MUMBAI: Two years after India launched Nirbheek, a handgun pitched as the country’s “first gun for women”, a state-run arms factory has launched a similar gun which it claims is India’s lightest gun.
Manufacturers say Nidar, meaning fearless, is made with an aluminium alloy which makes it very light, but has “strength similar to steel”. Nidar has a 40-mm barrel and is just 140mm in length which makes it “small enough to fit into a palm”.
The new 0.22-calibre revolver weighs a mere 250 grammes, while Nirbheek, which is named after the nickname of Jyoti Singh who died as a result of a fatal gang rape on a bus in New Delhi, is 0.32-calibre and weighs 500 grammes. Nidar costs INR35,000 whereas, the cost of Nirbheek is INR122,360.
Both guns were produced by government-owned factories, and their manufacturers say carrying them will make people more confident and ‘fearless’.
An official at the state-run Rifle Factory Ishapore, near the eastern city of Calcutta, said Nidar’s target audience is “professional Indian men and women”.
“I believe our customers would be people who travel a lot, who have security risks. They will buy this gun for their personal safety,” factory in-charge PK Agarwal told the BBC.
According to him, it will be more popular among women. “I think it will be ideal for women. If a woman takes a taxi at night, the driver will think 10 times before trying anything with her because he knows she has a gun in her purse,” he added.
The downside; however, is that the law in India does not allow people to carry even licensed guns in most places, including many offices, malls, cinemas, and markets fitted with metal detectors, which means that “professional Indian men and women” the guns are made for, will not really be able to use them.
Anti-gun campaigners criticise arming citizens, and instead stress on better policing to ensure safety.
The manufacturers of Nidar; however, are confident that their product will succeed. Agarwal told the BBC that he expected to sell 10,000 units of the gun this year.
