Pistol shooter Manu Bhaker will be honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, the highest sporting honour in India, on January 17. At the Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhaker made history by becoming the only Indian to win two medals at a single Olympic Games. Twelve days after Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in 10m air pistol event at Paris, a young doctor was tragically raped and murdered in Kolkata while trying to rest after long hours of duty.

Imagine if Dr. Abhaya had learned pistol shooting like Manu Bhaker and carried a revolver in her purse. Would anyone have dared to harm her? Manu Bhaker’s story is not just one of sporting excellence – it carries a powerful message that calls for a shift towards self-empowerment and protection. It is a message that must be heard and acted upon. Crimes, often committed in mere minutes, do not afford victims the luxury of making calls to helplines. Even if called, police cannot appear instantly. This harsh truth highlights the need for individuals, especially women, to be empowered to be equipped with the means to defend themselves. Applying for a gun license under the Arms Act of 1959 and the Arms Rules of 2016 is a statutory right for selfdefence.

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However, India’s strict legal procedures on gun ownership make obtaining a license a complex process, often involving extensive background checks, references and delays. The U.S. Second Amendment, which grants citizens the right to keep and bear arms, has been upheld as a fundamental individual right. While this right is not explicitly listed in the Indian Constitution, the right to self-defence, as guaranteed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, implicitly acknowledges the need for citizens to possess arms. S.35 of the Sanhita assures every person has the right of private defence of body. S.38 extends the right of private defence “to the voluntary causing of death or of any other harm to the assailant” to........

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