The Punjab
government has decided to crack down on the state’s infamous gun culture by
instituting bans on gun flaunting and music celebrating guns. The Bhagwant
Singh Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government has also tightened arms regulation.
All gun licenses currently issued will be thoroughly reviewed over the next
three months, and no new licenses will be issued unless a district’s collector
has reason to believe that there exist extraordinary grounds for owning a gun.

Chief Minister
Bhagwant Singh Mann has expressed his derision for gun culture for months. In May,
he condemned the “trend of gun culture and gangster-ism being promoted by some
Punjabi singers.” He, a stand-up comic-turned-politician, called upon singers “to
desist from fanning violence, hatred and animosity in the society through their
songs.”

As part of new
rules, reckless use of weapons, including celebratory firing, will be taken
action against. In some cases, cases will also be registered. Check-points will
be set up to stem illegal gun possession.

Why is Punjab
cracking down on guns

The conversation
around Punjab’s gun culture came to the fore when Sidhu Moosewala, the popular
rapper-turned-politician who stood for elections on a Congress ticket in the
polls Bhagwant Singh Mann won, was shot dead on May 29.

While Punjab does
not rank towards the top in terms of gun violence, the state has a perception
of being permissive of guns. A lot of the music and other media created in this
western Indian state talks of guns as celebratory manifestations of power.  Punjab ranks fourth in the country in deaths
due to accidental fire arm injuries. Thirty-one people were killed in the state
in nearly equal number of events in 2021.

While the conversation
is young, it is not as if concerns about Punjab’s gun culture have not been
expressed earlier. Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had backed the
arrest of Shree Brar, a Punjabi singer whose songs celebrate gun culture.