قانون الأسلحة في الهند

يسمح القانون الهندي بحيازة الأسلحة النارية بموجب ترخيص مشروط . وبوجود ما يقارب خمسة أسلحة نارية مدنية لكل 100 شخص، تحتل الهند المرتبة 120 بين أكثر الدول تسليحاً في العالم.

قبل الثورة الهندية عام 1857 ، كانت قوانين مراقبة الأسلحة قليلة في جنوب آسيا ، بما في ذلك الهند البريطانية . ^{[ 1 ]} في عام 1878، أصدرت الحكومة الاستعمارية البريطانية قانون الأسلحة الهندي لعام 1878 ، الذي نظم تصنيع وبيع وحيازة وحمل الأسلحة النارية في الهند. تضمن القانون شرط الحصول على تراخيص إلزامية لحمل الأسلحة النارية، ولكنه استثنى عدداً من الجماعات العرقية، بما في ذلك الأوروبيون والهنود الأنجلو-ساكسون وشعب الكودافا . ^{[ 2 ]}

في عام 1907، وسط تصاعد حركة الاستقلال الهندية ، حظرت الحكومة الاستعمارية حيازة البنادق التي تستخدم عيارات تتوافق مع خراطيش الذخيرة العسكرية البريطانية (مثل .303 و .450 و .577 ). ^{[ 3 ]} أدى ذلك إلى استبدال عيار .303 بعيار 8×50 ملم مانليشر ، المعروف محليًا باسم .315 إنديان ، واختفاء خرطوشة الصيد .375/303 ، التي استُبدلت بعيار .318 ، بالإضافة إلى تسارع شركات تصنيع البنادق والذخيرة البريطانية لتطوير بدائل لطلقات صيد الطرائد الكبيرة الشائعة المحظورة حاليًا ( أنتجت شركة هولاند آند هولاند عيار .465 ، وجوزيف لانغ عيار .470 ، وشركة غير معروفة عيار .475 نيترو إكسبريس ، وإيلي براذرز عيار .475 رقم 2 نيترو إكسبريس ، وويستلي ريتشاردز عيار .476 ، ^{[ 4 ]} حيث أصبح عيار .470 نيترو إكسبريس الأكثر شيوعًا). كما شهد عيار .400 بعض الاستخدام.

The right to bear arms was admitted as a fundamental right into 1931 Karachi Resolution that was drafted by Mahatma Gandhi, though this was ultimately rejected by the constituent assembly.^[5] There was also a level of debate of over admitting the right to bear arms into the constitution of India during its drafting.^[6] In a 1918 recruitment leaflet written by Gandhi during World War I, he voiced his disapproval of the Indian Arms Act, 1878:^[7]

“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. If we want the Arms Act to be repealed, if we want to learn the use of arms, here is a golden opportunity. If the middle classes render voluntary help to Government in the hour of its trial, distrust will disappear, and the ban on possessing arms will be withdrawn.”

In 1959, the Arms Act, 1959 was passed with new strict rules. It has been amended many times since, most recently in 2019.

Indian law divides firearm licenses into two types:

• Prohibited Bore (PB) includes every type of ammo (caliber/bore) used by Special Forces, Police, Army, etc continuously in service.
• Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) includes every other type of Ammo (caliber/bore) that was that not used by Special Forces, Police, Army, etc continuously (even old PB bore that is no longer in use by Special Forces, Police, Army, etc.)

In 2016, after the release of the Arms Rules, 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs instructed all State Governments to further cast an overviewing role over all types of firearms. In addition to designating air guns as firearms, it directed the State Government to further direct all District Magistrates (DC/DM) of their States to enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The SOPs required all air gun owners to test their firearms and furnish details of purchase. It also instructed all DCs to delegate each of their Sub-Divisional Commissioners (SDC/SDO/SDM) in charge of the Arms Branch to coordinate and conduct tests of air guns. It was stipulated that an Armorer be requisitioned by the District Magistrate from the Superintendent of Police (SP) to assist in the testing. It stipulated that tested and verified license-free air guns be given an Arms License Not Required (ALNR) certificate after testing using a chronometer, after which jurisdiction-specific identification marks be stamped on the firearms. As such, in May 2023, the Government of Mizoram released an Office Memorandum stating that ALNR certificates were under the direct purview of the DM without the need for further administrative approval while Arms License Required (ALR) applications be sent to the Home Department for further administrative approval. The memorandum also reiterated the 2016 Ministry of Home Affairs instructions.

Such SOPs were aimed at further ensuring a strict divide between 'license required' and 'license not required' firearms in the country.^[8]

Carrying firearms

Open carry of firearms is allowed in India, subject to various conditions. According to Arms Rules, 2016, no person shall carry a firearm in a public place unless the firearm is carried in a holder designed, manufactured or adapted for the carrying of a firearm. A firearm contemplated in this rule must be completely covered and the person carrying the firearm must be able to exercise effective control over such firearm. Brandishing, discharging and blank-firing of firearms in public places and firearm free zones is strictly prohibited.

Violation of this rule can lead to revocation of the license and seizure of the firearm in addition to the penalty specified under the Arms Act 1959.^[11]

As of 2016, there are 3,369,444 firearm licenses active in India with 9,700,000 firearms registered to them. According to Small Arms Survey, there are 61,401,000 illegal firearms in India.

The following is a breakdown of firearm licenses by state:^[13]

There are around 3.22^[14] gun homicides per 100,000 people in India every year. Around 90% of them are committed using illegal guns.^[15]

• Overview of gun laws by nation

• "Arms Act, 1959"(PDF). 23 December 1959. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 October 2019.