A craft wrongly targeted, Kashmir’s gun industry battling for survival

Kashmir used to be a thriving hub for factories that made guns for civilians. But as owning a gun has become increasingly difficult in Kashmir Valley, the industry has been in a steady decline in recent years.

Srinagar:Even as guns blazed and bullets zipped across Kashmir over the past 20 years, in a strange twist of irony the Valley's famed gun-making industry fell into decline. Gun shops here face a bleak future as the government takes aim at a trade once synonymous with quality craftsmanship.

Tighter regulations on civilians buying guns in the Himalayan valley disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947 have, in recent years, left gun makers struggling for survival. Security concerns fuelled by the 25-year rebellion in the region, stricter rules on testing firearms, and a shrinking pool of local craftsmen have added to the pessimism in the industry.

More than 20 gun makers operated in Srinagar before 1947 but today there are just two - Subhana and Sons and the Zaroo Gun Factory - producing 12-bore, single and double-barrel shotguns used mostly for hunting.

In 1989, with militancy on the boil in the Valley, the Government ordered the closure of the gun factories in a bid to ensure the weapons did not fall into the hands of militants. Two years later the ban was revoked and the gun makers were allowed to resume work under strict supervision.

However, the factories are allowed to manufacture only a limited number of guns, with the quota decided by the Union Home Ministry.

The business has become unviable for the skilled Kashmiri craftsmen too and they are switching to other jobs. Only those who are too old to do any other work are carrying on with the craft, leaving the industry short on manpower.

The surviving gun factories hesitate to go in for modernisation as they fear it will invite scrutiny and involve a lot of paperwork, with the attendant risk of losing the existing licence.

The factories currently manufacture 12-bore single- and double-barrel guns that are mostly used in sports. Some are used to arm security guards outside banks and other establishments. Nearly all the guns produced in Kashmir are sold to various Central departments and buyers outside Kashmir. Within Kashmir, there is an unwritten ban on the issue of a firearm licence to civilians, with hunting too strictly prohibited.

Meanwhile, Both factory owners have started to lose hope and if the situation continues to be like this, they say, in two or three years they might be forced to close their years-old gun factory and look for other options to survive.