ment, under Lord Lytton as Viceroy (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878); an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a “loyal” subject of the British Empire. An example of British thinking in colonial times: “No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he, who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he lives precariously, and at discretion.” –James Burgh (Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses) [London, 1774-1775]

The following passage makes it clear, without doubt, that FOSA and others have roots in Communist Party of India.

Although great work is being done by organizations that have long predated DESIst such as AID, ADP, ASATA, FOSA, CAC, SACA, PBN etc these each have their particular organizational and functional limitations that prevent them, for one reason or another, from being the vehicle or the impetus for the building of a radical anti-imperialist South Asian anti-war movement. In some cases these organizations exist under charters that are more ‘developmental’ (AID) in focus or charitable in nature, resulting in politics centered around the zealous protection of some sort of non-profit or 501c(3) status. In other cases the particular organization has a more regional, religious, linguistic, or ethnic thrust which is bluntly and unabashedly exclusionary – again less than conducive to the discussions and analysis that would necessarily be needed to transcend these boundaries in building a broad participatory movement that can truly be labeled South Asian. This is in no way meant to disparage or belittle the real work being done to push the boundaries within these organizations by committed comrades who have decided to tackle the hard work of engaging these issues from the inside rather than criticizing from without. The point here is more that regardless of how much effort is expended in ensuring that an anti-imperialist philosophy consciously permeates these organizations, they ultimately have different purposes and need to function in manners expedient to the reasons for their existence. What is imperative here though is that DESIst could not have come together without the years or decades of groundwork done by organizations and comrades in the Bay Area to create a context in which DESIst can exist. Lastly, it would be unfair and dishonest to leave readers with in impression that the Bay Area has never previously seen South Asian organizations come together for similar political purposes. South Asians for Collective Action in particular is a group that has seen many years and many rallies beneath a yellowing banner that still hails proudly at every antiwar march.

i don’t know much about gun ownership in india, but in the course of looking found this site: http://www.abhijeetsingh.com/arms/india/

the author seems to agree with you in terms of guns being a deterrent.

however, i think going down the private gun ownership route in india, where people tend to get worked up sometimes over a variety of topics from religion to film stars, is dicey.

They already have private gun ownership in India though its heavily regulated and licensed as I understand.

i understand your point about innocent people dying because of ineffective police presence and i can see how being armed can help. however, i think going down the private gun ownership route in india, where people tend to get worked up sometimes over a variety of topics from religion to film stars, is dicey.

Intelligent advice from referers of Human rights reports and self styled Gandhi followers.

Yes, if the police wont come/cant come to save them, then yes, they should arm themselves. Private weapons are not illegal in India. I have talked to people who have been through terrible riots in Meerut, Surat and Bombay and and they have all expressed the view that the people who were the least likely to be killed were the ones who were armed. For some reason, the police does not show up in these places. If the police does not come to protect you then its incumbent upon the individuals to protect themselves as long as its legal. I am not advocating breaking the law. There is nothing wrong in arming yourself if it can protect you. I know guns in India are not illegal though I think fully automatic rifles are prohibited.

This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.

I am not being inflammatory. I have consistent views on guns: http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002150.html#comment23720

This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.

Actually, there is truth to this. I want the vulnerable people armed.. The same thing goes for folks who have shops near mosques to guard against the Quran thumping hoodlums.. They just get a dose of quranic verses against kafirs/polytheists/idolators on friday come out and rampage the neighbors..

Don’t know if the state dept. investigation is done or not. Can someone clarify?.. maybe Biju Mathew knows..

This is needlessly inflammatory. Unworthy of you.