Indian Made Small Arms

India achieved independence from British rule in 1947.It inherited an armed force that was a carbon copy of the British .y. At that time no worthwhile arms industry existed in India. This state was changed to an extant under Krishna Menon the controversial defense minister who gave a fillip to the local arms industry by setting up a number of ordinance factories in the public sector. A department of Defense production was also created and an ordinance board under the ministry of defense production constituted

At the beginning the Indian ordinance factories were not given much importance and some of then were also used to manufacture non military items like pressure cookers and coffee perculators.However with the defeat at the hands of China in 1962 the ordinance factories were geared up to manufacture weapons and ammunition for the army. Presently nearly 50 ordinance factories are available to manufacture all types of ammunition shells as well as pistols and revolvers.

The manufacture of pistols and revolvers was given the green signal only in the early eighties. Initially these small arms were sold only to the armed forces personnel but now their sale is permitted to Indian civilians who hold valid arms licenses. The procedure of getting these weapons is restricted. The sale is not affected through the arms dealers but the weapons are sold directly by the ordinance factories. Generally a form duly filled up along with a bank draft in full for the price of the weapon is sent to the ordinance factory. A copy of your arms license is also to be forwarded along with the application. After a wait of 3 to 4 months the ordinance factories advise the buyer to collect the weapon. There is no choice or across the counter sale and the weapon is delivered as is where basis to the applicant.

The Indian ordinance factories manufacture a .32 bore and .38 bore revolvers as well as 9mm pistols. Out of these only the .32 bore revolver and pistol are for civil use The price of both the pistol and revolver marketed for civilians varies from state to state of the Indian union depending on the taxes in that state. But roughly they are priced at about 75,000 Indian rupees.

The .32 caliber revolver is numbered as IOF MK 1. It is derived from the famous Webley Scott revolver. The Indian made revolver weighs 0 .70kg.

.The IOF also manufactures pistols. The FN Browning GP35 a 9mm pistol and a copy of the Pistol manufactured in Canada by John Inglis is marketed. These pistols are small and handy and available to all who have valid arms licenses. .The Glock17 another 9mm pistol is also manufactured... This pistol has some plastic components and is marketed only to the special forces of the Indian union like the special protection Group.

The pistols and revolvers manufactured by the IOF leave a lot to be desired as far as quality is concerned. The look and finish is below par .This is the reason that these small arms have not found a ready market among other nations. A lot of effort will be needed to put these weapons one par with the small arms of the advanced countries.