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Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 4:23 pm
by Peacefulguns
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I am starting this thread to discuss Right to Bear Weapons abbreviated as RtBW. henceforth. I support right to bear guns, and IMO it should be made fundamental right as well fundamental duty. i.e. every citizen should be required to have a gun at his home, and if he does not, he should be punished. The purpose of this thread is to discuss RtBW and its pros (and cons).

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In 1931, Congress adhiveshan was held in Karachi. It was chaired by Sardar Patel. The famous Karanchi resolution was drafted by Gandhiji, as many historians say. The Congress resolution had demanded that right to bear weapons be made FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT. . AWMTA :) .

Source collected works of Mahatma Gandhi vol 51. Please see page 327. It says :

http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL051.PDF

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362. RESOLUTION ON FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC CHANGES

March 31, 1931

This Congress is of opinion that to enable the masses to appreciate what swaraj, as conceived by the Congress, will mean to them, it is desirable to state the position of the Congress in a manner easily
understood by them. In order to end the exploitation of the masses, political freedom must include real economic freedom of the starving millions. The Congress, therefore, declare that any constitution which
may be agreed to on its behalf should provide, or enable the Swaraj Government to provide, for the following :

1. Fundamental rights of the people, including :

(a) freedom of association and combination;
(b) freedom of speech and of the Press;
(c) freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion, subject to public order and morality;
(d) protection of the culture, language and scripts of the minorities;
(e) equal rights and obligations of all citizens, without any bar on account of sex;
(f) no disability to attach to any citizen by reason of his or her religions, caste or creed or sex in regard to public employment, office of power or honour and in the exercise of any trade or calling;
(g) equal rights to all citizens in regard to public roads, wells, schools and other places of public resort;
(h) right to keep and bear arms in accordance with regulations and reservations made in that behalf;
(i) no person shall be deprived of his liberty nor shall his dwelling or property be entered, sequestered or confiscated, save in accordane with law.

I never knew Gandhiji wanted to make the right to bear arms fundamental. Sorry if its been discussed before.

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:01 am
by xl_target
Peacefulguns wrote:.


I never knew Gandhiji wanted to make the right to bear arms fundamental. Sorry if its been discussed before.
Oh Yes, he insisted on it but after he was assassinated the pressure to do so went away.

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:04 am
by nagarifle
something like this should be made public, thus all can come to know the truth about what Gandhiji wanted.

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 3:06 pm
by bennedose
Peacefulguns wrote:.
every citizen should be required to have a gun at his home, and if he does not, he should be punished.
What kind of punishment would be appropriate for a person who does not have a gun?

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:46 pm
by nagarifle
shoot em

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:53 pm
by bennedose
nagarifle wrote:shoot em
LOL! But we can say goodbye to any thoughts of "RtBW".

I see very little seriousness on this issue. I see plenty of aggression and demands for rights - but I don't think many of the arguments that are made will hold any water given the fact that anyone who thinks about a gun is already on the back foot in India.

I have not seen a single discussion about the implications of many very Indian issues. I once spoke to a very senior retired Air Force officer - who has dropped bombs in an angry war why he did not use his armed forces connection to buy a personal weapon when he had the chance. His reply stumped me - he said "In India you can be murdered simply so that someone can steal your weapon". I had not thought about it. In India women's necklaces worth perhaps a few tens of thousands are grabbed by chain snatchers on motorbikes. How much more valuable it would be for them to snatch a handgun in a handbag that costs more than a lakh. We have videos that show how a man with a gun has almost no chance of escaping from a man with a machete bent on getting him if the latter is just a few feet away. A woman would be overpowered straight away.

With all the information and material available nowadays, what could be the best case people can make for the right to bear arms? We talk about an idealized society where everyone can carry and use a gun. But how do we get there from where we are?

If you imagine a hypothetical scenario - suddenly one day it is decided that in India anyone can buy a weapon. No licence needed. Even then, the only people who could buy a weapon are those with an absolute minimum Rs 75,000 or more to to cough up. So guns will themselves be like "jewels" that are better stolen by someone who can't afford one. Unless firearm prices are reduced. How cheap are the cheapest firearms in America? Google tells me - US$ 300. That is - in a straight conversion - about 18,000-19,000. A good price - if only..

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:59 pm
by nagarifle
there are many rights given to us, if we do not want to take up that right then its our right not to do so.
how can one punish someone who does not want to have a gun? is it not there right not to hurt/kill someone. is it not there right to spend the money on food then pay lacs for tiny piece of metal?

stupid reasoning .......

Re: Gandhiji on guns

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:23 pm
by brihacharan
> A little introspection reveals that Gandhiji meant well re:RKBA....
> However the people who rose up to form the government after he was assassinated used the "Power of Denial" to govern the country...
> The "Permit Raj" system is one case in point....
> It is sincerely hoped that our present PM who is in the process of doing away with a lot of 'procedural attestations' considers RKBA as a valid & legitimate issue and considers it favorably....
Briha