There are 3,369,444 firearm licenses now active in India with 9,700,000 firearms registered to them. According to Small Arms Survey there are 61,401,000 illegal firearms in India. One third of them are in UP. There are over 400,000 active gun licenses in Punjab, surveys indicate that there are 11 lakh firearms in all in the state. Many licensed gun holders declare them as heirlooms. I inherited seven beautiful guns from my father including a perfectly balanced Mauser .375 rifle for which ammunition was no longer being made. I surrendered all the weapons as they only lay at the Secunderabad Armoury owned by my friend Vishnu Vardhan Reddy Keesara. I sold them all, but could never figure out why the person who bought the Mauser did so as there was no manufactured ammunition to be had? When LK Advani was Home Minister, I had suggested in a note that the average cost of gun licenses should be at least ₹5000-10000 per year to disincentivise ownership. Nothing happened as there was oppos...