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Kohli, Anil, Aaron Karp and Sonal Marwah. 2011 ‘Firearm Fatality Scenario for 2008 - Civilian Firearms.’ Mapping Murder: The Geography of Indian Firearm Fatalities; IAVA Issue Brief No. 2, p. 3. New Delhi: India Armed Violence Assessment / IAVA and the Small Arms Survey, Geneva. 20 September

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Firearm Fatality Scenario for 2008 - Civilian Firearms

As at 2006, India was home to roughly 40 million civilian firearms, out of an estimated 650 million civilian owned guns then believed to exist worldwide (Daily Times, 2006; Small Arms Survey, 2007).

Of the 40 million, an estimated 6.3 million are licensed (Hariharan, 2007). These estimates convey a sense of relative scale between legal, illegal, and overall Indian civilian gun ownership. While useful, they are based on limited evidence and should not be treated as conclusive.

Unlicensed [unregistered] weapons are not only the most common, but also appear to be the most lethal, both overall and individually, although additional research is needed to better substantiate this claim. They are the logical target for more aggressive efforts to reduce firearm-related death and injury.

Illegal firearms appear to be most common in the north of India and Naxal-affected regions. The Delhi capital region receives a large quantity of craft-made kattas, as they are commonly called, from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. One source estimates the number of illegal firearms in Delhi at 300,000 (Dikshit, 2009).

ID: Q5827

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