Assam's new gun licence push could shift India's arms seizure map

Illegal gun seizures are rising steadily in North and East India even as Assam's new arms licence policy could alter demand dynamics near the Bangladesh border

Compared to the large numbers of weapons seizures in the states in the chart, Assam is puny. The weapons haul of all sorts in the state in the past five years has never crossed 200 in any year.

 

But a recent decision by the Assam government to provide arms licences to indigenous people living in the so-called “vulnerable and remote areas” and those along the border with Bangladesh to help them protect themselves has the potential to change the math. To be fair, the Assam Chief Minister has said the government will not get into the business of procuring guns