Shooting into the future

Have you noticed – there are so many things which we use of the past which has a more enduring quality than the more good-looking products of today? Whenever we replace the old with the new, we often end up saying that the new does not have the sturdiness of the old; today’s products are built to break quickly so that it can be replaced as often as possible.

That is the thought which came to mind while reading the news about the old, British era Lee-Enfield .303 rifle. These rifles were used in the two World Wars and the Uttar Pradesh police force has been using these very same ones in India since 1947. They were finally replaced yesterday with the new generation NSAS (Indian Small Arms System) and SLRs (Self-Loading Rifles).

The British rifles needed to be reloaded after one shot but the police force continues to think that these were the best. Though they welcome the new rifles, they feel the older ones were much sturdier and operated smoothly, giving no trouble, requiring least maintenance.

The rifles will be returned to a gun factory in Ishapore in West Bengal state where they will be converted into anti-riot guns.

Well, we obviously cannot take chances with obsolete weapons but its sad that older generation weapons were considered to be stronger. Maybe it’s the habit or the resistance of the mind to change….