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After thousands of years of horrendous mistreatment, Indian women have finally had enough of being gang-raped and burned alive. TTAG is completely down with that, and we only wish that they had the same constitutionally-protected right of armed self-defense that all Americans (outside of NYC) still do. But we think that Indian gun manufacturer IOF (Indian Ordnance Factory) may be missing the point with their new ‘Nirbheek’ revolver. It claims to be specifically designed for women’s self-defense against rape, but I’m pretty sure the idea will go nowhere. The problem might be the ancient design, or it might be the caliber. Or then again it might be the price. Read on for the curious details.
Let’s start with the ancient design. The ‘Nirbheek’ is a break-open revolver, based largely on the iconic Webley design. The Webley started production in 1887 (yes, eighteen eighty-seven) and its Victorian engineering is quaintly Steampunk these days.
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Here’s a knockoff of the original Webley Pocket Pistol in .38 S&W. If you think the .38 S&W is a bit anaemic, the Nirbheek is a .32. At least recoil won’t be an issue, although stopping power certainly will be.
So the design is prehistoric and the caliber is completely inadequate, but this gun might still have a place in the Indian civilian gun market (to the extent that it exists) if it were cheap. But it’s not: it sells for $2000 US. This would be a complete ripoff for a weak Saturday Night Special here, and it’s the price of a new car in India.
Does anybody know the Hindi word for “FAIL?”
