ho!” prompted Koregaonkar to Dhingra. Dhingra now approached Curzon Wylie under the pretext of talking to him. The two opened the glass door and left the hall. As they reached the landing, Dhingra lowered his voice as if he wanted to discuss something confidential. Curzon Wylie brought his ear close to Dhingra. Sensing the opportunity, Dhingra removed the Colt revolver from his right coat pocket and pumped two bullets at point-blank range. The time was 11.20 pm. As Curzon Wyllie reeled, dhingra fired two more bullets. A Parsee doctor Cawas Lalkaka tried to come in between but Dhingra fired at him as well. However, Dhingra’s attempt to shoot himself failed and he was overpowered. Even in this situation, Dhingra wrestled with his captors and even brought down one of them breaking his ribs. Dhingra was pinned to the ground. Only after his revolverwas taken away did his captors heave a sigh of relief. In the scuffle, Dhingra’s spectacles were thrown away. Dhingra calmly told his captors to hand over his spectacles.

Source: Hindu jagruti

Bagha Jatin

The contingent of Government forces approached them in a pincers movement. A gunfight ensued, lasting seventy-five minutes, between the five revolutionaries armed with Mauser pistols and a large number of police and army armed with modern rifles. It ended with an unrecorded number of casualties on the Government side; on the revolutionary side, Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri died, Jatin and Jatish were seriously wounded, and Manoranjan Sengupta and Niren were captured after their ammunition ran out. Bagha Jatin died in Balasore hospital on 10 September 1915.And, observes Ross Hedvíček in the article already mentioned : "India had to wait for another thirty years to have her democracy... Mahatma Gandhi was as yet in South Africa." During a conversation with Charles Tegart on 25 June 1925, Gandhiji qualified Jatin Mukherjee as "a divine man." And the author of the article (son of an officer in the Special Police created by Tegart)adds that Gandhiji did not know what Tegart told his colleagues : "Had Jatin Mukherjee been an Englishman, the English would have erected his statue at Trafalgar Square, by the side of Nelson's."
Legacy of Jatin Mukherjee

Inspired by Swami Vivekananda, Jatin expressed his ideals in simple words: "Amra morbo, jat jagbe" — "We shall die to awaken the nation".

Source: Defence.pk

Udham Singh

In 1940 General O'dywer was gunned down by Udham Singh in Revenge of the Amritsar maasacre, he took a .45 colt revolver and shot in twice.

Udham Singh was deeply influenced by the activities of Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary group. In 1935, when he was on a visit to Kashmlr, he was found carrying Bhagat Singh's portrait. He invariably referred to him as his guru. He loved to sing political songs, and was very fond of Ram Prasad Bismal, who was the leading poet of the revolutionaries. After staying for some months in Kashmlr, Udham Singh left India. He wandered about the continent for some time, and reached England by the mid-thirties. He was on the lookout for an opportunity to avenge the Jalliavala Bagh tragedy. The long-waited moment at last came on 13 March 1940. On that day, at 4.30 p.m. in the Caxton Hall, London, where a meeting of the East India Association was being held in conjunction with the Royal Central Asian Society, Udham Singh fired five to six shots from his pistol at Sir Michael O'Dwyer, who was governor of the Punjab when the Amritsar massacre had taken place. O'Dwyer was hit twice and fell to the ground dead and Lord Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, who was presiding over the meeting was injured. Udham Singh was overpowered with a smoking revolver. He in fact made no attempt to escape and continued saying that he had done his duty by his country.

Source: sikh world

Prohibited weapons being ‘doctored’

2011-01-10T00:15:00.000-08:00

Vijay Mohan & G.S. Paul
Tribune News Service

An arms dealer shows a revolver where the wooden handgrip has obscured some of the markings on the weapon. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Chandigarh, October 3
There are increasing attempts at prohibited bore (PB) firearms being “doctored” to pass them off as non-prohibited bore (NP) weapons to sell them at a significantly higher price.

If some arms dealers in the city are to be believed, they are getting weapons in which certain parts and components containing the weapons specifications and markings have been changed with locally fabricated parts carrying different information. Though the bore of the weapon remains unchanged, sellers try to pass it off as a different weapon.

“Around 20 per cent of the weapons that come in for resale are suspicious. Either there is something amiss about the way the metallic parts fit or the wooden stock or handle is not proper,” a local gun dealer said. “The number of such weapons coming in have increased over the years,” he added.

According to gun dealers, close examination by experts can reveal if the weapon has been tampered with and they do not entertain such cases. “There have been instances where a handgun’s ‘sleeve’, which carries technical markings, had been changed with a locally fabricated one carrying fake markings,” a dealer said.

One dealer even showed The Tribune a Colt whose wooden handgrip overlapped some markings on the weapon’s body just above the trigger.

PB weapons are those that are used by the military or law enforcement agencies and are generally not available to the public. PB weapons possessed by individuals are those that have been allotted to them by the government and these include senior bureaucrats and defence officers.

“Since it is difficult to get a licence for a PB weapon, these do not command high market prices. A 9 mm PB pistol can be available for Rs 10,000-15,000,” a local arms dealer, Gurpreet Bhandari, said. “A NP weapon on the other hand can fetch as high as Rs 3-4 lakh,” she added. It is perhaps the desire to get high prices that drives people to doctor weapons.

Pointing out that doctoring weapons by fabricating their specifications was illegal and punishable under law, UT SSP S.S. Srivastava said so far the police had not received any formal complaint in this regard. He added that it was also the moral responsibility of gun dealers to bring such cases to the notice of the police.

The police as well as dealers admit that there are certain arms dealers and repair technicians in some parts of the country that are known to be involved in doctoring weapons or modifying them without authorisation.

A dealer cited an example where the owner of a revolver had the barrel of his weapon shortened by almost two inches.

Police sources said apart from doctoring weapons, fake pistols are also in circulation. “Locally fabricated pistols carrying ‘Made in USA’ markings are making their way into Punjab from Western Uttar Pradesh,” a Punjab Police officer said.

“Prices of such weapons are quoted between Rs 10,000 and 15,000, though depending upon bargaining they can go as cheap as Rs 5,000,” he added.

Police officers estimate that around a dozen such weapons are smuggled into Punjab every month and these find their way into the hands of criminal or subversive elements.

Netaji's aide Trilok Singh Chawla waits to hand over 'legacy' to India

2011-01-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

Source: Deccan herald


New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS):
Eighty-nine-year-old Trilok Singh Chawla, a close aide of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has a wish before he breathes his last - to return to India two pistols belonging to the freedom fighter - and has sent his son from Thailand to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The octogenarian, who worships the two pistols every day, said Netaji had handed them to him before the freedom fighter left Bangkok for the last time saying: "See you in the Red Fort soon." The Colt .32 and FN .635 are still lying with Chawla, who was Netaji's secretary in Thailand, and he is keen to see that the legacy is back with the country he fought for. Netaji left them with Chawla a week before he was announced dead in a plane crash in August 1945. Chawla's son has been camping in Delhi for the past two weeks to meet the prime minister and apprise him of the two pistols. Jan 23 is Netaji's 113th birth anniversary. "He wanted me to return the pistols to him at Red Fort after independence. However, eight days later he was announced dead in a plane crash in Taiwan. I still don't believe he died then and I am still waiting for him. But with increasing age I think it is his legacy and should be with the country he fought for," Chawla said over phone from Bangkok. His youngest son, Santokh Singh Chawla, arrived in India Jan 10 to see to it that his father's wish is fulfilled, though he is not carrying the pistols with him. "I am on a mission; my father's duty will be over once these pistols come to India, the country of Netaji's origin and get the deserving honour. We feel the people of India should not be deprived of the right to see them," said Santokh Singh, a realtor in Thailand and president of the Indo-Thai Friendship Association. According to Santokh Singh, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Afairs has shown interest in the matter. Indian Ambassador to Thailand Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty has also asked Chawla to meet him to facilitate the return of the pistols. "I know mystery and controversy still shroud Netaji's death but he was our hero in the freedom struggle. India should give all honour and respect to his legacy," said Santokh Singh. "It is unfortunate that Netaji is only being remembered in India through the controversial story of the plane crash and differences in opinion with Mahatma Gandhi. I feel that he should be remembered through these pistols, which are his personal belongings and deserve to be among the people of his country and placed with honour and dignity," he said. According to Chawla, the Indian government looks reluctant to accept the pistols for reasons not known to him. "We want the Indian government to approach the Thailand government to take them back. The Thai government has no problem in handing over Netaji's legacy to India. When India can bring back Gandhiji's belongings from an auction, why can't Netaji's? After all both of them fought for the country's independence," Chawla said. In the 1970s, then prime minister Indira Gandhi asked Chawla during a visit to Thailand to give the pistols to the National Museum in Delhi. "But my father did not agree because he was not willing to part with them for sentimental reasons. He still thinks Netaji will come back," said Santokh Singh. Indians in Thailand had played a crucial role in assisting Netaji Bose when he was garnering support in Southeast Asia for India' freedom. After World War II broke out, Netaji fled from India and travelled to Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union, seeking an alliance with the aim of attacking the British in India. With Japanese assistance, he reorganised and later led the Indian National Army from Indian prisoners of war and plantation workers from Malaysia, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia against the British forces. He is believed to have died Aug 18, 1945, in a plane crash over Taiwan. Many theories float about his death, with some believing he was indeed killed that day and others, like Chawla, still hoping that he will return.

Arms and the man December 28th, 2010 By Shankar Roychowdhury

2010-12-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Source: deccan chronicle

If wars can be classified as good, bad or indifferent in terms of their impact on the national psyche, then Bangladesh 1971 was a very good war for India and the Sino-Indian border war of 1962 a very bad one indeed. In 1971, all relevant factors — political, diplomatic, and above all the Indian military — meshed together perfectly to fashion a triumph of classic proportions over a traditional enemy; 1962 was just the opposite. Apart from spirited individual performances, the Army and its political guidance was like a badly synchronised gearbox that soon stripped its pinions and crashed. The Indian armed forces remember 1962 with mortification, and 1971 with triumph, which they commemorate as Vijay Diwas on the 16th of December every year. The particular confluence of circumstances, happenstance and personalities that brought both 1962 and 1971 about, are unlikely to recur. So after celebrating Vijay Diwas 2010, the 39th commemoration of “Victory in Bangladesh”, it would be appropriate to reflect on how far the Indian military has traveled since the Sela Pass in 1962 and Bangladesh in 1971, and its likely future azimuth.

Barring the first Kashmir War of 1947, China has been a constant background presence in all Indo-Pak matters, especially during India’s other wars with Pakistan. These have so far all been single-front affairs (notwithstanding Chinese expressions of solidarity for Pakistan in 1965 and 1971), but India’s worst case will always be the two-front scenario — a Pakistan-China combo, with an interlinked nuclear and now a cyber and internal security dimension as well, from covert operations sponsored by the Pakistan Army through its quasi-state jihadi stable. Such externally-sponsored conflicts are unlikely to be resolved by political dialogue or socio-economic initiatives alone. They will require hard and significant military measures to establish a stable environment for negotiated conflict resolution. This has been amply proven by the Indian experience in Jammu and Kashmir.

The role of India’s armed forces, though never officially formalised, has crystallised through prolonged deployments in wars, proxy wars, counter terrorism and counter insurgency, into the strategically defensive one of territorial, maritime and aerospace defence of the homeland. India’s armed forces are well trained and highly motivated professionals, who have performed outstandingly in every assignment in war or peace, both within as well as outside the country. But their military capabilities have not been kept in pace with the operational imperatives of their role, which demand a full two-and-a-half front operational capability across the entire spectrum of warfare. By that token, their current capabilities are definitely inadequate.

Morale is high, but weapons and equipment are obsolescent, and in many cases severely deficient and outmoded, leaving huge gaps in the performance envelope. Each individual service has its own tale of horrors, whether night vision devices, air defence weapons or artillery for the Army, submarines for the Navy, or the fast-depleting squadron strengths in the Air Force. The major reason for the wasting disease in India’s defence capabilities is the scant attention paid to indigenous defence research, development and production. The armed forces naturally require a high state of readiness at all times, but successive governments have consistently chosen the easier option of imports rather than bite the bullet and develop an indigenous defence industry.

A typical case in point is the impending purchase of the 126 multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force at an estimated cost of `42,000 crore, which cannot be seen in isolation from the agreement with Russia to produce the future fifth-generation fighter for the Indian Air Force as a joint venture expected to ultimately cost an estimated `1.5 lakh crore. The preliminary step was the `1,500 crore pact with Russia finalised during the recent visit of President Dmitry Medvedev to India. The two processes cannot be mutually exclusive. The proposed acquisition of 126 new Multirole Combat Aircraft (MRCA) is of course an urgent necessity for the Air Force, but has to be planned as a lead in series for the PAKT-50. The implications for selection of the MRCA should be obvious.

But even more important is the future of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and the Indian aerospace industry. Pakistan is co-producing the JF-17 (also an LCA) with China to induct it into the Pakistan Air Force. How confident is India, specifically the Indian Air Force, about Tejas? How does it stack up against the JF-17? The bottom line is, can the proposed MRCA acquisitions be off-set to a greater or lesser extent by producing additional Tejas? Can immediate operational requirements be balanced against long-term development of indigenous aerospace capabilities? Can Indian industrial capacity deliver?

Questions are endless — from small arms to main battle tanks. Why German Heckler and Koch, Israeli Tabor or even the now ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifles and not the indigenous Excalibur developed by small arms factory Ishapore? Why not the Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT) produced at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi (near Chennai) instead of the T-90 Russian tank? And then the biggest question: If Indian military equipment is perceived by the users as unreliable, maintenance-heavy and defect-prone, what punitive accountability for this has been imposed for systemic failure in the ministry of defence, the prime government agency under whom fall the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the ordnance factory board?

India seems to have become addicted over the

years to a high-calorie diet of imports, taking a strange and even perverse pride in the dubious honour of ranking amongst world’s top 10 importers of weapons. Do such profligate imports reflect the true state of the country’s scientific and engineering capabilities? These are hard questions which need to be asked and firm answers obtained.

The year 2010 has not been a good year for the country. Gloom, despondency and bitter cynicism pervade the national horizon. Under these overcast skies, the story of victory in Bangladesh in 1971 told on Vijay Diwas every year needs telling and retelling, as a reminder of what the nation can achieve, should it have the will to do so.

- Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury is a former Chief of Army Staff and a former Member of Parliament

Guns at the Mysore maharaja palace

2010-10-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Two Maratha Cannons on the Alibag Fort.

2010-10-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Source: n95-8gbpictures

One amazing fact about these Cannons and other Indian made Cannons: Even if the Cannons are exposed to direct sunlight, they feel little warm rather than being hot unlike other metals. And if they are placed in shade, the get super cooled.

Ask C.J. Chivers: ‘The Gun’

2010-10-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Source: at war blogs NYTIMES

C. J. Chivers, a Times correspondent and frequent contributor to At War, often from his embeds in Afghanistan, has written a book, “The Gun,” that is being released on Oct. 12. He will be answering readers’ questions over the next several days. Please submit your questions below in the comments box. UPDATE: Follow the Q&A here.

On a Chinese propaganda poster that reads, “Long live the great Chinese People’s Liberation Army!”, a soldier carries a Kalashnikov.

“The Gun” tells the story of the origins and mass distribution of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, perhaps the former Soviet Union’s most successful product, and certainly its best known export. During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union competed militarily, diplomatically and technologically. Mr. Chivers traces how, on one front, in the race to outfit their forces with compact and versatile rifles for general issue, the Soviets won. The rugged and durable AK-47 was easy to use, carry and clean. It could be reassembled after months in the muck and quickly made ready for firing. It outgunned the far more precise and better machined M-16s that American soldiers were armed with during the Vietnam War. It was also a platform for further development, and its many descendants and knockoffs have become the choice of revolutionaries, guerrillas and criminals worldwide. They are so widely accepted — all but ubiquitous in modern ground war — that they have become icons, objects with any number of meanings. As Mr. Chivers notes:

In his first taped message after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden held a microphone near his beard and told the world that ‘the winds of faith and change have blown.’ It was his movie, he could put in it anything he wanted. Beside him was a Kalashnikov leaning against a rock. Bin Laden understood the symbolic potency of his choice.

“The Gun” is in many ways a history of modern warfare told through the story of how automatic arms, which at first were large, complex and expensive, were reduced in size and complexity and made available to most any man. The Kalashnikov line was the result of this technical evolution, which Mr. Chivers traces back in time to the Gatling gun –- the first reasonably successful rapid-fire arm. The AK-47 arrived to little fanfare or notice. In the age of atomic arms, it was overlooked. And yet it was to become the primary weapon of war for the last half-century or more. Mr. Chivers links its success not just to its well-known characteristics –- reliability, simplicity, durability, ease of use — but to its outsized manufacture in planned economies, which produced it in quantities that no other firearm has ever known.

No one can say for certain how many Kalashnikovs exist today. Their production in secrecy, often in some of the planet’s harshest dictatorships, as made precise accounting impossible. One point is beyond dispute. They are the most abundant firearms on earth. Since the Soviet army chose the AK-47 for distribution to Soviet ranks, automatic Kalashnikovs have been made in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, China, East Germany, Egypt, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), and in the United States. Knock-off versions, incorporating the main elements of Kalashnikov’s operating system, were developed in Croatia, Finland, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Israel (The Israeli Defense Forces were so impressed, and so concerned by the performance of the Egyptian Kalashnikovs in the Six Day War in 1967 that Yisraeli Galili and Yaccov Lior borrowed the AK-47’s main features to create a series of weapons at Ramat HaSharon). More Kalashnikovs are made every year (though at a lesser pace than in decades past).

He continues:

Serious estimates put the number of Kalashnikovs and its derivatives as high as 100 million. There could be one Kalashnikov for every 70 people alive.

“Where did all these rifles go?

“The Gun” traces their origins and distribution, and brings to life many people who designed, fought with, or suffered from the changes in small-arms technology, and in economic and diplomatic policies, that flooded the world with Stalin’s compact automatic rifles, or, as Mr. Chivers described them, “Everyman’s gun.”

Please leave questions for Mr. Chivers in the comments box below.

Excerpted from “The Gun” by C. J. Chivers, to be published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster. Copyright (c) 2010 by C. J. Chivers. For more information, check cjchivers.com.

City palace jaipur: Fire arms museum

2010-09-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: My friend Satish

City Palace-- forms one of the most famous tourist attractions and a major landmark in Jaipur. The beautiful palace was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh during his reign. showcases arms and weaponry dating back to the 15th century. The weapons displayed in the museum comprise of pistols, jeweled swords, guns and gun powder pouches, belt swords, chain armors, small cannons, poison tipped blades, a scissor-action dagger...

It is one of the Single largest collection of weapons especially fire arms .. atleast in India.

This is small description of the musem from Jaipurthepinkcity

Pistols and Revolvers
            Lot of pistols and revolvers with floral decoration, and ivory work on the butt; with floral ornamentation, and auspicious text inscribed barrels are displayed here which were brought from mainly Govt. Museum, Bharatpur.
            Eknali, Dunali, and Chaunali (single bore round, double bore round, and four bore round respectively) are the various types of revolvers which are in display at Albert hall.
            Huge �Camel Gun� with wooden handle looking like a small canon was not hold by hands at the time of shooting but was placed on camel and to be fire towards the enemy from long distance is a main attraction in �Pistols and Revolvers� collection at Albert Hall Museum of Pink City Jaipur.

Collection of WW II guns

2010-09-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Source: Indiansforguns by cooljerry
The pistol is passed down from my DAD he was in the Army one of the First Five officers to be given the Vir Chkra in 1947-48.He bought it off a British officer During WW 2. Dad was posted in Burma at the time.
I bought the DBBL as my fathers gun is on my brothers license. The Army has lost my fathers American Carbine which was deposited with them when he passed away.
The Air Pistol is Heman mark 2 made by GTB eng. Works.

Shaniwarwada gun : Pune

2010-09-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Source: Sunil shinde's blog

This one at shaniwar wada in pune is Gun purchased from East India Company

The Sutlej Gun - Captured Trophy of the Sikh Wars 1846

2010-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Source: fraxinusv victory v blog

The 50th became 'The 50th (The Queen's Own) Regiment' in 1831. Becoming a Royal Regiment it's facings turned from Black to Royal Blue. They saw much action in India facing the Sikhs in 1845, and fought several battles culminating in Sobraon in 1846. Here the 50th played a decisive part in defeating the enemy, charging their guns to the cry of 'Make way for Her Majesty's 50th!' They captured a Sikh colour, but they came out of the engagement with a subaltern in command and half the regiment casualties.

This Sutlej Gun which is the centre piece of the West Kents Museum (The 50th being a parent regiment) was manufactured in Lahore, India in 1838 and is one of a pair presented by the Directors of the East India Company to Field Marshal Sir Henry Hardinge who was Commander in Chief and Governor General of India. He had been commissioned in the 50th in 1798.

Six of these guns are known to survive 2 were presented to Queen Victoria and 2 to Lord Gough. The other gun presented to Lord Hardinge is now on loan to the National Armouries

The workmanship on these pieces is incredible with beautiful detail not something you can usually say about a weapon of war.

Some more information on captured artillery from the war including the Sikh Heritage Trail

Barrel Making: Pattern Welded or Damascus Barrels - II

2010-09-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Source: Firearm history blog

In our last post, we looked at some of the history behind the so-called "Damascus barrels" and the history of manufacturing barrels of this type in India since the 1500s. In this post, we will investigate more about the damascus barrels and the state of art between the 1800s and 1900s in Western Europe. The technology behind this could produce barrels that look like the following two pictures:

(Click pictures to enlarge)

As we noted in our previous post, wootz steel (the steel used in the so-called "damascus blades") was NOT used to make damascus barrels very much. William Greener in his Gunnery in 1858: Being a Treatise on Rifles, Cannon and Sporting Arms writes that these barrels are rare and on examination of the available barrels made by wootz steel workers, most were actually were made of commonest iron with a very thin plate of wootz steel around them, indicating that the wootz steel ore was becoming very valuable, since the mine in India where the ore came from was running out. Instead of using wootz steel, the more common option was to use pattern welded steel and the reason that they were called damascus barrels is because the patterns on the pattern welded steel resembled that made from wootz steel. So the name "damascus" is a misnomer and when we say "damascus barrels", we really mean "pattern welded barrels". In pattern welding, two or more metals are used to make the barrel (usually iron and steel bars, or steel bars of varying carbon content).

To study how this was done, first we start with the invention of the Puddling Furnace to prepare iron and steel bars of required carbon content. Pig iron from quality iron ore is placed in a furnace, melted and cleaned of all impurities by puddling. The impurities are generally lighter than the molten iron and hence rise to the top and can be skimmed off. Any carbon generally burns off as carbon-dioxide and bubbles out of the molten iron. When most of the impurities have been skimmed off, the iron is allowed to cool and form large balls (called blooms) about 30-38 cm. in diameter and weighing about 35-40 kg. Each ball is then grabbed with a pair of tongs and put under a tilt hammer and manipulated to make it a square shaped block. This process is called shingling, and it condenses the iron atoms (increases its density) and makes additional impurities and brittle scale fly off during the hammering process. It is then passed between several rollers, which elongate the bar and thin out its cross-section. The rolling process also increases the ductility of the iron bar. This process ends up losing approximately 40% of the material that we started with, but produces high quality iron suitable for making gun barrels.

Scrap steel is also treated the same way as the iron bars, but if new steel bars are used instead, then those low in carbon content are chosen and used directly without going through the puddling process. Steel is not improved by the puddling process like iron is.

After these, the steel and iron bars are cut to equal lengths and arranged in layers in a definite pattern and then welded together. The amount of steel to iron ratio depends on the type of pattern welding desired. The type called English Damascus is about 60% steel and Silver Steel Damascus is about 75% steel. The way the bars are arranged in layers depends on the pattern desired in the end product. The picture below shows how to arrange the iron and steel layers before welding in order to produce a star pattern at the end:

The dark parts are steel and the light parts are iron in the above figure. In other cases, instead of using bars that are square and rectangle in cross-section, they may use rhomboidal cross-section bars, or hexagonal cross section bars etc. The pattern is arranged with more steel than iron to produce stronger barrels. The bar is then heated and welded together and then it is rolled between various sets of heavy rollers to produce a longer bar. For instance, we may have 25 bars of steel and iron each 60 cm. long, 5 cm. wide and 0.6 cm. thick. After welding and rolling, we may have a long bar which is 1 cm. square in cross-section. This long bar is then cut into 120-150 cm. lengths to make it more manageable.

These bars are then heated again to red-heat about 45-60 cm. at a time and one end is put into a fixed square hole or a vice grip and the other end is put into a movable square hole or tongs and then twisted. During the twisting process, the rod is watched very carefully to make sure it twists evenly. If one side twists more than the other, a skilled worker with a pair of tongs holds that side to prevent it from twisting and evens it out. The process of heating and twisting is repeated until the whole bar is twisted evenly and this produces a uniform pattern.

After the whole bar is twisted, it will have a circular cross-section, except for the two ends held by the square holes or vice grip/tongs which will still be square. The bar will also reduce in length due to twisting. For example, a 120 cm. rod before twisting will become about 100 cm. long after twisting and have about 32 turns per every 10 cm. length. The two square ends of the rod are cut off and the rod may be used to manufacture a barrel.

Depending on the quality of the barrel desired, a single twisted rod may be used, or multiple rods may be used. For instance, in cheapest damascus barrels, only a single rod is used and this is heated and flattened into a ribbon. In better quality barrels, two, three, four, six or eight rods may be used. If multiple rods are used, they are chosen so that adjacent rods are twisted left or right. The rods are then combined together and welded together and rolled into a single long ribbon. Usually, very fine patterns are obtained by using three rods, so using more rods is generally considered overkill. The diagram below shows how to combine three rods into a single long ribbon.

Note how the rods are placed so that adjacent rods twist in opposite directions. The rods are flattened into a long ribbon of a given uniform thickness.

This flat ribbon, whether formed of a single rod, or of multiple rods, is then washed in acid. The steel parts being harder, resist the acid better and retain their white color. The softer iron reacts with the acid to form a darker brown or black color. The figure below shows a ribbon after it has been washed in acid:

This flat ribbon is then coiled around a mandrel in a spiral form. This is generally done at room temperatures, but if the thickness of the ribbon is too much, then it is heated to red heat before being twisted. The image below shows the ribbon being twisted in spiral form around a mandrel to form a cylindrical barrel:

The coil is then heated and the spirals welded together by hammering. Generally three people are involved in this operation -- a skilled foreman who holds and rotates the coil with one hand on a grooved anvil and also has a small hammer on the other hand to indicate where to strike. The other two workmen carry heavier hammers and strike at the points indicated by the foreman. This forms the tube of the barrel. The hammering process is continued until the barrel cools down enough that it turns black in color, which finishes the process. This hammering improves the density and tenacity of the barrel and the wear and tear of the barrel greatly depends on performing this process properly. If polygonal barrels (such as octagonal) are desired, then the same process may be performed by using an appropriately shaped anvil.

If longer gun barrels are needed, then two or three ribbons of different thicknesses may be used. The thickest ribbon is used to form the part of the barrel that forms the breech and the thinnest ribbon is used to form the part of the barrel that is the muzzle of the gun (since the pressure of gases at the muzzle is lower than at the breech, the barrel can be thinner at the muzzle end). The ribbons are combined end-to-end to form a long ribbon and then it is hammered into the spiral form as described in the last two paragraphs.

The resulting gun barrel has a pleasing patterned look about it, such as the beautiful example pictured below:

(Click picture to enlarge)

Notice the intricate patterning on the barrel. The evenness of the pattern has to do with the quality of welding the iron and steel bars together and how evenly the twisting of the rods was done. This is clearly the work of very skilled craftsmen.

In the previous post, we'd mentioned that pattern welded barrels were being made in India since the mid 1500s. The technology gradually went west, reaching Turkey around the 1600s and then Hungary (1634), Spain (1650), Austria (in 1683), Belgium (1700), France (1750s) and eventually reaching England in the late 1700s/early 1800s. W.W. Greener, in his book, The Gun and its Development, Second Edition, mentions that pattern welded gun barrels were made in England between 1800 and 1910 or so. Around that time, the main centers of pattern welded barrel production were Birmingham and London in England; La Chafontaine, Liege and Nessonvaux in Belgium; St. Etienne in France; Vienna in Austria; Suhl in Prussia (Germany) and Brescia in Northern Italy. He also mentions that some makers in the European continent, especially in Belgium, produced some of the most beautifully figured barrels, but they were not as strong as English barrels, because they were more concerned about the pattern than the strength, whereas English manufacturers tended to put more priority on strength of the barrel and put pretty figuration lower down in importance. Some Belgian manufacturers would use up to 32 plates of iron and steel to make a single rod which would be twisted into a very fine screw thread. Six of these twisted rods would be used to make a single ribbon and the pattern on these ribbons were very fine lines, no thicker than the point on a needle. His father, William Greener, in his treatise about the Gun, mentions that while such barrels were very beautiful to look at, too much twisting is bad for iron, since it rearranges the iron fibers which normally run parallel to each other and support each other. Nevertheless, the manufacture of Damascus barrels in Belgium was cheaper than in England and by the 1850s, some English manufacturers (especially in London) were importing some of their barrels from Belgium.

By 1910 or so, pattern welded barrels were not made in England any more and all English manufacturers imported their "damascus" barrels from reputable Belgian sources. The popularity of pattern welded barrels started to wane because of stronger steel barrels produced by other methods (such as Whitworth steel) and the fact that making fine pattern welded barrels was labor-intensive and needed high skill of craftsmanship. By the start of WW-I, when Germany invaded Belgium, production of pattern welded barrels had ceased completely.

Note that while pattern welding did produce stronger barrels in the 1700s and part of the 1800s, the rise of better steel production techniques made this technology somewhat obsolete. Despite popular culture which assumes that pattern welded Japanese samurai swords can cut through anything, the truth is that even a modern spring from a car suspension has better quality steel than an authentic pattern welded Japanese sword from the 1700s/1800s. The same holds true for gun-barrels as well and modern steels far exceed pattern welded steel in hardness, toughness and durability. The extra labor and specialized skills needed to make pattern welded steel barrels also made it less desirable compared to other techniques.

Production of pattern welded barrels was restarted in the 1960s in England and gradually other countries began to produce them in small quantities. They are still made by specialized makers for custom beautiful shotguns and pistols.

Kashmir’s Gun Manufacturing Industry Battling For Survival

2010-09-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

21 March 2010
Source: JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Originally published in Greater Kashmir

Srinagar: Kashmir’s gun manufacturing industry is battling for survival. Out of several gun manufacturing factories in Kashmir only two have survived. Established in the early years of the last century, the factories would manufacture and sell their products - 12 bore Single Barrel and 12 bore Double Barrel rifles - to the foreigners, tourists and locals who had a passion for hunting birds and wild animals. Almost 100 years later, there is a ban on hunting, a stringent procedure to procure license for these guns, a government regulation which limits the number of guns manufactured from these two factories to 840 a year.

A few minutes walk from a main road in downtown, past one of biggest graveyard, which is dotted with hundreds of stones epitaphs that mark the dead, is a century-old gun manufacturing factory. Outside the factory, which is housed in a residential locality, Zahoor Ahanger and Nasir Hayat spend the afternoon under the early spring sun and gossip about anything that comes their way. Ahanger, 35, and Hayat, 32, are cousins, Science graduates and gunsmiths. For the last several years these two cousins, along with four others who are the partners in this factory, are living on meagre amount of money they get from selling 300 guns that they manufacture each year. They inherited this craft of making guns from their fathers. Their great-grandfather Muhammad Subhan Ahanger had established The Subhana Sons Gun Manufacturers factory in 1925.

Soon after establishing the factory, the business started to flourish as foreigners and locals would swarm to this place to buy guns for hunting birds and wild animals, says Ahanger. His claim is testified by Bashir Ahmad, 63, who has worked at the factory since he was a teenager. “That time we were having good business. A lot of people would come and buy guns,” said Ahmad, who now is a veteran gunsmith. Inside the factory office, which is a dark room with three dusty chairs and a black telephone out of service due to non-payment of bill, Hayat blames government’s apathy for the economic downfall they are facing. He says that government has permitted them to manufacture only 300 guns in a year and says the production quota has not been increased despite repeated pleas from them.

“We do not demand jobs from the government. We only demand increase in the quota. They permit us to manufacture only 300 guns each year, if government increases this to a few thousand, then we can engage more and more people with this trade which will mean more livelihood,” says Hayat, who joined the family enterprise soon after he finished graduation in Environmental Science. A kilometre away from this Subhana’s is another gun manufacturing factory. Nazir Zaroo, 47, is the owner of Zaroo Gun Factory and has also inherited this craft from his ancestors. Even though he is permitted to manufacture 540 guns each year, he says the market demand is lot and supply is little. Zaroo also blames government apathy for his discontent and anger - both of which are visible when he talks. “They (government) are not helping us at all. Our record in the last 20 years is clear. We are not involved in any unlawful activity and the guns we manufacture have never been found related with any militant activity, yet, the government is not helping us grow as an industry,” says Zaroo. “We sell guns to only those who have the license issued by the government.”

Records available with police acknowledge Zaroo’s claim that no gun manufactured from these factories was found with militants. “There has been no such case where we have found militants using these guns,” said Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad. In recent years, both these factories have been selling a major chunk of their production to buyers outside the state. Growth in the number of private security firms in valley, providing armed personnel to guard banks and other places have also widened the market for the Valley’s gun manufacturers. When asked why government is not increasing the production quota of these factories, JK Industries Minister, Surjeet Singh Salathia said that his ministry has nothing to do with these factories. “They (factories) are not in my ministry. I have nothing to do with them,” he said. Meanwhile, Ahanger and Hayat have started to lose hope and if the situation continues to be like this, they say, in two or three years they might be forced to close this 85-year-old gun factory and look for other options to survive.

gun foundry in hyderabad

2010-05-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

Source: history files

1786 :

A gun foundry is one of the several cannon and cannon-ball factories to be set up in by the French General Raymond in the service of the nawab. In time, the whole district comes to be known as the Gun Foundry, such is the local impact of this construction.

The gun foundry is now the only remaining building in Hyderabad which dates from the eighteenth century

The History of Air Guns

2009-10-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

Source: 10xshooters google sites

Air guns represent the oldest pneumatic technology, having existed since the 15th century. At that time, they had compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. For example, air guns could be fired in wet weather and rain (unlike matchlock muskets) and with greater speed than muzzle-loading guns. Moreover, they were quieter than a firearm of similar caliber, had no muzzle flash, and were completely smokeless, thus not disclosing the shooter's position. Black powder muskets of the 18th and 19th century produced huge volumes of dense smoke when fired, a disadvantage compared to air rifles.
At the time, air guns posed a serious alternative to powder weapons. Although much more expensive, they were generally far superior. ` air reservoirs had evolved with increasing technology, thereby improving the charge capacity while minimizing any possibility of bursting. Similarly, improvements in valve designs began to create well-sealed chambers.
During this period, France, Austria and other nations had special sniper detachments using air rifles. The Austrian 1780 model was named Windbüchse (literally "wind rifle" in German). The gun was developed in 1778 or 1779 [1] by the Tyrolese watchmaker, mechanic and gunsmith Bartholomäus Girandoni (1744-1799) and is sometimes referred to as the Girandoni Air Rifle or Girandoni air gun in literature (the name is also spelled "Girandony"or "Giradoni")[2] or "Girardoni".[3] The Windbüchse was about 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weighed 10 pounds (4.5 kg), which was about the same size and mass as a conventional musket. The air reservoir was a removable, club-shaped butt. The Windbüchsecarried twenty .51 in (13 mm) lead balls in a tubular magazine. A skilled shooter could fire off one magazine in about thirty seconds, which was a fearsome rate of fire compared to a muzzle loader. A shot from this air gun could penetrate a one-inch wooden board at a hundred paces, an effect roughly equal to that of a modern 9 mm or .45 caliber pistol.
Around 1820, the Japanese inventor Kunitomo Ikkansai developed various manufacturing methods for guns, and also created an air gun based on the study of Western knowledge ("rangaku") acquired from the Dutch in Dejima.
Air guns appear throughout other periods of history. The celebrated expedition headed by Lewis and Clark (1804) reportedly carried a .42 in (10 mm) reservoir air gun, believed to be produced by Girandoni. It held 22 round balls in a tubular magazine mounted on the side of thebarrel. The butt stock served as the air reservoir and had a working pressure of 800 PSI. The rifle was said to be capable of 22 aimed shots in one minute.
During the 1890s, air rifles were used in Birmingham, England, for competitive target shooting. Matches were held in public houses, which sponsored shooting teams. Prizes, such as a leg of mutton for the winning team, were paid for by the losing team. The sport became so popular that just after the turn of the 19th century, a National Air Rifle Association was created. During this time over 4000 air rifle clubs and associations existed across Britain, many of them in Birmingham. During this time, the air gun was associated with poaching because it could deliver a shot without a significant report.
In some countries, air guns are still classified as firearms, and as such it may be illegal to discharge them in residential areas. Air guns can be highly accurate and are used in target shooting events at the Olympic Games, governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).

Bibliography
References
1. ^ Arne Hoff, Airguns and Other Pneumatic Arms, Arms & Armour Series, London, 1972
2. ^ L.Wesley, Air Guns and Air Pistols, London 1955
3. ^ H.L.Blackmore, Hunting Weapons, London 1971
4. ^ Ben Saltzman. "The Three Basic Types of Airguns". American Airguns. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
5. ^ American Airgun Field Target Association
6. ^ World And Regional Paintball Information Guide

Who gets to own a gun, and how?

2009-09-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

Source: Expressbuzz

The New Indian Express First Published : 10 Sep 2009 11:39:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 10 Sep 2009 01:04:15 AM IST
Our staffers in Kochi filed an item recently on an attempt by a non-government body to probe the records of gun licences in Kerala. The application was filed under the national Right to Information Act (RTI), and there is no way the law could bar the provision of such a record. The first asked the home department, in charge of law and order, which said it didn’t have the information — district collectors did and so the revenue department should be asked. So, they applied to the latter, which said it didn’t have the data — that was the job of the home department. The NGO was also told the fee to access this sort of thing would be Rs 85,000. Strictly illegal under the RTI and this is one of India’s more advanced states, but we digress. Finally, an RTI was filed with each district collectorate, and the response followed no uniformity. Half a dozen districts said they had no record on expiry of licences or, for that mater, of renewals. Thiruvananthapuram refused to give names and addresses of owners, citing privacy laws; Malappuram had no such hesitation. And so on.
Nor is there any common policy in granting or renewing a licence. Else, explain how Kollam, for instance, lists 388 guns, while Palakkad shows 1,811 and Kozhikode, 4,635; there are all sorts of interesting variations every dozen kilometres in a small state like Kerala. All of which provide some food for thought. One, RTI rules, despite all these years of operation and publicity, are still not clear to the state authorities. Or, perhaps, they have no great enthusiasm for exploring and simplifying. The simple principle, that disclosure has to be the rule, and denying information an exception, is still a rather alien concept in even one of India’s most educationally and socially awake state. Then again, given the regularity with which firearms are used by criminals all over the country, the public have a big vested interest in the details of policy in this regard. Who gets a licence, how easily, and what checks are there to ensure responsible use, are all issues of public interest; as we noted, several districts said they had no record of many of these things. Or, if they did, they didn’t think it needed to be made public. And there seems no statewide agency charged with collation and analysis. We’d suggest more citizen pressure, more use of RTI, to move matters.

Gun Foundry in Hyderabad

2009-09-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

Source: AP MUSEUMS

GUNFOUNDRY Hyderabad

Debris Clearance work at Gunfoundry Monument

Gunfoundry is located in a lane opposite to the Jamia Masjid Aliya, and can be approached by the side lane of Lepakshi Government Handicrafts Emporium. In fact, the whole locality is known as Gunfoundry, where the Head Office Building of State Bank of Hyderabad ( a landmark inaugurated by the President of India in 1955 ) and the Department of Archaeology & Museums are located on the main road in the same line.

Gunfoundry is one of the several cannon and cannon-ball factories set up in 1786 by French General, Monsieur Raymond who was in the service of Nawab Mir Nizam Ali Khan, the 2^nd Nizam of Hyderabad.�� Incidentally, this is the only structure of surviving foundry established in the 18^th century in the whole of Hyderabad city.

In 19^th century, Roman Catholic Cathedral on the main Secunderabad Road was also constructed in Gunfoundry locality.�� Even before 100 years the ruins of a number of other foundaries were seen on the road to Mir Alam Tank and on the Bangalore road. Malcolm, a renowned historian, in his well-known book History of India, referred to these foundaries in 1798 as places in which � they cast excellent cannon and made serviceable muskets

As seen in a photograph published in Glimpses of Nizams Dominion in 1895, the height of the brick walls of Gunfoundry is approximately 50 feet with a tapered portion commencing above 25 feet height. It can be said that due to negligence and poor maintenance, the original height of the tapered walls have come down to 25 to 30 feet. The lower portion was plastered with lime.�� The shape of the bricks used in the construction of Gunfoundry is square with less thickness. The binding material used is lime mortar. The wall surfaces have been pointed with lime mortar on the exterior and interior sides of the foundary.
We find here and there that the walls have been given joints of square iron rods. In the lower portions, brick arches are made in semi circular shape, where the furnaces, melting of iron casting of cannons, muskets etc.� were carried out in most scientific manner under the supervision of General Monsieur Raymond.

British cannon balls found at Bollarum

2009-09-22T00:26:00.000-07:00

People taking a look at the British cannon balls found at Trishul Park Government High School in Bollarum on Monday.

Express News Service

First Published : 18 Aug 2009 08:05:18 AM IST

Last Updated : 18 Aug 2009 09:20:25 AM IST

HYDERABAD: Over 1,127 cannon balls belonging to the British period were found during the construction work at the dilapidated Trishul Park Government High School at Bollaram in Secunderabad on Monday.The authorities have stored the antiques within the school premises and sealed the premises. The school is located beside the Bollaram police station.According to the officials, construction work was taken up at the site to build a new primary government school. The construction activity has been going on for the last three days. The labourers dug a 5-ftdeep pit when they found three iron cannon balls. They dug further and found more.``The British had stocked them during their stay at Bollarum. The dilapidated Government High School was dismantled recently to construct a new primary government school under the Rajiv Vidya Mission,’’ Trimulgherry Tahsildar B Krupakar told Express.He said that the cannon balls were of two sizes _ one of a cricket ball and the other of a football.Officials, who counted the antiques said 807 were small in size while 320 were big. ``They date back to the 1850s. Before Independence, the school was used as a jail. As the ancient building was about to crumble, the district authorities decided to construct a new building,’’ Krupakar said, adding that two floors would be builtas part of the project.Officials who had a closer look said that the cannon balls did not contain gun powder. ``Except the smaller ones, which were heavy, the big-sized balls had holes and had mud stains,’’ Krupakar added.Officials said that they would call in forensic experts to ascertain whether there was some quantity of gun powder in it. Archaeology and Museums director Chenna Reddy told this paper that that officials from his department visited the site and measures would be taken to take possession of the articles excavated.``The iron balls weigh between 1.5 kg and 13 kg. They are 150 years old and belong to the British army,’’ Chenna Reddy added.

Uttar Pradesh: the land of la tamancha

2009-08-20T00:58:00.000-07:00

Source: livemint

As a weapon used frequently by seasoned gangsters, rural farmers and some daredevil beauties, tamancha has been immortalized by Mumbai films and pulp fiction writers in Hindi for decades

Meltdown or no meltdown, it is a well-known fact that come election time and gunmen’s fancy shall turn to thoughts of tamanchas.
Tamanchas (also known as desi katta, a locally made gun) are, as a friend put it, fully illegal and indigenous weapons that are western Uttar Pradesh’s swadeshi gift to the nation. Priced anywhere between Rs500 and Rs1,000, depending on the quality, this weapon can be bought easily in the grey markets in UP, Delhi and Mumbai.
In the 19th century, there was a gangsters’ moll by the name of Tamancha Jaan, as famous for her mellifluous singing as for her prowess with firearms. And, in the early years of the 20th century, a whip-cracking Jewish beauty, called Fearless Nadia, shot to fame in Hindi films by brandishing a tamancha in the face of various white and non-white bullies.
As a weapon used frequently by seasoned gangsters, rural farmers and some daredevil beauties, tamancha has been immortalized by Mumbai films and pulp fiction writers in Hindi for decades. Locally manufactured firearms have a long history in north-western India. We are told that the tamancha was invented by ironsmiths in the industrial belt between Meerut to Bareilly and Rampur. These were craftsmen whose forefathers had crafted daggers and firearms for the Syeds, Lodis, Pathans and Moghuls, and knew all there is to know about smelting, welding and forging weaponry. But as the British routed the old rulers and hanged or shot the local bandits, these families took to crafting peace-time implements for farming communities in the area. The area then became famous for crafting the best scissors, knives, locks and various tools.
Also Read Mrinal Pande’s earlier columns
After independence, the Green Revolution came to the area and prosperity followed. Since the belt has always had a predilection for revenge killings, money helped create a high concentration of criminals and an equally high demand for cheap and disposable firearms.
The ironsmiths now chose to turn their skilled hands to gun-making, and today, the market for indigenously manufactured firearms in the whole region is booming. Tamancha, panchfera (that fires five bullets), desi rifle, revolver—all are available locally for a fraction of the price of the real thing. The makers say they need no publicity. Their clients seek them out through special agents and they are paid money in advance.
Profits are high as each tamancha costs them roughly Rs250 to manufacture and is sold for twice as much at least. The gunsmiths make something like Rs1 lakh a month on an average. During elections, profits rise as they receive bulk orders and must work with a team to meet deadlines.
This industry exists in both urban and rural areas, but given a skimpy presence of the police in the rural hinterland, most factories function from nearby villages and employ hundreds. The villagers are also avid buyers of firearms in this region. Everyone here who must guard his crops and share in irrigation waters and travel to cities every now and then carrying cash, sports a tamancha. And having a gun under your pillow is considered a style statement in villages.
In cities, hardened criminals prefer a tamancha to any other hand-held weapon because it seldom jams and misses a target. Many may have an arsenal of imported weapons, but still like to have their trusted tamancha by. Most criminal acts, according to the police in western UP, are committed with this weapon. In case of police raids and during chase, it is easy to abandon this unlicensed weapon since it cannot be traced back to the owner.
The police is not a problem but an integral part of the business, according to knowledgeable sources. The manufacturers claim they need to give a regular cut to local authorities who thereafter turn a blind eye to the trade. Occasionally, the police may also procure kattas or tamanchas from these factories. These are then “planted” during raids.
Meerut Kotwali, Sohrab Gate, Islamabad, Sardhana, Ganeshpur, Khurja, Dadri, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Budhana, Shamli and Saharanpur areas are said to have thriving factories. In 2008, the police apprehended 2,213 people in Meerut, 3,369 in Ghaziabad, 1,700 in Bulandshahar, 2,165 in Gautam Buddha Nagar, 592 in Baghpat, 1,571 in Saharanpur and 1,604 in Muzaffarnagar for keeping illegal arms. But it is said that it is impossible to gauge the actual number of desi kattas, tamanchas in the entire belt that are as easy to buy as roasted peanuts.
When Hindustan sent a correspondent to one such village near Lawad, he found that various parts of .12 and .315 bore tamanchas were being manufactured in bulk on the outskirts of the village, on lathes under one craftsman addressed as masterji. It was he who finally welded the various finished parts (including the sturdy barrels made out of steering rods), and having finished the weapon, gave it to a team for test-firing.
Six tamanchas could be produced, he told the correspondent, in under 2 hours in his factory. He had learnt the art some 25 years ago and was now so experienced in crafting firearms that given a sample, he could create a copy of any sort of gun within two weeks.
It may be a crime in the eyes of some, masterji said philosophically, but he considered himself an honourable man who was bringing up a family on his hard-earned wages.
Mrinal Pande likes to take readers behind the reported news in her fortnightly column. She is chief editor of Hindustan. Your comments are welcome at the otherside@livemint.com

Indians are the 2nd largest gun owners in the world

2009-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

This piece is a lift from the Blog Quick take as it happens

Tamanchas (also known as desi katta, a locally made gun) are … illegal and indigenous weapons that are … Priced anywhere between Rs500 and Rs1,000, depending on the quality, … can be bought easily in the grey markets in UP, Delhi and Mumbai … Tamancha, panchfera (that fires five bullets), desi rifle, revolver—all are available locally for a fraction of the price of the real thing. Their clients seek them out through special agents and they are paid money in advance … These were craftsmen whose forefathers had crafted daggers and firearms for the Syeds, Lodis, Pathans and Moghuls, and knew all there is to know about smelting, welding and forging weaponry.
The villagers are … buyers of firearms in this region. Everyone here who must guard his crops and share in irrigation waters and travel to cities every now and then carrying cash, sports a tamancha. And having a gun under your pillow is considered a style statement in villages.
Most criminal acts, according to the police in western UP, are committed with this weapon. In case of police raids and during chase, it is easy to abandon this unlicensed weapon since it cannot be traced back to the owner. Occasionally, the police may also procure kattas or tamanchas from these factories. These are then “planted” during raids.
Meerut Kotwali, Sohrab Gate, Islamabad, Sardhana, Ganeshpur, Khurja, Dadri, Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Budhana, Shamli and Saharanpur areas are said to have thriving factories. In 2008, the police apprehended 2,213 people in Meerut, 3,369 in Ghaziabad, 1,700 in Bulandshahar, 2,165 in Gautam Buddha Nagar, 592 in Baghpat, 1,571 in Saharanpur and 1,604 in Muzaffarnagar for keeping illegal arms.
Six tamanchas could be produced, … in under 2 hours in his factory. He had learnt the art some 25 years ago and was now so experienced in crafting firearms that given a sample, he could create a copy of any sort of gun within two weeks.
It may be a crime in the eyes of some, masterji said philosophically, but he considered himself an honourable man who was bringing up a family on his hard-earned wages. (via Uttar Pradesh: the land of la tamancha – Economy and Politics – livemint.com).

Some very interesting points come out from these reports.

These guns cost Rs.1000-1500 (US$20-US$30). At these costs, rampant criminalization of Indian population is very possible – and probable. So, why has that not happened?
Most of these gun smiths are Muslims – and if the myth of the ‘oppressed Indian Muslim’ was true, then these guns would have been used for a mayhem, terror and crime.
One report states that UP alone has 900,000 licensed fire arm holders and India has 4 crores (40 million) guns. Another report estimates more than 3 lakh illegal firearms in New Delhi alone. Estimates of the national stock of guns in the US varies between 40 million to 50 million households which own 200 million guns.
Interestingly, UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were at the heart of the British Raj – and the land grab from the peasants to the zamindars first happened here – especially, after 1857. Is that the reason for the lawlessness in this region?
This was also the theatre of the 1857 War by Indians against the British Raj, which raged on for about 4-5 years. Obviously, guns were not imported – but produced locally. Were these the gunsmiths that had supplied the Indian armies with guns and munitions?

So, how come India has lowest prison population, low-police-to-population ratios and the low-to-average crime rates?

Gun proliferation in India, now?

Now, common citizens look for small arms

2009-08-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Its a pretty old piece which i almost slipped between the news searches and found here but worth the miss :)

7 Dec 2008, 0000 hrs IST, Raja Awasthi & Shantanu Nandan Sharma, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: The gruesome images of gunmen roaming the streets of Mumbai with submachine guns and spraying bullets on innocent people have evoked
the most basic instinct in the people of our cities — that of primal fear. Perhaps no wonder then that the doyen of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan is now sleeping with a gun under his pillow and created quite a stir at Mumbai airport yesterday when he tried to board a domestic flight with a gun in his hand baggage. And like Big B, many other urban dwellers in India, too, are either cleaning their guns and keeping them ready for use or trying to buy licensed revolvers after the terror trauma in Mumbai.

Private arms retailers, who are allowed to sell small arms, including revolvers and pistols to valid licence holders, have received many more enquiries from common citizens in the last few days. Indian citizens, of course, do not have the freedom to just go out and buy their dream guns such as the latest custom engraved Smith & Wesson Model 22 that is selling in the US for $7,500 or other popular models such as Alaska Backpacker, C2-75 or RugerSR9. In fact, there is no fresh supply of guns in the market because of the restrictive policy and ban on imports and private dealers mostly trade in second hand weapons.

Sources in the defence ministry told SundayET that there has already been a 6-8 month-long waiting list for procuring revolvers, pistols, sporting rifles etc. which are currently being sold at the outlets of Indian Ordnance Factories, an unit of the ministry of defence.

In fact, many people don’t mind shelling out over Rs 1 lakh for procuring a weapon for their safety and rush to the private arms retailers for immediate possession. “Some people still prefer to wait, and get items from Indian Ordnance Factories as arms in those shops are reasonably priced, and they have more models. But if someone wants to procure a weapon immediately after getting the licence, they would go to a private retailer. In Delhi itself, there are seven such retail shops from where you can buy a gun,” a defence ministry official said.

Currently, a 0.32 pistol, including a spare magazine, costs Rs 70,000 at the outlet of gun and shell factory at Cossipore in Kolkata. A 0.22 revolver is being sold at Ishapore rifle factory in West Bengal for Rs 40,000. All these outlets come directly under the Indian Ordnance Factories.

The rush to get armed is on among India’s city dwellers as Daljeet Oberoi of NCR-based Hari Singh & Jagjit Singh Gun Shop confirmed that the number of enquiries has increased after the terror attack in Mumbai. “There has been a spurt in inquires for revolvers during the last few days. The government now is not issuing licence very easily, and hence even a genuine buyer will have to wait a bit longer after his initial enquiry,” he said.

As many enquiries are pouring in, some gun retailers now have stopped entertaining customers over the phone, and insist that they visit the shop in person. Devinder Singh, a gun supplier from Meerut added, “There is no doubt that interests shown by potential buyers during the last few days have increased. In many cases, they reveal they fake identities over phone. So, we have stopped entertaining customers over phone and have asked them to visit our shops in person.”

Yet, getting a gun licence in India is not easy even for a celebrity or a politically-connected industrialist. Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni, for example, had recently received an official letter asking him to furnish his ‘character certificate’ to get license for a 9mm pistol. A senior IAS official told SundayET that the policy is still very restrictive. “It all depends on the local sanctioning officer. No time-line is imposed on him though a licence is procured in two to three months time. If the concerned officer rejects an application, he needs to give enough good reason why he has rejected it. This licensing procedure is governed by Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules, 1962,” he said.

Neeraj Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Delhi, said that companies began to beef up securities after the recent industrial disputes. “In recent time, companies around the country have been beefing up their security, after witnessing a rise in the number of industrial disputes and attacks from anti-social elements. We are trying to create awareness among companies to have state-of-the-art security equipment. Even individuals have begun to show interests in acquiring fire arms for their personal safety. But we would not advise them to go for any drastic measures,” DCP said.

Though SundayET could not get accurate figure on the number of licensed guns in India and those under process, a government source connected to the development, said that the demand for licensed guns in North and West India particularly in and around metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai is much more than that of South India. “In dacoit-infested areas such as Bundelkhand in UP and Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, there has been a huge demand for single barrel guns. But in bigger cities, there has been a demand for more sophisticated weapons. After the Mumbai incident, I am sure, more people will like to have sophisticated arms for protection,” sources said.

Arming India Against Terrorism Relaxing gun control laws would be a good start.

2009-08-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well that is the problem we are entrenched in the 1857 laws of the british imperialism thats still haunting us psychologically as we aspire for a seat in the security council.

By SHIKHA DALMIA | From today's Wall Street Journal Asia

For three bloody days, just 10 determined killers held a city of 18 million hostage. The sheer ignominy of this fact has jolted Mumbaikars -- and Indians -- out of their fabled chalta hai (anything goes) attitude, and into a burst of citizen activism. Even Mumbai's business community has shed its habitual political timidity and filed an extraordinary public-interest lawsuit demanding that the government fulfill its constitutional obligation to protect its citizens.

But Indians shouldn't just stop there. They should also demand reform of the country's draconian gun laws -- a holdover from British times -- that prevent them from defending themselves. That would surely deliver far quicker results than waiting for India's slow-moving political classes to plug the vast lacunae in the country's security apparatus.
[A police officer stands guard as Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers in Mumbai.] Associated Press

A police officer stands guard as Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers in Mumbai.

After all, what was particularly infuriating about the Mumbai attacks was not just that the Indian government failed to prevent them, even though it had received repeated warnings. Nor was it their tragic death toll; Mumbai, after all, experienced worse in the coordinated series of bombings in 1993 and 2006. Rather, it was that had there been anything resembling meaningful resistance, the attackers never would have been able to stage the kind of spectacle they did. Before they holed up in the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, they seemed to operate with almost complete impunity, freely moving from one target to another.

The same duo that opened fire at Café Leopold -- among the first targets -- managed to escape undetected and join their comrades at the Taj Mahal Hotel -- a few miles away -- before the police could even catch their breath. Likewise, the pair that attacked Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus subsequently hopped over to Cama Hospital, where they killed three top antiterrorism officials, hijacked the officials' van and sped away -- shooting at onlookers the whole time. And while at the Terminus -- named, ironically enough, after a fearless Maratha warrior-king -- the two gunmen marched up and down the station emptying their machine guns into commuters as the police stood by paralyzed, bolt-action rifles and lathis (bamboo sticks) in hand.

The true problem was not a shortage of heroism in those three horrible days. The courageous staff at the two hotels was nothing if not heroic, likely saving as many people as the police watched being killed. At the Taj, one employee even took the bullets for a group of guests he was trying to escort to safety.

But if the hotel staff could take bullets, the question is why couldn't they return them? The reason, as P.R.S. Oberoi, chairman of Oberoi Group, noted, is that none of the hotel's security staff was armed, thanks to the country's strict gun laws that make it virtually impossible to obtain permits. This is also perhaps why the gunmen moved around the city as if they owned it without fearing that anyone would shoot back.

India's gun laws have their genesis in colonial policy when -- following the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny -- British authorities drastically restricted gun ownership. So notorious were these laws that even the great apostle of nonviolence Mahatma Gandhi condemned them. "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest," he said.

Although the Indian government repealed these laws after Independence, it replaced them with ones almost equally hostile toward its citizens in 1959. It created a new licensing authority and gave it virtual carte blanche to deny permits. It also restricted private manufacturing to primitive munitions that no one wanted while subsequently banning imports, all of which has made guns prohibitively expensive.

The consequence is that India has among the lowest gun ownership rates in the world -- four guns per 100 residents, according to estimates by Martin Killias and his colleagues at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. By contrast, the U.S. has a rate of 90 per 100; Canada, 31.5; Thailand, 16; and Pakistan, 12. But the most relevant comparison might be with Israel -- another country facing a chronic terrorist threat -- where 15% of adults carry concealed handguns, according to John Lott of University of Maryland.

One of the big obstacles to gun liberalization in India is the fear that more guns will lead to more violence, given that India is a tinder box of sectarian tensions ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. In fact, more gun ownership -- especially by India's minorities -- might have a deterrent effect. But India could at least begin by relaxing gun laws for business establishments -- malls, hotels, corporate offices -- that are particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. These businesses could be allowed to acquire state-of-the-art weapons. In exchange, they could be held accountable for whom they entrust with the weapons and how they are deployed, creating an incentive for them to conduct their own background checks. Such a policy would not only make it easier for businesses to defend themselves, but it would also allow the government to direct more security resources toward airports, train stations, bus terminals and other public infrastructure that only it can defend.

No open society can completely protect itself against all acts of terrorism. Security resources are always finite and the potential terrorist targets always infinite. But India's government surely can do a better job of protecting its citizens. Ultimately Indians can't count on their government alone. They need to also reserve the right -- and the means -- to defend themselves.

Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst at Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based think tank.

Centre examining issue of bulk arms licence for pvt agencies

2009-08-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

16 Feb 2009, 0537 hrs IST, Bharti Jain, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: With 26/11 strikes in Mumbai pushing up the demand for better security systems among individuals and corporates, the Centre is examining the demand of private security agencies to be issued bulk arms licences. The Union home ministry has started a consultation process with the states on the possible amendments to the entire gamut of Arms Act, including allowing guards in banks and private security agencies to keep non-prohibited firearms after due training.

In a letter sent to the states late last month, MHA has sought their views and suggestions on the how the outdated Arms Act, 1959, can be reviewed and tuned into modern-day security needs. According to MHA sources, states have been asked to give inputs on matters like whether Arms Act must be liberalised in the first place, given the risk that a freer licensing regime poses the risk of arms getting into the hands of criminals and anti-social elements; whether bulk licences should be issued to private security firms; what kind of training must be given to a person who is to be issued firearms; and whether weapons of non-prohibited bores can be imported or allowed to be manufactured here in private or joint sectors.

The need for a consultation process with states was felt as each state has different arms licensing norms, though the broad policy is that small arms light weapons (SALW) licences can be issued to individuals alone. This had resulted in most private security firms either hiring ex-Army personnel who had an individual arms licence or asking their clients to procure the licences. Even in banks, the armed guard is only a ‘retainer’ — officially speaking, one who is authorised to only transport the firearm for repairs and back — of the firearm, even as the license is issued in the name of the bank manager.

Also, as per the current Arms Act, individuals can only source arms manufactured by Indian Ordnance factories or private manufacturers (single and double-barrel guns). However, given the heightened terror threat to private sector installations and the limited force availability, a need was felt to arm private security services on par with police and para-military personnel. “The current terror scenario means that private security firms guarding corporates in key sectors cannot rely on outdated weapons any longer and must be allowed access to imported arms to take on AK-47 wielding terrorists,” an MHA official noted.

The states, the official added, have been asked to comment on whether the import of arms can be allowed or if their local manufacture can be permitted through private sector or public-private ventures.

Another point touched upon by MHA with states is if some level of training should be given to the user of the weapon. The states have been asked for their suggestion on whether training should be made mandatory or if a minimum training course or regimen can be specified for private security guards for each category of weapon.

Post 26/11, requests for arms licenses have been pouring in both from individual and private security agencies. While individuals have demanded easier norms and speedy disposal of requests for issue and renewal of arms licences — the letter, ironically, seeks the states’ views on how implementation of pre-verification norms can be tightened in certain states —private security firms have been pressing the government for bulk arms licenses.

The MHA letter has asked to respond as soon as possible. It is only after the states’ views are in that a call will be taken on the extent to which Arms Act norms can be liberalised without enhancing the risk of its facilitating the access of criminal elements to licensed weapons.

History of gun rights in different countries

2009-08-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

This Article was an email recieved by a member of sxrckr on the forum city-data.com and the member gives a line of caution
An e-mail I received. If someone has time, please verify (especially the part about Switzerland, very interesting)

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend Themselves, were rounded up and exterminated

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend Themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia Established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated People, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and Exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.

It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:

List of 7 items:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 Percent.

Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!

In the state of Victoria alone, Homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns! While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above
prove it.

You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow
Americans, before it's too late!

The next time someone talks in favor of
gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'.
Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to
invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!

If you value your freedom, please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN! SWITZERLAND 'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE. SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!

IT'S A NO BRAINER! DON'T LET OUR GOVERNMENT WASTE MILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZENS AN EASY TARGET.

Give us guns, India Inc demands from govt

2009-08-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

The restriction of gu rights and infact deprivation of Guns to the civilians is evident and open secret but the Industry asks when you havesecurity of x y z security why do we have to face the consequences and the roughing ?
IBNlive
Published on Mon, Dec 01, 2008 at 03:12 in Business section

Bangalore: The war on Mumbai has left the India Inc angry and vulnerable sectors want much more than a constable with a lathi.

A meeting convened by the Karnataka government with industry heads led to strong suggestions from an industry that's scared.

“We're losing faith in the political leadership of this country. There's no doubt about that,” T V Mohandas Pai, director (HR), Infosys, adding, “To take care of the political class, they have Z-plus security. They have arms. What about us? Isn't our life important? We're citizens. The government is unable to protect us, then amend the law. Let us bear arms, we'll protect ourselves to whatever extent we can”.

A worried Bangalore Inc said they'd rather have machine guns than be sitting ducks to a torrent of bullets.

While government installations have forces who can combat an emergency, the private sector has to make do with metal detectors, frisking and CCTV security.

The latest addition are sniffer dogs, which some organizations have opted for, but nothing that can combat an AK-47.

“We'll not be in a position to answer these kinds of AK-47s and grenades. We need much stronger help from the government. And we'll need military intervention. May be we could start some military patrolling at least, then there can be confidence that help can come at short notice,” chairman and MD, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

But it's a debate the government refused to be drawn into.

“They're talking about equipping private guards with automatic weapons, that's a central subject and has to go to the Centre,” said DG and IGP, R Srikumar.

We've seen bomb blasts before but the audacity of the terror attack on Mumbai has got the industry in Bangalore sitting up.

Most companies have decided that they will do whatever it takes to review and reboot their security internally, over the next week. But whether the law helps them or not is another question.

Tracing the history of the Gun / weapon Deprivation

2009-07-17T00:44:00.000-07:00

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." -- Mahatma Gandhi (An Autobiography OR The story of my experiments with truth, by M.K. Gandhi, p.238)
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." -- The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times) speaking at the "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at a classmate
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty." -- Adolf Hitler (H.R. Trevor-Roper, Hitler's Table Talks 1941-1944)

The Indian Mind / psyche has been vaccum for the Weapons.

The proof lies in the History of the gunners of various kings emperors and leaders being outsourced from either Turkey / European nations.

EXAMPLES:

NIZAM
Raymond and perron (french officers)

Aurangzeb
European gunners

RAJPUT

Manucci (an Italian, then in Mirza Raja's service as chief gunner, and the author of Storia Do Mogor)

MARATHA
French Gunners

Mysore

Tipu Sultan had better artillery than the English (and imported instructors/gunners; yes, European!)

the roots of India's anti-gun legislation

After the 1857 upraising the british were busy putting in place measures to ensure that the events of 1857 were never repeated. Lord Lytton as Viceroy (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878)
Aftre 12 years of Indian independence the Arms Act, 1959 was enacted and later supplemented by the Arms Rules, 1962.
In the mid to late 1980s, the Government, citing domestic insurgency as the reason, put a complete stop to all small arms imports.
Indian Arms Act 1959 (on the same lines "distrust for the armed citizenry)
Indian Arms Rules 1962 (on the same lines "distrust for the armed citizenry)

Shivaji Exhibition FACT INDIA

Shivaji was right in thinking that only by arms would his people be able to secure their rights which were far superior to those of the foreign intolerant Muslim rulers – Mughal, Nizam Shahi or Qutb Shahi. Shivaji thus changed the psychology of the masses, assisted by the awakening created by the saints of Maharashtra, and filled them with fresh confidence to fight the Muslim rulers and wipe off their rule. His words, matched by action, transformed the Marathas into a nation before which he eloquently placed "the higher ideal of Swarajya, and political emancipation from the chains of grinding slavery that held down his country for centuries together".

Firearms of the Islamic world in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait
By Robert Elgood

During his Invasion of India in 1739 the iranian Nadir shah expressed amazement that Indian Princes and generals should still place themselves on elephants in a battle a clear target for everyone with a gun.

Since one cannot suppose that the Indian Aristocracy failed to acknowledge the increasing accuracy and power of Firepower one is left with NOBELESSE OBLIGE as the only explanation.

Visions of Mughal India
By Michael Herbert Fisher
Perhaps partly because of Inquisition, a surprisingly large no. of portuguesse made a decission to emigrate from portuguesse territory and seek fortunes at the indian Courts such as vijayanagara as gunners, cavalarymen and menrcineries.

In 1498 on his famous voyage to india Vasco da gama found that there were already Italian mercineries in the employ of various maharajas on the malabar coast. And before he returned his Prow homewards two of his own crewmen had left him to join the Italians n the service of the local maharajah for higher wages. 60 yrs later by 1565 according to portuguesse chronicler Joan de Barros there were atleast 2,000 portuguesse fighting in the armies of different princes.

An ode to the gunners

2009-07-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

This piece of article is from the Indian Express and shows the importance of the gunners in the Armies the oldest piece of the armed forces.

Gopal K. Piplani

Published : Sep 28, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST

The largest and most elite Indian Army regiment — the Regiment of Artillery — celebrates its 179th raising day tomorrow. It was on September 28, 1827, that it was Indianised with the raising of the 5 Bombay Mountain Battery. This unit has an unbroken record of service since then and presently forms a part of the 57 Field Regiment. It has the glory of being conferred with 11 honour titles to date. Other units of that vintage include the 1 Kohat, 2 Derajat and 4 Hazara Mountain Batteries.
Babur is credited with being the first to use artillery in India, in the first Battle of Panipat (1526). Then, artillery was used in wars throughout the Mughal period and later during the reign of the Marathas under Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the East India Company.
‘Gunners’ are a breed of professional warriors. The Regiment of Artillery has a history of dauntless grit and selfless sacrifice. Its valour during the military operations of 1948, 1962, 1965 and 1971 is much celebrated. Names like Dinshaw Mistri at Naushera (J&K, 1948); 2/Lt Goswami and his TA Gurdip Singh VrC, of 13 field Regiment, at Chushul (Ladakh, 1962); Major S.K. Mathur at Kanjarkot (Kutch, 1965) and Brigadier Tom Pandey (Bangladesh, ’71), are still remembered. They were all awarded the Maha Vir Chakras for their gallantry and devotion to duty.
Talking about the gunner fraternity, the French go ga-ga about their gunner — General Napoleon — even today. The British still adore their master gunners, Lord Alanbrooke and Air Defence C-in-C, General Sir Freddie Pile, of 1939-45 vintage. The Indian gunners, too, hold their institutions and legends in high regard. And why not, seeing that it was this regiment that has given the nation four army chiefs?
The other half of this revered institution is The School of Artillery, Deolali. It is the Malgudi of gunners. Located along with it is the Artillery Training Centre and its welfare wing, the Artillery Association, at Nasik Road Camp. There is another training centre at Hyderabad. Together they have become the temples of learning, training, bonding and caring.
The gunner’s motto — ‘Sarvatra: Izzat-O-Iqbal’ (everywhere with honour and glory) — is a reflection of their professional ethos and values. Their colours are their guns. In its 178th year, this formidable part of the Indian Army is alive and ticking.
September 28 will be marked by prayers, mess parties and barakhanas where all ranks join in. The gunners will pay their respect to their colours and heroes — both living and dead. It will also be a time for them to rededicate themselves to the high traditions and professional values of their distinguished forbears.
The writer is a member of the Academic Council of Bangalore University

Antique pistol found in locker

2009-07-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Source: TOI
13 Oct 2006, 0231 hrs IST, TNN

MUMBAI: The British may have left us six decades ago but fascinating traces of empire continue to pop up in unexpected places. On Tuesday, when
an unclaimed locker at the State Bank of India’s head office at Fort was finally opened, the authorities found a gun and a small pile of ammo: an automatic Mauser pistol and five magazines with 261 cartridges.

The locker, registered in the name of Lt A B Greenwood, also had a copy of The Times of India dated September 14, 1923.

Brijesh Singh, deputy commissioner of police (zone-I), said on Wednesday that the bank came across the little haul when it was checking on its unclaimed lockers. On January 27 this year, two carbines and 12 grenades, believed to have been stashed away by Khalistani terrorists, were found in a locker at the SBI’s Bandra branch. The SBI was earlier known as the Imperial Bank. The police believe that the Mauser pistol and the cartridges were placed in safe-keeping before Independence. Seven big cartridges, inscribed with ‘K-10 VIII’, a rod to clean the barrel, a wooden box, some documents and a holster were also in the locker. The Times of India copy has a prominent advertisement from Richardson & Cruddas, the 1858 engineering firm whose nameplate still dominates the factory shed at Byculla. It was nationalised in 1972.

After the general manager of the bank, Tarachand Walve, informed the MRA Marg police about the find, a team of policemen arrived on Tuesday morning to take possession of the goods.

From the documents available DCP Brijesh Singh provided additional details: ‘‘There was a letter from the deputy post master general to Greenwood acknowledging receipt of the two packets found in the locker. There was also a piece of paper which stated that the automatic pistol had been custom made for a Rajah (whose name is not mentioned) and that it cost Rs 300.

"The cartridges cost Rs 200, according to another receipt. The receipt also mentioned that the pistol was a present given to Greenwood," Singh added.

Unfortunately, there are no personal papers to give us a lead to learning more about Greenwood’s identity or his address. But given that the weapon has lain peacefully in the locker for 83 years, the police have ruled out a possible conspiracy. The ISI has not been blamed.

Guns of Indian Mutinee: First war of Independence

2009-04-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

by Garry James
From Dixie Gun Works Blackpowder Annual

Source: Royal engineers canada

After considerable testing, they settled on an arm of the French Minie system. This practicle muzzle-loader employed a hollow-based sub-caliber conical bullet that a soldier could ram down the barrel easily, which, when the gun was fired, would be expanded into the rifling by the force of the explosion.

The first British issue Mini rifle was the .702 caliber Pattern of 1851. Externally it resembled the older smoothbores, with the exception that it mounted a sophisticated graduated rear sight rather than the customary non-adjustable notch. This arm was issued to selected troops in the Crimea, where it received almost instant acclaim.

Swiss smallbore experiments convinced the Select Arms Committee that a reduction in caliber would provide greater range, better accuracy and an advantage in logistics. Exhaustive research and redesigning resulted in one of the finest arms of the age, the .577 caliber Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket. The gun was sleeker and lighter than its forebearers and, for the first time in an English military arm, had a barrell that was secured to the stock by bands rather than pins or wedges. With its brass furniture, browned barrell, case-hardened lock and oiled walnut stock, it was indeed a handsome piece.

Though tests showed that ranges of 900 yards were not excessive for the riflr, it was agreed that the P-53 Enfield did its best work at distances between 50 and 300 yards.

The cartridges for the P-53 consisted of a heavy paper tube containing 2 1/2 drams (68 grains) of musket powder and a 530-grain, pure lead "Pritchett" type bullet which had a boxwood plug in its hollow base to improve expansion. As the bullet incorporated no annular grease rings like the French and American Minies, it was wrapped with a strip of greased paper to facilitate loading. Then cartridge itself was covered with a thin mixture of beeswax and mutton tallow for waterproofing.

To load his rifle, the soldier first bit off the rear of the cartridge and poured the powder down the barrel. He then inverted the tube (the projectile was palced in the cartridge base up), pushed the end portion into the muzzle to the approximate depth of the bullet and tore off the remaining paper. The bullet could then be easily rammed on top of the charge.

P-53 Enfields saw limited used during the Crimean War, and their marked superiority over the older muskets, and even the P-51s, caused them to be in great demand. The War Department and East India Company set about equipping all their troops with versions of the P-53 rifle musket, and by early 1857 the arm was being carried in India by the regular British regiments hired out to the Company, as well as many sepoys (native troops).

At first the rifles were well received by the sepoys, but sooner a rumor was spread that the cartridges were greased with pig's or cow's fat. The former was regarded by the Muslims as unclean, and the latter by the Hindus as sacred. To the native troops this was just another plot by the Feringhees to force them to renounce their traditional religions.

Fears and rejection of the cartridge began to spread. Officers noticing the unrest amongst the sepoys suggested that the drills be revised to allow the men to tear off the base of the cartridge with their fingers, or to allow the troops to grease their own cartridges. These reasonable suggestions, however, had come too late.

During a parade on February 27, 1857, the sepoys of the 19th Native Infantry refused to accept their issue of cartridges. Their commander, Colonel Mitchell, rushed to the parade ground and threatened to ship the troops to Burma. The soldiers became restive and Colonel Mitchell backed down, fearing an open revolt. He allowed the men to retain their arms and return to duty while he decided what to do. On March 23 the 19th Infantry was marched some 90 miles to the south to Barrackpore where it was ignominiously disbanded.

Three days later another incident occured which brought the situation rapidly to a head. A Sepoy named Mangal Pande had run amok during a parade and cut down two British officers. He harangued the troops to join him and kill all the British, while surprised officers looked on aghast. The commander at Barrackpore, General John Hearsey, rushed to the scene and was warned by one of the officers, "Have a care--his musket is loaded!" Hearsey continued undaunted. "Damn his musket, " he replied. "If I fall, rush in and put him to death somehow."
The frightened sepoy turned the rifle on himself, but only sustained a minor wound. He was captured, tried and hanged, but his name became a rallying cry for the mutineers, and "Pandy" a term of contempt the British heaped on all native troops.

The Europeans soldiers were out-numbered some eight to one by the Indians, and it was decided that as many Crown troops as possible be swiftly brought to India--a decision that merely fanned the embers of the rebellion.

Events soon speeded up, and on May 10, in Meerut, 85 sowars (native troopers) of the 3rd Light Cavalry who had refused to take the Enfield cartridges were sentenced to deportation, publicly stripped of their uniforms and medals, and imprisoned. This humiliation and harsh punishment proved to be the final straw and Indian soldiers and civilians rebelled. After releasing the prisoners, they swarmed to the European bungalows where they committed unspeakable depredations.

Sepoys ransacked houses for weapons and valuables, killed the inhabitants, then burned the structures to the ground. Despite numerous warnings the British were caught completely off guard, and by the time they were able to organize a defense. Meerut was in ruins. The sepoys headed toward Delhi some 40 miles away, and when they arrived the old Emperor received them cooly, although they were hailed by other rebels as liberators. The native troops within the city rose and by May 12, Delhi itself had become a hellish scene of carnage. The rebellion had begun in earnest.

According to General G. F. McMunn, in his book The Armies of India, "The mutinous regiments, under command of their native officers, marched to Delhi, to Lucknow, or to Cawnpore, with their British colours flying, wearing British war medals, with their bands playing British airs. The British on the ridge before Delhi could often hear the mutineer bands playing the airs their officers had taught them, before the Emperor's palace. The anomalies of the mutiny were many. In some regiments the officers were murdered with every possible atrocity. In others great pains were taken to conduct them within reach of a place of safety. One day the bulk of the regiment or the older native officers, with tears in their eyes, would protest their loyalty to their colonel and comrade of fifty years. The next morning he and his officers would be dead in the rising sun."

Military arms found in India during the time of the Mutiny were of two basic types: regular British service patterns carried by Crown troops, and weapons ordered from contractors by the East India Company to equip its own Army.
For the most part, the arms used by the East India Company kept pace with those used by the Regular Army. This had two distinct advantages. First, the Company was able to take advantage of the research and design work done by the Board of Ordnance, and secondly it was able to place orders with the very same contractors who were furnishing arms to Her Majesty's forces.

Generally, Company guns were of the same style as those of the British Government. Often, however, subtle differences, such as a slightly modified trigger guard or ramrod would be encountered. The lock markings were quite different: Government locks would be engraved (later stamped) with a crown surmounting the initials "GR" Georgius Rex for King George III) or "VR" (Victoria Regina for Queen Victoria), the date of manufacture, and the name of the contractor or the word "TOWER" for Tower of London Armouries where the gun would have been assembled. The P-53s that were made at the Royal Small Arms Factory bore the name "ENFIELD". Company lock-plates featured either a quartered heart containing the letters "VEIC" (United East India Company), a rampant lion holding a crown, or simply the contractor's name.

Too, many richer Indian princes had their own private armies, whose arsenals were stocked with everything from the latest British and European military weapons to fine sporting arms, surplus East India Company flintlock muskets, and rifles and domestic matchlocks.

The Crown troops for the most part were equiped with the new Enfields, as were a goodly number of mutineers. Once the rebellion had begun, the sepoys seemed to forget their objections to the "accursed cartridge" and gleefully turned them on their former masters.

While undoubtedly the most common model of the P-53 in service was the 39-inch-barreled infantry rifle, two variations--the 33-inch-barreled P-56 Short Rifle and 30-ich-barreled Artillery Carbine--were also available in some quantity. In fact, all the men of the 60th Rifle Regiment, who were stationed at Meerut at the time of the uprising, were armed with Short Rifles.

The main differences among the three arms, besides barrel length, were the rear sights and bayonets. While the infantry rifle took a standard triangular bayonet, the Short Rifle and Artillery Carbine were both fitted with a long, leather-handled, wavy-bladed "yataghan" style sword bayonet designed to offset the guns' reduced lengths.

Many Company troops still carried the older .753-caliber Pattern 1842 percussion smoothbores, and arsenals were well stocked with India Pattern and New Land Pattern Brown Bess Flintlocks. Aside from their ignition systems these three arms resembled each other quite a bit. They all featured more or less ornate brass furniture, full-length walnut stocks, and pinned barrels.

The .75-caliber India Pattern Bess had been introduced in the late 18th century. It was simplified and streamlined in 1802 and rechristened the "New Land Pattern." When the decision was made in the early 1830s to switch to percussion ignition, the New Land models were at first converted to that system, and then, following a disastrous fire in the Tower of London where a great many of these muskets were destroyed, work was started on the manufacture of the P-42.

This last general-issue smoothbore musket was similar to its flintlock ancestors, although it incorporated simplified brasswork and a new-model bayonet catch located at the forend cap. Earlier Brown Bess bayonets simply slipped over a stud at the muzzle and, with the exception of some East India Company models, they employed no catch or retaining spring.

Two other percussion smoothbores that found favor in India were the .753-caliber Sappers and Miners Carbine and Artillery Carbine. They both looked a great deal like the P-42 Musket and, in fact, used the same locks and furniture. Their barrels. however measured only 30 inches, and this extra bit of handiness caused them to be quite popular with the sepoys. The Sappers and Miners Carbine, which was originally intended for issue only to company pioneers, was fitted for a long straight sword bayonet (early ones were saw-toothed) with a socket similar to that found on the P-42 musket bayonet. The artillery carbine mounted the standard triangular blade.

The 26-inch-barreled .733-caliber "Victoria" cavalry carbine, while never particularly popular with the regulars because of its excessive recoil, was also used on both sides during the Mutiny. It resembled its infantry cousins, but incorporated a "Paget" swivel ramrod that made the arm easier for the trooper to load on horseback.

While none of these smoothbores had the long-range accuracy of the modern P-53s, they were deadly at 50 yards, could be loaded fairly rapidly and, like all British military arms, were well made and serviceable.

Prior to the decision to equip all troops with rifles, the British Army and East India Company formed special rifle units which were at first armed with flintlock Baker rifles, and later with percussion Brunswicks.

The Baker had first come into service during the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars and had served with distinction on the Peninsula Campaign and in America. It was later issued worldwide, and continued in regular service for almost 40 years. The design of this sturdy weapon hearkened back to its Germanic Jager forebears. Its .625 barrel was rifled with seven grooves, and featured a bar at the muzzle to which a brass-hilted, 17-inch-bladed sword bayonet could be affixed. The Baker had all-brass furniture, including a buttbox on the right side of the stock where a soldier could carry tools or spare patches. It was loaded with loose powder and a patched ball in the manner of the American and German arms it emulated, although the soldiers were issued paper cartridges so the rifle could be fired rapildy with "running ball," should the need arise.

In 1837 the Baker rifle was replaced with the Brunswick. While this percussions cap rifle resembled its flintlock ancestor externally, the rifling system was totally different. The brunswick employed a.704 belted ball which fit mechanically into two deep spiral grooves in the barrel.

Brunswick bullets were issued to the troops sewn into greased calico patches. Powder was contained in separate packets. Like the Baker, musket type cartridges were given to the soldiers for emergency use. The Brunswick took a wide-bladed sword bayonet, somewhat similar to that of the Baker.

Both Bakers and Brunswicks were on hand in some numbers during the mutiny, though it is likely they saw more use with the sepoys than with the English. The Bakers were old and in questionable condition, and because of their heavy recoil and indifferent accuracy, the Brunswicks had never been particularly popular with British riflemen.

European civilians rapidly joined existing Crown or Company regiments and some formed their own irregular cavalry or infantry units. A good number of these clerks-turned-warrior carried high-quality sporting rifles or shotguns brought from home, although when available, they would opt for military muskets or carbines.

Mutineers were known to brandish matchlocks, but they too preferred the modern percussion arms. Many Indian princes (and at least one princess--the Rani of Jhansi) even rode to battle wearing traditional gold- and silver-ornamented Indo-Persian helmets, breastplates and chain mail.

Handguns were widely used during the Mutiny, and we find many references to them in British dispatches, letters, and reminiscences.

Colt revolvers were well known to the British. In 1851 Samuel Colt had exhibited his wares at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, and had made repeated attempts to interest the Board of Ordnance in adopting them for the military.

Large .44 caliber 1st, 2nd and 3rd Model Dragoons, as well as the widely popular .36 caliber 1851 Navy revolver, were imported into England and were eagerly snapped up by officers and civilians headed for the Crimea, Africa, India and any number of other colonial outposts throughout the world. The initial acceptance was so good that Colt was promoted to open a London factory in 1853.

The Colt's main rival in England was the self-cocking (double-action) five-shooter of Robert Adams. Adams too had exibited his Deane, Adams and Deane revolver at the Crystal Palace and, like Colt, was an aggressive entrepreneur who was anxious to secure lucrative government contracts.

Trials by a select small-arms committee showed that the singel-action Colt navy had greater long-range accuracy than the Adams, but that the Adams was more powerful (both .442 and .50-caliber versions were available), and that it could be discharged much more rapidly than the Colt--two features that were favored by British officers. The Adams'main drawback was that it could not be fired single action.

In 1855, however, Adams incorporated the improvement of F. B. E. Beaumont, which enabled the gun to be thumb-cocked. This sounded the death knell for the Colt Navy, as reports of its lack of power began to filter back from the Crimea and, later, India.

A typical damning report of the '51 Colt's lack of stopping power against the sepoys was related, second hand, by Lieutenant Colonel G. V. Fosbery.

"An officer, who especially prided himself in his pistol-shooting, was attacked by a stalwart mutineer armed with a heavy sword. The officer, unfortunately for himself, carried a Colt's Navy pistol of small caliber and fired a sharp-pointed bullet of sixty to the pound and a heavy charge of powder, its range being 600 yards, as I have frequently proved. This he proceeded to empty into the sepoy as soon as he advanced, but, having done so, he waited just one second too long to see the effect of his shooting, and was cloven to the teeth by his antagonist, who then dropped down and died beside him. My informant, who witnessed the affair, told me that five out of the six bullets had struck the sepoy close together in the chest, and all had passed through him and out of the back."

The Board of Ordnance did favor Colt with some orders for the Royak Navy, but they eventually chose the Beaumont-Adams for general adoption by the Army. This decision, coupled with the public's flagging enthusiasm for his wares, caused Colt to close the London factory after only 4 years of operation. Even though the Colt Dragoon revolvers were every bit as powerful as the Adams, their finish was not as good, and they were half again as large. For want of other arms, Dragoons and Navies were used in the Mutiny, though officers discarded them for more "modern" weapons as soon as they had the chance. Because of this, Deane, Adams and Deane .442 and .50-caliber revolvers and Beaumont Adams .442s seem to have been the most favored, if not most widely used, handguns during the Mutiny.

Other handguns used during the rebellion included a potpourri of English pepperboxes, transition revolvers, double-barreled greatcoat and holster pistols, and

military horse pistols. In the latter category, two particular arms saw some action in India--the Pattern 1842 Lancer's Pistol and the East India Company pistol.

The single-shot P-42 Lancer's Pistol was, as its name implied, adopted as a sidearm for lancers who did not carry carbines, and for cavalry troop sergeants. It was little more than a scaled-down version of the P-42 musket, and its poor balance and awkward hold, abetted by a 9-inch .75- caliber barrel, caused it to be "lost" by the men at earliest opportunity. It featured the usual P-42 brass furniture and a Paget swivel ramrod.

The East India Company Pistol, while maintaining the same general dimensions, caliber and ramrod as its Regular Army cohort, was somewhat better designed. It's grip was not as severe as the P-42's and the brass furniture was much hardier. Also, a lanyard ring was attached to the butt.

Crown troops were eventually sent to Dehli and finally laid siege to the sity--a siege that would provide severe hardships for both the Europeans and the mutineers. Rations became short, and disease broke out. Ammunition became so low that the British would pay natives to retrieve cannon balls after they had been fired. Finally, on September 14, 1857, Dehli was stormed by a mixed force under Brigadier General John Nicholson, and the city was reoccupied.

Other part of India, notably Cawnpore and Lucknow, both about 250 miles south of Dehli, were the scenes of fierce fighting and horrible carnage. However, by mid April, 1859, English forces had the situation pretty much under control.

The British repaid the sepoy's cruelty in kind, and in retribution committed some of the worst rapacity of the conflict. Captured mutineers were shot or hung out of had. One favorite method of execution involved tying a prisoner over the muzzle of a cannon then firing the piece [a method of execution learned from the Indians]. The results were vividly described by an eye witness at Lucknow.

"It was a horrid sight that met the eye; a regular shower of human fragments--of heads, arms and legs--appeared in the air whirling through the smoke; and when that cleared away, those fragments lying on the ground--fragments of Hindoos and of Mussulmans mixed together--were all that remained of those ten mutineers . . .

Perfect callouseness was depicted on every European face; a look of grim satisfaction could even be seen in the countenances of the gunners serving the guns. But far different was the effect on the native portion of the spectators. Their black faces grew ghastly pale, as they gazed breathlessly at the awful spectacle. You must know that this is nearly the only form in which death has any terror for a native. If he is hanged or shot, he knows that his friends or relatives will be allowed to claim his body, and will give him the funeral rites required by his religion; if a Hindoo, that his body will be burned with all due ceremonies; and if a Mussulman, that his remains will be decently interred, as directed in the Koran. But if sentenced to death in this form, he knows that his body will be blown into a thousand pieces, and that it will be altogether impossible for his relatives, however devoted to him, to be sure of picking up all the fragments of his own particular body; and the thought that perhaps a limb of some one of a different religion to himself might possibly be burned or buried with the remainder of his body is agony to him."

Fears brought about by the Mutiny caused the British Government to transfer control of the country from the East India Company to the Crown.

The Company's white troops were disbanded, and in the future the only European soldiers to serve in India would be those of the Regular Army. It was decided that the proportion of native to British troops would never be more than two to one, and that Indians would not be allowed to man artillery.

The Government also decreed that small arms given to natives would be of lesser quality than those used by Crown regiments. Muskets and carbines externally resembling the P-53 series, but smoothbore, were included in early issue.

In 1876 Queen Victoria assumed the title of Empress of India. However, the hate and mistrust engendered by the Mutiny would eventually cause the brightest stone in the Crown Imperial to fade in the eyes of both the Indians and the victorious British.

Guns for pleasure, anyone? Aabhas Sharma

2009-04-24T02:12:00.000-07:00

February 24, 2007
Source: Rediff.com

On a recent visit to Munger, a small town in Bihar, my cabbie, speaking in a thick Bihari accent, decided to play guide, "Munger has one of the biggest gun factories in India, and guns are easily available here," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

But forget Munger, what about the rest of the country? If one has to buy a licensed firearm, what are the choices and what are the prices? While a majority of arms dealers are tightlipped about the subject, there are a few who are more willing to divulge information.

Shyam Sodhi, owner of Delhi Arms and Armoury, feels, "It is a floundering business which has suffered a lot in the last 10 years or so."

Sixty-year-old Sodhi, who has been running his shop since 1966, admits that there are months when he doesn't sell a single weapon and other times when he sells four-five of them. "The most popular weapons these days are revolvers and shotguns."

But since import of weapons was stopped almost two decades back, the guns in his shops keep doing the rounds. "We have old guns and sometimes people even leave weapons with us, after the owner has died, for safe custody," he says.

Sodhi's shop houses everything from the weapon world including revolvers like Beretta, Walther and Smith, Browning (these are imported), to rifles and shot guns. The business, however, faces a massive lull.

Shabbir Bandookwala, proprietor of India Arms in Mumbai's Crawford Market, feels that most people who buy guns these days, buy them for reasons of security.

He bemoans the strict rules and regulations that govern the procurement of weapons. "There was a time when we used to have frequent visitors looking for hunting rifles, but these days we only manage to sell shotguns and revolvers." The import of guns, he informs, was prohibited by the Indian government almost two decades back, in 1986.

But still, these imported weapons cost quite a bit so although people are left with a choice of only old weapons, the supply is scarce. An imported Beretta .32 revolver, for instance, will cost around Rs 300,000 and a Browning .32 would be Rs 280,000.

On the other hand, the ones available from the Indian Ordinance Factory will come for Rs 70,000 or so.

Similarly, a pump action shot gun would cost Rs 30,000 from the IOF and if you want an imported one, then it would cost Rs 200,000. A .315 rifle from the IOF will cost around Rs 40,000 while an imported one can be yours to shoot at around Rs 250,000.

Among imported revolvers and pistols, Smith and Wesson, Walthers and Brownings are still the preferred choice for most. Apart from revolvers, there are pistols available too, but most people don't usually opt for them. A .22 Beretta pistol, which Sodhi terms a "ladies' weapon", costs around Rs 150,000.

It is not only in big cities like Delhi or Mumbai where dealers are finding it tough to sustain business. Smaller cities like Bhopal, which was once considered a hunting ground for licenced firearms, has seen business dwindle steadily over the years.

"The nawabs and those from royal families who required guns for hunting purposes would purchase their guns here. But now we don't manage to sell guns for months together," says a licensed arms dealer in Bhopal.

For the record, it's the same story in towns like Kanpur and Meerut, once considered favourite spots for buying arms and ammunition.

The only way gun shop dealers can now deal in imported weapons is to wait for professional shooters to sell their guns. That makes sense because renowned shooters are still permitted to import guns and ammunition from abroad. Sodhi says that one of the biggest global markets in this sphere is Italy.

It is not guns alone, because getting ammo is as difficult a task. The cartridges are available at IOF but that, say experts, can prove an arduous task. A bullet for a pump action shot gun costs around Rs 40.

But where is the market for arms and ammunition, given that hunting is banned?

Experts say that guns, rifles and shotguns are usually procured by banks and security agencies for their professional duties.

And even as Indian guns of reasonable quality are being manufactured in places like Munger, Jammu, Kanrut district in Assam, Kolkata, Kanpur, and Jabalpur, it is imported firearms that people still desire. So who says a gun can't be for keeps?

Getting a licence

Getting a gun licence is a big task. In Delhi, an application for a license has to be submitted to the DCP/Licencing with the required forms, photographs, other relevant documents and the approval of the local SHO.

The SHO or the local police station has to give the person a clean chit after checking (in negative) for any criminal history.

After that there is a verification process and if one gets through that then a licence can be issued to the person.

Matchlock Elephant Gun, India,

2009-04-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

Source: Live Auctioners

Matchlock Elephant Gun, India, ca. 1800s,
65" barrel with 7/8" bore 85.5" overall length, one brass band, five areas of copper and brass wire binding barrel to wooden stock, JPR EXP 214709 stamped on barrel at breech, includes ramrod, three clusters of decorative brass studsalong right side. - Pitting on rear of barrel, age cracks to stock, finish scraped off 1' of wood near muzzle.

1885 Bolan Pass Gun India Quetta British Military

2009-04-24T01:39:00.000-07:00

Source: old-print.com

Old Antique Historical Victorian Prints Maps and Historic Fine Art ----------.
1885 Bolan Pass Gun India Quetta British Military Print One Page From The Illustrated London News C1850-1899, The Actual Date Is In The Title Or On The Page Itself.

How to get a weapon ?

2009-04-24T01:24:00.000-07:00

Source: India Today

The applicant has to approach a police commissioner’s office or the district magistrate, fill a standard form stating he/she needs a weapon for self-protection or sport. He has to prove the need for self-protection by producing a written police complaint or prove a history of threats.
However, the unwritten rule is that only those with the right connections can actually get a licence—a Member of Parliament, for instance, can recommend a gun licence.
The police, however, must be convinced that the applicant has a genuine need for the weapon and that he/she has no criminal record.
Once the licence is issued, the applicant can buy the weapon directly from ordnance factories, another licence holder, authorised gun dealers or import the weapon.

Delhi alone has 40,000 licenced weapons. According to reports, 8,801 cases relating to the Arms Act were registered in Delhi in last two years. Little wonder then that in 2007 alone, 35 people were shot dead by firearms in the Capital. Says a senior Delhi police officer, “In Delhi, the number of licenced weapons is 40,000 but the number of illegal firearms is double.
Licenced weapons are mostly used in cases of suicide or domestic violence.” The situation in Mumbai is no different. While records show that only 71 licences were issued in 2006 and only 90 have been handed out till now this year, the ground reality is quite different. people have easy access to country-made revolvers that enter the state from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other northern states. Country-made guns have almost become a cottage industry in several parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Cities like Hyderabad and Chennai have not remained untouched by this culture of violence. Gunshots rang through the campus of Deccan College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, in April this year when Umedullah Khan, a second-year engineering student opened fire on Mukarram Ali Siddiqui, a rival student leader.
In October last year, Chennai was shaken by the murder of a Marwari businessman Menak Chand, who was allegedly shot dead with a 9mm Chinese pistol by his wife Pramila Devi.

Shoot out

November 27, 2007
City: Mumbai
Crime:The jilted lover of a 23-year-old model Moushami Das arrived at her apartment and shot dead her mother and uncle and then ended his own life.
October 29, 2007
City: Mumbai
Crime: Sibling rivalry ended in bloodshed when hotelier Lalit D’Souza shot and wounded his sister Lorna over a parking spot dispute.
October 29, 2007
City: Delhi
Crime: Delhi-based builder Sulekh Malik’s son Varun was allegedly shot dead in the posh Vasant Kunj market area by his friend Moti, who later surrendered in the city court.
September 2007
City: Mumbai
Crime: Hotel owner Mohan Shetty reportedly shot at his younger brother Manohar at their advocate’s office over a long festering property dispute.
April 2007
City: Hyderabad
Crime: In a shootout on the campus of Deccan College of Engineering and Technology, Umedullah Khan opened fire on fellow student Mukarram Ali Siddiqui.
October 23, 2006
City: Chennai
Crime: Marwari businessman Menak Chand was allegedly shot dead with a 9mm Chinese pistol by his wife Pramila Devi.

‘Control of firearms needs to be a matter of top priority’

2009-04-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

Source: The Hindu

Staff Reporter

Book on “India and Arms Trade Treaty” released

NEW DELHI: India’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, Arundhati Ghose, on Friday said control of firearms needs to be a matter of top priority for our country.

Speaking after releasing a book titled “India and Arms Trade Treaty: Making Disarmament Meaningful to People’s Lives” edited by Control Arms Foundation of India secretary-general Binalakshmi Nepram, Ms. Ghose said: “When Binalakshmi asked me to release the book, I was reluctant. But she blackmailed me into releasing it. I will like to explain my reservation. Control of firearms needs to be a matter of top priority in our country. We are not only facing the brunt of terrorism but also disputes being resolve through guns.”

Pointing out that the Arms Trade Treaty was not exactly greeted with joy in our country, Ms. Ghose said: “India remains neutral, but I have major objections based on my experiences on how the UN bodies function. Generally, the Arms Trade Treaty diverts attention of trade in small weapons. There is confusion between illicit trade and licit trade. Confusion is also there between conventional arms and small arms. The problem is with small arms and light weapons. The book creates awareness about the need to control small arms.”

Ms. Nepram said: “In 2002 my first book was also released at India Habitat Centre. A day before the release I was close to tears as I knew that ideas that were known only to me would be read by thousands of people…. We need to know why 12 Indians are shot every day. We are facing problems of ethnicity and landless people. There are problems in naxal areas and Jammu and Kashmir.”

The book has contributions from eminent scholars like Anuradha Chenoy, Air Commodore (Retd) Prashant Dikshit, Ashima Kaul, Clare Da Silva and Thokchom Meinya.

Matchlock gun, India, c1800 - 1850.

2009-04-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

Source: Tepapa.gov.nz

Pistols manufactured by Indian Communists

2009-04-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

Pistols manufactured by Indian Communists

Source The fire Arm Blog (Do readthe comments on the firearm blog, Interesting)

TFB reader Mehul emailed me some photos that his friend, a law enforcement officer, took of confiscated homemade pistols manufactured by Naxalite (communist) rebels in North East India.

Mehul said that when he was in India some years ago their backyard guns were very primitive. Automobile exhaust tubes were being used as barrels for crude muzzle loading blackpowder firearms. They appear to have improved their gun making skills since then.

Mauser 96: The weapon used by Indian Revolutionaries

2009-03-17T03:48:00.000-07:00

Source: Mauser 1890

The C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was manufactured from 1896 to 1936 in Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Sw.... It was one of the first semi-automatic pistols to see widespread use.
The main characteristics that distinguish the C96 are the integral box magazine in front of the trigger, the long barrel, the wooden shoulder stock which can double as a holster or carrying case, and a grip shaped like the end of a broom's handle (which earned it the nickname "Broomhandle" in the English-speaking world). The Mauser C96 can be considered one of the first personal defense weapons (PDW). A personal defense weapon is a compact firearm, smaller than a full-size submachine gun, but more powerful and flexible than a normal pistol....s), as its long barrel and powerful cartridge gave it superior range and better penetration capabilities than most other standard pistols.

Imported and domestic copies of the C96 were used extensively by the Chinese in the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a major war fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, both before and during World War II....
and the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil War
The 'Chinese Civil War' was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China ....
. It was nicknamed the "box cannon" because it was holstered in a wooden box as well as for its unique external magazine. Some domestic copies even displayed serial numbers of original Mauser-manufactured pistols.

The C96 was used by Indian revolutionaries during the Indian independence movementIndian independence movement

The Indian Independence Movement consisted of efforts by Indians to obtain political independence from British Raj, French India and Portuguese India rule; it involved a wide spectrum of Indian political organizations, philosophies, and rebelli.... Leaders like Bhagat Singh was an India revolutionary, considered to be one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle...., Chandrasekhar Azad was an Indian revolutionary and the mentor of Bhagat Singh. Chandrasekhar Azad is considered one of the most famous Indian revolutionaries, along with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Ram Prasad Bismil, and Asfhaqulah Khan, Sukhdev Thapar and others used Mausers smuggled from China.

The C96 Mauser had been favoured by the Jewish armed guards in the Ottoman PalestinePalestine
Palestine is one of several names for the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River with various adjoining lands....
and the paramilitaries of HaganahHaganah
The Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the Palestine from 1920 to 1948. It was the main precursor for Israel's army: the Israel Defense Forces ....
in the British Mandate of Palestine. Most of the pistols had been bought by either private buyers or agents of the Jewish settlement movement in Europe and sent to Palestine. Despite the pistols' worldwide popularity and fame, the only nation to use the C96 as the primary service pistolService pistol
A Service Pistol is any handgun issued to military personnel....
of its military and police was China. Today the Broomhandle MauserMauser
Mauser is the common name of a Germany arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present....
is a popular collector's gun; many have come on to the civilian market after being exported from China.

Firearms identifiers: Inventions n discoveries

2009-03-17T03:32:00.000-07:00

Source: Authorstream
presentation on Men BEhind the Firearms

India: The Home of Gunpowder and Firearms

2009-03-17T03:13:00.000-07:00

Source: Hindu Wisdom

India: The Home of Gunpowder and Firearms â€“ By G R Josyer

(source: Diamonds ; Mechanisms ; Weapons of war ; Yoga sutras - By G.R. Josyer).

In every inquiry which is conducted with the object of proving that a certain invention has been made in any particular country, it is of the utmost importance to show that so far as the necessary constituents of the object invented are concerned, all these could be found in the country credited with such invention.

The ordinary components of gunpowder are saltpeter, sulphur, and charcoal.
1. It is now generally admitted that the nitrum which occurs in the writings of the ancients was not saltpeter, but natron, i.e. sodium carbonate; the latter word is nowhere extant in Greek or Roman literature, though the words nitrum and natron are no doubt in their origin identical.
The word neter occurs twice in the Bible. It is described as an alkali, which was used as soap:

â€œFor though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much sope, yet
thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.â€ (Jerem. Ii. 22); and
â€œAs he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre,
so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.â€ (Proverb xv. 22).

Herodotus mentions nitrium as litron in his description of the embalming of dead bodies as practiced in Egypt. Pliny repeatedly speaks of nitrum, and Galen records that it was burnt to strengthen its qualities. This would have had no effect if applied to saltpeter. There is no doubt that, had the ancients known saltpeter, its oxidizing properties would soon have been discovered by them, which is the most important step towards the invention of gunpowder.
The word natron was introduced into Europe from the East by some European scholars who had been traveling there about the middle of the sixteenth century, and who had thus become acquainted with this salt; and though the word natron was originally used there for denoting saltpeter, its other form nitrum has been since assigned it; however, as we have seen, the nitrum of the ancients is quite different from our nitre, which is saltpeter (potassium nitrate).
Native saltpeter, i.e. saltpeter produced by entirely natural processes is very scarce, so much so that the inventor of nickel, Freiherr Axel friedrich von Cronstedt (1722-65) was unacquainted with it. It is found especially in India, Egypt, and in some parts of America. Since the introduction of gunpowder in European warfare saltpeter has been manufactured wherever native saltpeter could not be obtained from the difference on walls (sal murale) and other sources; this exudation, together with all the other artificial modes of producing saltpeter, became a perquisite of the sovereign, and this saltpeter regale grew in time into as obnoxious a burden to the people as the hunting regale. The saltpeter regale is first mentioned as having been exercised in 1419 by Gunther, Archbishop of Magdeburg.

The little knowledge possessed by the ancients of chemical science, their utter ignorance of chemical analysis, accounts for their not improving, or rather for their not being able to improve the materials at their disposal and discovering the natural qualities of the different alkalis in their possession.

Throughout India saltpeter is found, and the Hindus are well acquainted with all its properties; it is even commonly prescribed as medicine. India was famous for the exportation of saltpeter, and is still so. The Dutch, when in India, traded especially in this article.

In Bengal, it is gathered in large masses wherever it efforeces on the soil, more particularly after the rainy season. In the â€œSukranitiâ€ saltpeter is called suvarcilavana, well shinning salt.

1. The Dhanvanatri â€“ nighantu describes saltpeter as a tonic, as a sonchal salt; it is also called tilakam (black), krsnalavanam and kalalavanam. It is light, shiny, very hot in digestion, and acid. It is good for indigestion, acute stomach ache, and constipation. It is a common medical prescription.

2. Sulpher, the second ingredient of gunpowder, is also found in India, especially in Scind; it is, and was, largely imported into India from the East. It is well known and received its name from its smell, being called gandha or gandhaka smell, or in this case as it has not a good smell, rather from its stench. Its quality differs with its color, according as it is white, red, yellow, or bluish. Though sulphur is a very important part of gunpowder, gunpowder is in some parts in India even prepared without it. Sulphur was always in great demand in India, and in medicine it is often made use of.

3. Charcoal is the third component of gunpowder. Its constitution varies necessarily with the plants which in the different countries are used in its manufacture. In Prussia the coal of the alder, limetree, poplar, elder, willow, hemp, and hazel is used for powder. The charcoal of willow trees is especially esteemed on account of its excellent qualities. In the Sukraniti the arka (Calatropis gigantean), the snuhi, snuhi or snuh (Euphorbia neriifolia), and the Rasona (Allium saticum) are given as the plants whose charcoal is best fitted for gunpowder.

(a) The arka, gigantic swallow wort, is a common bush growing in great
quantities all over the country. It has a very good fiber, and is regarded by
the natives as possessing most powerful and useful qualities. If the arka is
used with discretion when iron is being forged, it contributes greatly to the
excellence of the Indian steel. It is applied against epilepsy, paralysis,
dropsy, etc. Its milky juice is smeared on wounds. It is a common sight in India
to see suffering people applying it. The root is also used against syphilis. Its
charcoal is very light and much used for pyrotechnical preparations, and its
qualities in this respect are so well known that every school boy is acquainted
with them and prepares his own powder and mixture from this plant. Its name in
Tamil is erukku, in Malayalam eruka, in Telugu jilledu, in Bengali akund, and
Hindustani mudar or ark.
(b) The snuhi, snuh, (triangular spurge, kalli in
Malayalm pasan kalli in Tamil, bontajammudu in Telugu, narashy, seyard in Hindi
and narsy in Bengali) grows like the arka in waste places all over the Indian
Peninsula. The qualities of this plant for pyrotechnic displays are as well
known as those of the Calatropis gigantean. Dried sticks of this plant are
scarce. It is widely used as a medicinal plant, externally against rheutmatism,
and internally as a purgative; it is given to children against worms.
© The rasona is a kind of garlic; the Marathi equivalent is lasuan. Its botanical name
is Allium sativum.

The prescription for making gunpowder is, according to the Sukraniti, as follows:
Mix 5 parts of saltpeter with 1 part of sulphur and 1 part of charcoal. The charcoal is to be prepared from the arka snuhi, and other similar plants in such a manner that during the process the plants are so covered that the smoke cannot escape. The charcoal thus obtained must be cleaned, reduced to powder, and the powder of the different charcoals is then to be mixed. After this has been done, the juice of the arka, snuhi, and rasona must be poured over the powder which is to be thoroughly mixed with this juice. This mixture is to be exposed and dried in the sun. It is then finally ground like sugar, and the whole mixture thus obtained is gunpowder!
The proportion of saltpeter varies, as some take 4 or 6 parts instead of 5, but the quantities of sulphur and charcoal remain unaltered. These two are the usual recipes. Nevertheless the mixture is often changed when the gunpowder is to be of a particular color or if it has to serve a special purpose. The three principal ingredients are mixed in different proportion, and realgar, orpiment, graphite, vermilion, the powder of magnetic iron oxide, camphor, lac, indigo, and pinegum, are added to the compound according as they are required.

It seems peculiar that gun-powder should not be mentioned in some Sanskrit works, but it is most probable that the very common occurrence of gunpowder interfered with its being regarded as something extraordinary and worth mentioning. The actual mode of preparing the different sorts of gunpowder may, on the other hand, have been kept a secret in certain classes. Explosive powder either used for rejoicings as fireworks for discharging projectiles was known in India from the earliest period, and its preparation was never forgotten.

In an extract taken from the Mujmalut Tawarikh â€“ which was translated in 1126 from the Arabic, into which language it had been translated a century previously from a Sanskrit original â€“ we read:

â€œthat the Brahmins counseled Hal to have an elephant made of clay and to place
it in the van of his army, and that when the army of the king of Kashmir drew
nigh, the elephant exploded, and the flames destroyed a great portion of the
invading force. Here we have not only the simple act of explosion, but something
very much like a fuse, to enable the explosion to occur at a particular time.â€

Vaisampanyana mentions among the things to be used against enemies smoke-balls, which contained most likely gunpowder, and which are according to the explanation proposed by his commentator made of gunpowder.

The following stanza, which is taken from the Rajalakshminarayana-hrdaya, a part of the Atharvanarahasya, is no doubt a clear proof of the fact that the Hindus were familiar with gun powder at a very remote period:

â€œAs the fire prepared by the combination of charcoal, sulphur, and other
material depends upon the skill of its maker so also may thou, O! representative
of knowledge (Lakshmi), by the application of my faith manifest thyself quickly
according to my wishes.â€

The Sanskrit word for gunpowder is agnichurna, firepowder, which is occasionally shortened to churna. The Dravidian languages have all and the same word for medicine and gunpowder; in Tamil marundu, in Telugu mandu, in Kanarese maddu, and in Malayalam, maruna. Occasionally the word gun (tupaki) is prefixed to remove any doubt as to what powder is meant. In Malayalam, the word vedi, which means explosion, is prefixed. The Chinese crackers are called by the Tamilians Sini vedi â€“ Chinese crackers â€“ to distinguish them from the Indian crackers. The word marunda is most probably derived from the Sanskrit past participle mardita, pounded, in the sense of different ingredients being pounded together, as a medicine powder. The meaning of gunpowder is then in a special sense derived from the general expression. The Dravidian equivalent of churna is Sunnambu in Tamil, Sunnamu in Telugu, chalk.

Two kinds of firearms are described in the Sukraniti, one is of small size and the other is of large size. The former is five spans long, has at the breech a perpendicular and horizontal hole, and sights at the breech and muzzle end of the tube. Powder is placed in the vent, near which is a stone, which ignites the powder by being struck. Many dispense with this flint. The breach is ell wooded and a ramrod compresses the powder and ball before the discharge. This small musket is carried by foot-soldier.

A big gun has no wood at its breech; moves on a wedge in order to be directed towards the object to be shot at, and it is drawn on cars.

The distance which the shot travels depends upon the strength of the material from which the gun is made, upon the circumference of the hole, and the gunâ€™s compactness and size. The ball is either of iron or lead or of any other material. Some big balls have smaller ones inside. The gun itself is generally of iron, occasionally also, as we have seen in the Nitiprakasika, of stone. The gun is to be kept clean and must be always covered.

The term used for gun nalika (nalika) is derived from the word nala a reed, a hollow tube, which is another form for its synonyms nada, nadi, or nadi; in the same way nalilka corresponds to nadika. Considering that the guns were in ancient times made out of bamboo, and that some bamboo guns are still used in Burma, the name appears both appropriate and original. That the idea of bamboo being the original material for guns was still in the mind of the author of the Sukraniti seems to be indicated by his calling the outside of the stock of a gun bark (tvak).
In all European Sanskrit dictionaries the word nalika has been rendered as stalk, tube; arrow, dart, etc, but the third significance is not given; though it is one which is known to every learned Pundit. At the outset every body can easily see that the meaning of arrow and of gun can be rightly applied to a reed; the arrow is a reed which is discharged as a missile, and a gun is a reed out of which missiles are shot.

In the sholkas 21 and 24 of our extract of the Sukraniti we read that a king should keep on a big war chariot two large guns, and in sholkas 31, we are further informed that his beautiful iron chariot should be furnished with a couch, a swing, and among other things also with sundry arms and projectile weapons.

This tallies with an account concerning the fortifications of Manipura, as described in J. Talboys Wheelerâ€™s History of India: â€œOn the outside of the city were a number of wagons bound together with chains, and in them were placed fireworks and fire weapons, and men were always stationed there to keep guard.â€ The above mentioned statement appears to rest on good authority, as the Sukraniti declares, that the wall of a fortress â€œis always guarded by sentinels, is provided with guns and other projectile weapons, and has many strong bastions with proper loop-holes and ditches.â€

In the second stavaka of the Bharatacampu composed by Anantabhatta, some three hundred years ago, we find the following simile: â€œThe fierce warrior who killed his enemy with heaps of leaden balls, which emerge quickly from the gun lighted by a wick, is like the rainy season which killed the summer with hailstones which descend quickly from the gun lighted by a wick, is like the rainy season which killed the summer with hailstones which descend quickly from the rows of black clouds lighted by lightning.â€

While the verse just quoted from the Bharatacampu reveals an intimate knowledge of firearms, yet its apparent recentness may be alleged as an objection against its being produced as an authority for the existence of firearms in India at an early period. To obviate such further objections as sloka will now be given from an undoubted early poem, the Naisadha which describes the adventures of Nala and is generally ascribed to one Sriharsa, a Brahman, who must not be confounded with Sriharsa, the King of Karmira. It s date goes back to the twelfth century. i.e., before the introduction of firearms into Europe. The verses in question run as follows: â€œThe two boys of Rati and Manmatha (Cupid) are certainly like her (Damayantiâ€™s) two elevated nostrils.â€ To leave no doubt that guns are meant here, the learned commentator Mallinaatha explains nalika as the Dronicaapa, the projectile weapon from which the Dronicapaastra, a dart or a ball is discharged, an expression, we have already noticed in Vaisampayanaâ€™s Nitiprakaasika.

On the other hand it is doubtful whether the asani missile, which was given by Indra to Arjuna and which made when discharged a noise like a thunder-cloud, alludes to firearms, as Von Bohlen explains it.

In the first book of the Sukraniti we find it stated that the royal watchmen, who are on duty about the palace, carry firearms. The Kamandakiya, acknowledged as one of the earliest works on Nitisastra, says that â€œconfidential agents keepingnear the king should rouse him by stratagems, gunfiring and other means, when he is indulging in drinking bouts, among women, or in gambling. It seems from this statement that the practice of firing guns as signals was in vogue among the ancient Hindus, if we can trust the evidence of one of the older Sanskrit writings.
In the preface to a Code of Gentoo Laws or Ordinations of the Pundits: From a Persian translation, made from the original, written in the Shanscrit language, occurs the following passage: â€œIt will no doubt strike the reader with wonder to find a prohibition of firearms in records of such unfathomable antiquity; and he will probably from hence renew the suspicion which has long been deemed absurd, that Alexander the Great did absolutely meet with some weapons of that kind in India as a passage in Quintus Curtius seems to ascertain. Gunpowder has been known in China, as well as in Hindustan, far beyond all periods of investigation.
The word firearms is literally Sanskrit Agnee-aster, a weapon of fire; they describe the first species of it to have been a kind of dart or arrow tip with fire and discharged upon the enemy from a bamboo. Among several extraordinary properties of this weapon, one was, that after it had taken its flight, it divided into several separate darts or streams of flame, each of which took effect, and which, when once kindled, could not be extinguished; but this kind of agnee-aster is now lost. Canon in the Sanskrit idiom is called Shata-ghnee, or the weapon that kills a hundred men at once, from (Shata) a hundred, and (ghnee) to kill; and the Purana Shastras, or Histories, ascribe the invention of these destructive engines to Vishwakarma, the architect who is related to have forged all the weapons for the war which was maintained in the Suttva yuga between Devta and Asur for the space of one hundred years.â€

And again we read in page 53 of the same works: â€œThe Magistrate shall not make war with any deceitful machine, or with poisoned weapons, or with cannon and guns, or any other kind of firearms; nor shall he slay in war a person born an enunch, or any person who putting his hands together supplicates for quarter, nor any person who has no means of escape, nor any man who is sitting down, nor any person who says. â€œ I am become of your party,â€ nor any man who is asleep, nor any man who is naked, nor any person who is not employed in war, nor any person who is come to see the battle, nor any person who is fighting with another, nor any person whose weapons are broken, nor any person who is wounded, nor any person who is fearful of the fight, nor any person who runs away from the battle.â€

As these passages are so often quoted without their origin being stated, it may at once be remarked that the prescription about the use of arms and the treatment of persons is a free translation from the seventh book of the Institutes of Manu, vv. 90-93.

The meaning of arrow (sara, baaba) is much wider than is generally supposed. It was, and became more so in time, the usual term for any missile, whether it had the shape of an arrow or not; in the same way as the word Dhanu signified, in course of time every missile or weapon, so that the Dhanurveda, the knowledge of the bow comprised the knowledge of all other arms.
For instance, the shot out of a gun is called a sara, as we have seen when describing the nalika, but it may be a ball and not an arrow. A rocket is generally styled a baana (compared the Hindi term bana rocket); and banapattrai in Tamil, or banapatra in Telugu denotes a gunpowder or firework factory.

A comparison of the context of the Manavadharmasastra with those of the Sukraniti and the Nitiprakasika make it clear that Manu alludes to firearms. The Sukraniti runs in our extract as follows:

A king, bearing in mind the six principles of policy and the designs of his
enemy and his own, should always kill his enemy by fair and unfair
fighting.
When the king gladdens his soldiers on the march with a quarter
extra pay, protects his body in the battle with a shield and armor;
Has induced his soldiers to drink up to a state of intoxication, the strengthener of
bravery, the soldier kills his enemy with a gun, sword, and other weapons.
A charioteer should be assailed by a lance, a person on a carriage or elephant by
an arrow, an elephant by an elephant, a horse by a horse.

***
G R Josyer is also the author of Vymaanika Shaastra Aeronautics of Maharshi Bharadwaaja - By G. R. Josyer International Academy of Sanskrit Research 1973). For more refer to chapter on Vimanas
(source: Diamonds ; Mechanisms ; Weapons of war ; Yoga sutras - By G.R. Josyer).

INA: Azad hind fouz: weapons history India

2009-02-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Slide 21

A soldier of the Indian National Army with a German MG 34.

Gun Powder origins to India

2009-02-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

By the mid- to late-eleventh century, the Song government had become concerned about gunpowder technology spreading to other countries. The sale of saltpeter to foreigners was banned in 1076. Nonetheless, knowledge of the miraculous substance was carried along the Silk Road to India, the Middle East, and Europe. In 1267, a European writer made reference to gunpowder, and by 1280 the first recipes for the explosive mixture were published in the west. China's secret was out.

According to Sir A. M. Eliot and Heinrich Brunnhofer (a German Indologist) and Gustav Oppert, all of whom have stated that ancient Hindus knew the use of gunpowder. Eliot tells us that the Arabs learnt the manufacture of gunpowder from India, and that before their Indian connection they had used arrows of naphtha. It is also argued that though Persia possessed saltpetre in abundance, the original home of gunpowder was India. In the light of the above remarks we can trace the evolution of fire-arms in the ancient India. (source: German Indologists: Biographies of Scholars in Indian Studies writing in German - by Valentine Stache-Rosen. p.92).

The first known autocannon in a primitive form was invented in the 16th century by Fathullah Shirazi, a Persian-Indian polymath and mechanical engineer, who worked for Akbar the Great in the Mughal Empire.

It was written in the Tarikh-i Firishta (1606-1607) that the envoy of the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan was presented with a dazzling pyrotechnics display upon his arrival in Delhi in 1258 AD.

South India Guns

2009-02-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

A 17th century forge-welded iron cannon, at Thanjavur's eastern entrance (India).

Indian Historical sources n gun powder

2009-02-12T01:44:00.000-08:00

Source: History science technology

Michael Scot (1180?-1236?) was translating from Arabic in Toledo in 1217, and after 1227 was court astrologer and philosopher to Frederick II at Palermo. In the Cambridge manuscript of De Alkimia, attributed to Scot, three kinds of nitrum are given. “Sal nitrum de puncta is said to come from India, and Alexandria. It is tested by putting it on burning coals, and if it does not decrepitate or make a noise it is good. There is also a foliated Sal nitrum somewhat long and thick with a taste something like vinegar when touched with the tongue and not salty, and it makes a flame over a fire. It is mentioned in some books that it is the best for making mercury malleable, and changes copper into the best gold. It is found in Spain and is exported from Aleppo. A third kind is nitrum depilatum, from Hungary and Barbary. It cleans dried pork.”

The Karshuni manuscript classifies natrun under the salts also. It says that “Salt consists of seven varieties, namely, 1) salt for food, 2) salt of goldsmiths , 3) Andarani salt, 4) naphtha and natrun salt, 5) Khurasani salt, 6) Indian salt, and 7) natrun which is the nitra salt.

Jaivana, world's largest cannon

2009-02-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

The Jaivana cannon is the largest wheeled cannon ever constructed. It is located at the Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur. It was cast in 1720, during the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The formidable strength of its builder, the scientifically inclined warrior Sawai Jai Singh II, lay in the large number of artillery and copious supply of munitions which he maintained. Jaivan rests on a high 4 wheeled carriage. The front wheels are 2.74 m in diameter and the rear wheels are 1.37 m in diameter.

The length of the barrel of the cannon is 20 feet 2 inches and it weighs 50 tons.

Blast from the Past

Author: Rohit Parihar
Publication: India Today
Date: July 12, 2004

Introduction: Efforts are on to give a facelift to a foundry producing weapons of massive dimensions in Jaipur

Legend has it that when Jaivana, the world's largest cannon on wheels at the Jaigarh Fort in Amer, Rajasthan, was fired, expectant mothers living nearby suffered miscarriages. But the foundry that made and assembled this massive weapon in 1720-it was then one of the world's oldest cannon factories-is falling apart and efforts to restore it to its former glory are on.

Its sheer size gives some idea of what a monumental task Jaivana's manufacture might have been. The 50 tonne cannon rests on six massive wheels, each 9 ft in circumference. The cannon is 31 ft long with a 20 ft barrel that can be raised or lowered by an 8 ft tall elevating screw. Four elephants were used to rotate it. The cannon is believed to have been fired only once- towards Chakshu, 22 km away. About 100 kg of explosives launched a 50 kg iron ball which created a huge depression when it landed. It is a pond now.

Jaigarh Fort was built in the 11th century and developed under Raja Man Singh, a trusted general of Emperor Akbar. Man Singh learned about casting cannons while serving in Afghanistan. He set up the gun foundry complex in 1584. Now, Kunwar Narendra Singh, son-in-law of Jaipur's erstwhile Maharaja Bhawani Singh, is restoring the factory that produced thousands of cannons for close to three centuries before shutting down owing to lack of demand.

The most prominent features of the cannon complex are the giant wheels with teeth measuring 9 inches for rotating cutters to drill holes in mammoth barrels. Each cutter is 9 ft long. Four pairs of bulls rotated the gear system made from thick wooden crossbars fixed to a central beam. It is these wooden parts that have eroded and need repair. Narendra Singh has hired a master carpenter to work on the missing parts. Delhi's National Museum too has been approached for help. Since the erstwhile kings used to supervise the making of cannons themselves, the royal pavilion where they were seated is also being renovated. In addition, a support system is being fabricated to ease the burden on the wheels of Jaivana that are wearing out under the cannon's weight.

With government assistance Narendra Singh believes the factory will once again produce cannons-mini replicas of the original. With its ancient heritage restored, it could also mean a tourist boom for Jaigarh.

Akbarnama

2009-02-12T01:34:00.000-08:00

Source: Wikipedia
An illustration from the Akbarnama written by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551-1602) depicts a gun in Akbar's court (bottom center).

THE PANJAB, NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE AND KASHMIR

2009-02-11T01:49:00.000-08:00

Source: Gutenberg
THE PANJAB, NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE AND KASHMIR
BY SIR JAMES DOUIE, M.A., K.C.S.I.
SEEMA PUBLICATIONS C-3/19, R. P. Bagh, Delhi-110007.
First Indian Edition 1974

North Wazíristán Militia and Border Post.

Khaibar Rifles.

Lieut. Pattinson recaptures the gun: Maratha wars

2009-02-04T06:17:00.001-08:00

Source: Heritage History
Lieut. Pattinson recaptures the gun

Second Maratha War : 1802-1803

Other related wars

First Maratha War : 1775-1783

Third Maratha War, a.k.a. Pindaras War : 1817-1818

Gwalior Campaign : 1843

Battle of Moodkee

2009-01-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

Source: british battles

HM 31st Foot attacking the Sikh line during the Battle of Moodkee.

General Gough’s hard won victory over the Sikh army
of Lal Singh; the opening battle of the First Sikh War.

War: First Sikh War.
Date: 18th December 1845.
Place: On the south bank of the Sutlej River in the Punjab in North West India.
Combatants: British troops and Indian troops of the Bengal Presidency against Sikhs of the Khalsa, the army of the Punjab.
Generals: Major General Sir Hugh Gough and General Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor General of Bengal, against Lal Singh.
Size of the armies: A British and Bengal army of 12,000 troops and 42 guns against a Sikh army of 10,000 cavalry, 4,000 infantry and 22 guns.

The image is titled "Sikh Guns at Windsor Castle, England."
The print is a half-page illustration from an 1854 issue of the weekly illustrated Boston newspaper "Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion."
Source: ebay

British captured sikh guns

Sikh wars

2009-01-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

Battle: Chillianwallah.
War: Second Sikh War.
Date: 13th January 1849.
Place: In the Punjab in the North West of India.
Combatants: British troops and Indian troops of the Bengal Presidency against Sikhs of the Khalsa, the army of the Punjab.
Generals: General Sir Hugh Gough against the Sikh general, Shere Singh.
Size of the armies: 12,000 British and Bengalis with 66 guns against 35,000 Sikhs with 65 guns.
Source: Sikhlionz and British Battles

Bengal Native Infantry

The second sikh war

Sikh guns captured by the Anglo-Indian army at the Battle of Chillianwallah

The second sikh war

The Battle of Chillianwallah seen from behind the British line.
The foothills of the Himalayan Mountains are in the background.

The battle notorious in early Victorian Britain and India
for the conduct of Brigadier Pope’s brigade of light cavalry.

Well armed

2009-01-11T03:58:00.000-08:00

ManaviDeopura

Source: expressindia
Posted: Mar 24, 2008 at 2322 hrs IST

No legacy is as rich as history. It is who we are that is responsible for what we are in the final analysis. Trying nobly to preserve and enrich his history and that of his fellow compatriots, Rakesh Dhawade, director of Institute of Research and Development in Oriental Studies –Arms and Armour (IRDOS), believes his amassment of arms and armour speaks volumes about the past.

"People look at weapons and they associate them with violence. We look at them and we see human craftsmanship, the marvel of metallurgy, artistic application of science and even a narrative of the psycho-sociology as well as economics of an era. My institute wants to wash this negative notion and provide people that second perspective on weapons. They are not just for destruction but instruction too, in that they are an account of the progression of various spheres of the life of mankind in a certain period of history," asserts Dhawade.

His entire collection of arms and armour has been trickling through generations in his family like a hallowed family heirloom. "My story of arms collection goes back in time, literally", says Dhawade. "My surname, Dhawade, means a person who took iron ore out of the furnace and moulded it. All these weapons have been bequeathed to me by my forefathers who were in this profession, and to them by theirs".

And when he speaks of forefathers, it is a lineage seven generations from which he has inherited an association with the defense of the land, from the Battle of Panipat right up to the Kargil war. So arms collection was more hereditary than a hobby. "In our collection we have every possible variety of Indian weapons ever used, be it daggers, battleaxes, spearheads, swords, weapons used in cavalry and even weapons like rifles from recent history. The ones that we do not possess, like horse armour, we have tried to replicate them by doing a lot of research".

The sphere of activity of IRDOS, executed by Rakesh and wife Varsha, includes collection, exhibition, protection and conservation of the arms and armour. "What people fail to realise is that the preservation of the conglomeration of these arms is just as crucial as its collection. We need to safeguard this rich heritage of ours for the future," he says. Living up to the motto of his institute - preserving past for the future – IRDOS has a functional laboratory and conservation cell devoted to the care and cure for the extensive and diverse artifacts under its patronage.

As far as showcasing these weapons is concerned, Rakesh did his first exhibition in his fifth standard. IRDOS has drafted a list of several occasions on which they hold exhibitions of the weaponry in collaboration with other organizations and trusts. These occasions include the birthdays, coronation days and death anniversaries of national luminaries like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others. "Our last exhibition was held on Shiv Jayanti and we plan one this month and two in the month of June. My undying reverence for the sacrifice of these great men fuels this initiative", Dhawade reveals.

Dhawade has written 11 research papers, three of which have been published in the UK. But a problem that he faces is the space required to lodge or display his arms collection. "We do not have the adequate funds required to buy the land to erect a museum, though I am trying to get some land," he says. Dhawade does not believe in donations. His entire enterprise is self-funded. Currently all his weaponry is housed in warehouses and stores across the city.

He feels strongly about the preservation of his consanguineous collection. He avers, "Actually, it used to be a passion. Now it is my life. I felt there was a lacuna in this subject and I have been trying to bridge that by my research for some 25 years now. I cannot think of doing anything other than dedicating my life to the cause of restitution and promotion of this collection. We cannot forget the legends that made history, or the priceless, timeless specimens of antiquity that went in its making".

Historical weapons impress Nashikites

2009-01-11T03:51:00.000-08:00

Source: NASIK TIMES

Enlarge
Weapons used by women and children

Replicas of historical weapons displayed at an exhibition in Bhonsala Military School spoke volumes about the wars during different periods

Sumita Sarkar Mahatmanagar
The replica of historical arms and armours captured the imagination of children, youngsters and elders alike, who felt transported to different periods of history merely by seeing, feeling and handling the weapons. The venue was the auditorium of the Bhonsala Military School, where the replicas were put up for display on Friday and Saturday.

Where museums failed, Institute of Research and Development in Oriental Studies - Arms and Armour (IRDOS) Pune, seems to have scored a point. The two-day arms and armoury exhibition by IRDOS is a case in point. "Unlike in museums where weapons are only put up for exhibition, here a thorough research was conducted and the weapons were displayed with eight different themes on eight different boards," informed Rakesh Dhawade, a research fellow at IRDOS. At the entrance was the Replica Stall where all historical arms and armours were displayed. "The intention behind having this stall was that little children’s curiosity would be satisfied by touching and feeling these replicas," said Dhawade adding that this would in turn instil love and interest for history in them. "They will find answers to their queries about historical wars. They also learn to value freedom. In Europe, such kinds of facilities are available. In whole of Asia, only IRDO has it," he informed. Replicas of different types of guns, gun powder flasks, variety of bayonets, variety of swords (Indian and European), various types of armours and counter weapons, shields, spears, were on display. Touching and handling these weapons gave a fair idea of how difficult fighting in wars were earlier.

Lamellar armour, leather armour, chest plate armour, different types head gears fascinated people as they tried to lift and wear these with the help of the volunteers. A very rare weapon, ’gurj’ (mace), which is nearly 400-450 years old was also on display. Brown base India pattern long barrel musket, which was used in India’s first war of Independence in 1857, assumed an important place in the exhibition. "This weapon gave us a deep feeling of patriotism," expressed a visitor and a college student, Mohit Shah. Replica of another rare weapon, Matchlock Gun, was also handled by the excited students.

After this stall, were the boards with themes. The first board displayed the weapons of the Marathas, like Tiger Claws, Bichwa, Maadu, Bhidchir, Dandpatta etc. The second board had a variety of battle-axes and spearheads, some sacrificial battle-axes known as Gandarmuhali in Andhra Pradesh, the famous Safejung from Punjab and spears etc. "The institute had differentiated between hunting and fishing spears," informed Dhawade. Cavalry arms like deep-curved swords, broad belt battle saddle axes, Naiza-type of spear etc adorned the third board. On the fourth, daggers were on display, like Afghan dagger - Peshkabj, Tirreghati sura, Kukri etc.

Ceremonial (Darbari) weapons used by kings, knights and Generals occupied the fifth board. Fully inlaid with gold, silver and ivory, the weapons, indicated the rank of the person wearing it, his socio-economic status and socio- economic stability of that period. The hilt of one of the dagger was made of jade!

The sixth board was the most unique one as it displayed weapons of women and children throughout India, who had a huge contribution in the history of the country. "For the first time we are seeing such kinds of weapons!” exclaimed Shreeja Nair a school student. The seventh board had a variety of armours and counter weapons. "It is very important to show both, or else it would be incomplete information. When we say that one could protect oneself with armours, we also need to inform that counter weapons for breaking these armours also existed," explained Dhawade. The last board depicted the development of firearms. Various types of pistols and cartridge instruments, historical guns etc were on display. Matchlock, Flintlock and Percussion Cape were the specialties of the board. The guns (replicas) were used by Indians in the 1857 war and two of these were also used by actor Aamir Khan for his period film, ’Mangal Pandey’, informed Dhawade.

The idea of displaying replicas of ancestral weapons was unique for Nashikites and a good way of familiarising people, especially children, with the weapons of the by-gone era. It was like periods being re-lived.

sumitasarkar@indiatimes.com

Antique arms collector held by ATS

2009-01-11T03:44:00.000-08:00

Courtesy:TOI
4 Nov 2008, 0325 hrs IST, TNN

PUNE: Pune-based Rakesh Dhawade, arrested on Sunday by the state ATS investigating the Malegaon blast, is an arms and armour expert who has been
collecting, studying, documenting and conserving historical Indian weapons.

His collection of historical arms and armour includes nearly 2,000 items.

Some of the rare articles forming part of Dhawade’s collection are a sword, approximately 300 years old, with the Devi Kavach ‘stotra’ inscribed on its hilt; a 700-year-old Nepali sword belonging to a royal family; a matchlock gun, over 300 years old; and spears and armour for women.

Dhawade’s ancestors were primarily engaged in the manufacture of weapons during the age of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Dhawade clan also finds mention in the Shivcharitra, considered the most authentic document on the great Maratha king, as well as in the Peshwa archives. Fond of fashioning weapons from copper wires since childhood, Dhawade’s talent for making imitations of Indian weapons received support from his school teachers in Pune.

In an interview to TOI in 2005 about his collection of arms and armour, Dhawade had declared, "I was born to promote and propagate the richness of Indian historical arms to GenNext."

According to him, he is the only Indian member of the Arms and Armour Society, London. He was also a consultant for the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘The Rising’, centred on the 1857 Uprising hero Mangal Pandey, where he had provided guidance on the weapons used in Pandey’s era.

"No other country has as much variety of weapons as India has had. Although these weapons are outdated today, they spell out the metallurgy, sociology, economy and even the psychology of their respective eras," he had state.

Pursuing his passion, Dhawade has traversed India twice and visited the UK, Russia and Tajikistan in search of weapons.

On his way back to Pune after participating in an exhibition in Allahabad a few years back, when dacoits struck the Prayag Express, Dhawade fought the thugs to defend his hard-earned assets, quite like a Hindi film protagonist.

Dhawade had said that he wanted to set up an exclusive museum for arms and armour. "We have also scientifically made replicas of the weapons for research," Dhawade had said. Dhawade has also made a mark internationally - he challenged and proved the apt usage of one of the swords kept in the Reserve Collection of the renowned Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A), London. He proved that the sword, which was wrongly identified as a sacrificial sword, was indeed a fighting one.

For his work, the Nehru Trust for Indian Collections at the V&A had bestowed on him the UK Travel Award 2000-2001.