{"references": ["Shashi Tharoor, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India (Aleph Book Company, 2016) Queen Victoria's Proclamation \u2013 November 1, 1858, GKTODAY, Oct. 2020, 17, 7:40 pm. https://www.gktoday.in/gk/queen-victorias-proclamation-november-1-1858/ Madan G Singh, Owning of Arms in India and History ofthe Indian Arms Act 1959, Knowji Inc Sep. 20120, 7, 2:00 pm https://general-law.knoji.com/owning-of-arms-in-india-and-history-of-the-indian-arms-act-1959/ Madan G Singh, Gun Control and Indian Arms Act 1877 during the Days of the Raj, Knowji Inc Sep. 2020, 6, 8:23 pm. https://statutory-law.knoji.com/gun-control-and-indian-arms-act-1877-during-the-days-of-the-raj/ Bipan Chandra, et. al., India's Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 (Penguin Books) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Navajivan Publishing House, 1993) David Arnold, Science, Technology and Medicine in Colonial India (Cambridge University Press, 2008) Indians For Guns team, The Arms Act, 1959 with The Arms Rules, 1962, IndiansForGuns Oct. 2020, 18, 1:15 pm. http://www.indiansforguns.com/arms_act_1959_arms_rules_1962_28-09-2015.pdf Section 46, Arms Act, 1959\t Indians For Guns team, The Arms Act, 1959 with The Arms Rules, 1962, IndiansForGuns Oct. 2020, 18, 4:33 pm. http://www.indiansforguns.com/arms_act_1959_arms_rules_1962_28-09-2015.pdf Atar Singh v. State, AIR 1964 All 339 : 1964 Cri LJ 124 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 2(c) The Arms Act, 1959, Section 2(e) The Arms Act, 1959, Section 2(b) The Arms Act, 1959, Section 3 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 5 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 7 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 8 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 6 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 9 (1)(a) The Arms Act, 1959, Section 9 (1)(b) Sarah Parker, Balancing Act: Regulation of Civilian Firearm Possession, Small Arms Survey, Cambridge University Press, 38-47 (2011) The Arms Act, 1959, Section 10 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 11 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 13 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 14 Ganesh Chandra Bhatt v. District Magistrate, AIR 1993 All 291 Kailash Nath v. State of U.P, AIR 1985 All 291 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 15 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 17 State of U.P. v. Jaswant Singh Sarna, AIR 1968 All 383 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 18 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 19 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 20 Gaya Din v. State, AIR 1958 All 39 : 1958 Cri LJ 9 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 21 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 25 Guljarsing v. State Of Maharashtra, 1976 Cri LJ 205 : 1976 Mah LJ 485 Sanjay Dutt v. State through C.B.I, 1994 (4) SCALE 269 : (1994) 6 SCC 86 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 27 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 28 Mahendra Singh v. State of West Bengal, 1973 AIR 2288 : 1974 SCC (3) 409 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 29 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 30 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 31 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 32 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 33 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 36 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 37 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 38 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 42 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 44 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 46 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 44 The Arms Act, 1959, Section 7 The Arms Rules, 1962, Schedule I The Arms Act, 1959, Section 13 The Arms Rules, 1962, Rule 32 Ishita Mehta, How to get a Gun License in India, iPleaders Oct. 2020, 18, 3:44 pm. https://blog.ipleaders.in/obtain-gun-license/ Sandhya Ramesh, Indians, Don't Worry! Our Gun Laws are More Stringent than the US', The Quint Sep. 2020, 29, 4:30 pm. https://www.thequint.com/news/india/marchforourlives-gun-control-laws-indian-licenses Press Trust of India, India has 33.69 lakh gun licences, Uttar Pradesh tops list with 12.77 lakh, Hindustan Times Media Ltd Oct. 2020, 13, 5:55 pm. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-has-33-69-lakh-gun-licences-uttar-pradesh-tops-list-with-12-77-lakh/story-uRQ9XGCy9wpczOiEMcFmAN.html Rashmi Singh, Guntantra: Are India's Strict Gun Laws Any Deterrent?, Network18 Media Oct. 2020, 16, 7:42 pm. https://www.news18.com/news/immersive/guntantra-guns-in-india.html National Crime Records Bureau, Crime in India 2016, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2016) Ibid U.S. Constitution. amend. II District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) Eugene Volokh, State Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms Provisions, Texas Rev. of Law & Politics, 2006, 191 Unlawful acts, 18 U.S. Code \u00a7 922 Indian Constitution, Art. 19(1)(b) Madan G Singh, A Comparison of the Gun Laws of the USA and India, Knowji Inc Oct. 2020, 22, 9:22 pm. https://statutory-law.knoji.com/a-comparison-of-the-gun-laws-of-the-usa-and-india/"]}

To maintain law and order in a country, the government lays down various laws and regulations. The defense and security agencies help to defend the state against any kind of internal or external threats. These agencies are equipped with guns and weapons and empowered to use reasonable force and at times excessive power depending upon the situation to maintain peace and security of the state. In India, the authority to use firearms and ammunition is restricted to only the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. But, the laws relating to owning and using guns by citizens are very strict and highly regulated. The principal gun control legislation in the country is the Arms Act, 1959, which prohibits the sale, manufacture, possession, acquisition, import, export, and transport of firearms and ammunition unless under a license. The gun control regulations in India were first introduced by the British as a measure to restrict Indians from owning guns and to prevent any kind of revolt or mutiny against the British rulers. However, not all countries have such strict control over the ownership of guns. Countries such as the United States of America have a strong gun culture and the citizens of the country have a fundamental right to own guns. Thus, in a country like India where gun ownership is a privilege, it is a matter of right in the United States. The present paper primarily focuses on the Arms Act, 1959 as security legislation and the historical background of arms control legislation as well as its present legal scenario in India with a comparative study with the gun control laws and policies of the United States.