Strict gun laws are the reason that India is relatively safe from bloodshed. I am a gun enthusiast however want GoP to regularize gun licences like car license. And yes you are right that Naxalite don't posses any modern weapons and rely on old weapons. Thanks again for another detailed response.
Vapnope,
Indirectly India's gun laws are one reason why Maoists and extreme left wing terrorism thrives.
I am gun enthusiast also , but "strict gun laws" in India (or anywhere) do nothing to make any common person safe.
In India the disadvantaged and weak, such as minorities and lower castes, suffer terribly at the hands of a corrupt fascist communalized police force, and their nexus with fascist militias; who though are poorly armed by any global standard, yet are able to conduct their slaughter with impunity. Whether it is a communal pogrom of Muslims, caste based killings of Dalits , it is the defenseless who die. The militia are armed with licensed weapons, as well as unlicensed ones which are allowed by a "wink and a nod " by the police. The upper caste Hindutva brigade have all the guns. The result is that tribals, and minorities are slaughtered at will. Here is a link that shows you how a caste based militia treats tribals (
Link ). This is a ripe recruiting ground for Maoists who give the tribals that which they cherish most, ...
guns
Strict gun laws do nothing to stop innovations . Below is a picture from the Delhi riots in February 2020. (
Link )
Photo caption:
A slingshot believed to have been used to hurl brickbats is seen tied to a railing in the backdrop of charred remains of vehicles set ablaze by rioters during communal violence over the amended citizenship law, in Shiv Vihar area of northeast Delhi.
This device can be used to lob crude countrymade bombs as well.
Strict gun laws do nothing to control the use of firearms and violence in India. In fact Pre-partition India had far more lenient gun laws under the British, and the violence was a tiny fraction of what we see today. The British even exempted certain areas and populations from gun licenses altogether. For example, Coorgis, in Southern India were exempt from gun licenses as were Nagas in the North East. The Poojaris hunter gatherers were also allowed muzzle loading guns.
Most princely states had liberal gun owning and license policies, and the Rajas, Nawabs and
zamindars , all had small arsenals of hunting weapons. Pre-partition India and Pakistan had a vibrant hunting culture, and the middle class youth grew up reading the exploits of Kenneth Anderson, Jim Corbett, Hugh Allen, Khan Saheb Jamshed Butt. Any person of means would gift his son or daughter an air-rifle when the child turned 12 years of age.
The love for firearms was across religions, and hunters of all faiths had a mutual respect for one another.
After independence Pakistan and India went two different ways on their firearms policy. India became more restrictive slowly taking away the guns from law abiding citizens. The Indian Muslims who remained behind were disarmed first, where post-Partition their licenses were not renewed, and they were asked to surrender their weapons to the nearest police station. If they failed to surrender their weapons these were confiscated, and charges were filed under the Indian Arms Act . The punishment was twelve years rigorous imprisonment. India also disarmed the Coorgis, Poojaris, and various tribal groups though the weapons they had were primitive black powder muzzleloaders. In any case dwelling in dense forests and hills these tribes were no threat to the established order.
The Nagas, Khasis, Garos, Mizos and Bodos were difficult to disarm because they made their weapons themselves. Since these are isolated groups in a sensitive border area the Indian government has not imposed the law with such vigor. See how the Nagas make their guns (
Link )
In the Hindi heartland "cow" belt anything other than muzzle loaders goes. The "cow" belt criminals are least interested in hunting. They need weapons for murder. Tens of thousands of country-made weapons are made each year for crime, communal riots, and caste killings. A bicycle frame can be cut to remove the tubes, and use these as 12 Gauge barrels. These tubes are not strong enough to take modern factory loads, but reduced charge "half brass" paper cartridges work for about a hundred shots before they weaken and burst. Old Truck axles are bored out to take .315 bore rounds. The best part about country-made weapons is that they have no serial numbers, and no ballistic signature since they are unrifled . So it is impossible for a forensic investigator to trace a weapon to a murder, or communal killing. Being dirt cheap these are "use and throw" and after widespread use during a communal riot are simply disposed off by melting them in one of the hundreds of arc furnaces owned by scrap dealers.
Here is a video that shows how these country-made weapons are made (
Link )
This is the reason Maoists thrive. The under-trodden and oppressed flock to them looking for protection, believing in the Maoist dictum.
"
Political power flows from the barrel of the gun."
@PanzerKiel 
