National Association for Gun Rights India -

Important information regarding Draft Arms Rules 2015

Dear Friends,
We are writing to solicit your support in ensuring that the upcoming the ARMS RULES 2015 do not lead to increased harassment and hardship for all citizens.
The reasons for seeking amendments to these rules are many:-

a) These rules will make acquiring licences next to impossible as well as owning/ storing/ carrying/ using licensed arms irrationally restrictive, thus significantly increase the harassment of law-abiding citizens.
b) Air-guns, paintball markers, blank-firing guns, replicas and even Diwali toy guns are to be now be treated as firearms, subject to the full force of the law – including the need for arms licences and the same penalties as those for owning illegal firearms.
c) Even little children who own and play with airguns or cracker guns will now become criminals under law if these rules get notified, as possessing these will require an Arms Licence, just like any other firearm, subject to the same limits and penal provisions.
d) Furthermore there are to be increased hassles for all license holders at the time of arms license renewal.

NAGRI Update & Landmark Pro Gun Judgement by Honourable Delhi High Court

Dear Members , Patron, Gun Enthusiasts and Sportspersons,

Apology for the Long Silence. The NAGRI core team met up and some issues of utmost importance were highlighted, minutes of the meeting are highlighted below. I would also like to personally thank and commend our Esteemed Patrons & President & would request our members to recognize and applaud their silent, self less continuous work towards the benefit of all Gun owners. It is their efforts which have stalled the proposed restrictive and discriminative amendments to the Arms Act proposed by the MHA. We are very hopeful that the restrictive precondition to prove an existing threat to life before the grant of an Arms License as well as Area of Jurisdiction/Validity Limitation will soon be reversed especially after it has been condemned by the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs and ruled against by the Honorable High Court of Delhi.

108 MPs write to PM – News update

Dear NAGRI members/ supporters,

It has been a while since we posted any updates on the activities NAGRI has been undertaking, so it’s time to apprise everyone of what has been going on in the last few months. The efforts to sensitise appropriate members of the bureaucracy as well as the political leadership are carrying on and we have been recently getting encouraging responses from many such people who had previously shown outright hostility to our cause.

Guns for Peace

During colonial times British imperialists had disarmed the entire Indian nation – to further their own agenda. However, 63 years after independence, the rights of our citizens are once again being trampled over – this time by our own democratically elected government!

All citizens have the natural god given right to self-defence, which recognised by the Indian Constitution as well as the Indian Penal Code, however this right is meaningless without the right tools of self-defence!

सरकार ने स्वयं-सुरक्षा को अमीर और शक्तिशाली नागरिकों तक सीमित किया

इस वर्ष जनवरी में माननीय सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने अपने फैसले में साफ किया कि प्रत्येक भारतीय नागरिक को अपनी स्वयं-सुरक्षा का अधिकार है | शर्म कि बात यह है कि इसी दौरान हमारी अपनी सरकार ने इस अधिकार को व्यावहारिक रूप से अमीर और शक्तिशाली नागरिकों तक ही सीमित करने कि ओर कदम उठाये |

स्वयं-सुरक्षा का अधिकार हर नागरिक को यह हक़ देता हैं कि वह अपने और अपनी संपति को अपराधिक हमले से बचाने के लिए पूरी शक्ति का इस्तेमाल कर सके | यह अधिकार केवल स्वयं-सुरक्षा तक ही सिमित नहीं है , यह नागरिकों को एक दुसरे कि मदद करने का भी हक़ प्रदान करता हैं | हमारे माननीय सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने यहाँ तक कहा है कि भारतीय नागरिको को कायर नहीं होना चाहिए और डट कर अपराधियों का सामना करना चाहिए | यह अधिकार केवल कोर्टों और नियमों तक ही सिमित नहीं हैं , हमारे संविधान का अनुक्षेद 21 हर नागरिक के जीवन और आज़ादी के अधिकार को पूरी तरह से पहचानता हैं | ना ही यह कोई नई धाररणा है , यह अधिकार हर युग और हर सभ्यता में नागरिकों का एक मूल हक़ माना गया हैं | इस अधिकार का यह मतलब नहीं है कि सरकार हर नागरिक के जीवन, आज़ादी और अधिकारों कि सुरक्षा के उत्तरदायित्व से मुक्त हो जाये, बल्कि यह उन सब अधिकारों में से है जिन की सुरक्षा का उत्तरदायित्व हर सरकार पर हैं |

Ministry of Home Affairs limits right to self-defence to only VIPs

In January this year a bench of the Hon’able Supreme Court of India passed a landmark judgement upholding every Indian citizen’s right of self defence. Ironically, during the same time period, our own government was feverishly working behind the scenes to limit the practical availability of this right to the rich & powerful elite of the country.

Right of self-defence is the justified use of force to protect oneself and one’s property from criminal attack. It also extends to the use of force to protect one’s fellow citizens from such an attack. Besides finding a place in our criminal & case law, it also flows from our constitutional right to life & liberty, as per Article 21 of the Indian constitution. This natural right to self-defence is not a new concept, it has been recognised wherever civilisation has existed – across all cultures and right through the ages. However, this in no way negates the states responsibility to strive to protect every citizens person, property and liberties, on the contrary this is one of the many rights of every citizen that the state is tasked with protecting.

Diggy takes aim at Pistol PC – Rights group lobbies against tighter arms rules

By Sanjay K. Jha
The Telegraph
Monday, August 9, 2010

New Delhi, Aug. 8: For the first time, Parliament could witness a battle over an issue usually associated with US politics: gun control.

The home ministry’s plan to amend the Arms Act, making gun licences harder to obtain for ordinary citizens, is poised to face strong opposition in the House.

The National Association for Gun Rights in India (NAGRI) is mobilising support among MPs with the backing of its chief patron, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh.

NAGRI president Rahoul Roy told The Telegraph the MPs would resist the Arms Act (Amendment) Bill, 2010, whenever it was introduced in Parliament.

दिग्गी बनाम चिंदबरम

Punjab Kesari
Friday, August 6, 2010

नाक्साल्वाद ही एक ऐसा मुद्दा नहीं है जिस पर दिग्विजय सिंह ने गृह मंत्री चिदम्बरम के खिलाफ तलवार निकाल रखी है | चिदम्बरम से आजकल जो उन्हे नई परेशानी है, वह है गृहमंत्री ने हथियार और आयुध क़ानून १९५९ मे बदलाव किया है जिससे किसी व्यक्ति के लिए हथियार हासिल करना और जिनके पास है उनका लाइसेंस नवीकरण करवाना कठिन हो जायेगा |

NRA News interviews NAGRI President

Originally aired 7/30/2010

Rahoul Rai (President NAGRI) and Abhijeet Singh of the National Association for Gun Rights India (NAGRI) talk to Cam Edwards about the mission of their group and the status of firearm freedoms in India. The men explain that while Indian law provides for “shall issue” rights to gun ownership under the Arms Act of 1959, ordinary citizens are frequently denied firearms and forced to appeal to the judicial system. Now the government is looking to pass a new Arms Act that would downgrade gun ownership rights to may issue status. Rai and Singh discuss the governments stance that guns contribute to crime and terrorism, and they examine the role that a well-armed citizenry could have played to thwart violent incidents like the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

To view video, click here >>>

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Gun ownership laws trigger Indian debate

By Hannah Gardner
Foreign Correspondent, The National
Thursday, July 29, 2010

NEW DELHI // It’s 1.30 on a Friday afternoon and Tejinder Singh Ghei, the owner of a tidy, one-room gun shop near Kashmiri Gate in Old Delhi, has not had a customer all week.

An old plastic telephone on Mr Ghei’s counter rings and, after a short conversation, Mr Ghei hangs up with a sigh.

“That was a dealer in Amritsar,” Mr Ghei said. “He says there is no business there either. It’s dead everywhere.”