Right to Bear Arms: Kodavas & the Case Threatening Their Culture
“The gun is a sacrament as far as the Kodavas are concerned. The Kodavas cannot do without a gun, whether it’s a birth, death and everything in between. The gun is one of the most important, integral parts of any celebration.”
Brijesh Kalappa, Supreme Court Advocate
Come September, residents of Kodagu (earlier Coorg) gear up for their festival, Kailpodh, which translates to ‘gun festival’ in Coorgi, the local tongue. But this year, a pall of uncertainty hung over the festivities as the 185-year-old exemption granted to the Kodavas and other landholding communities in Coorg is being challenged in the courts.
A writ petition, first filed in 2015 in the Karnataka High Court, has challenged their exemption under the Arms Act, 1959 questioning why this exemption on the basis of ‘caste’ continues to exist. While the Ministry of Home Affairs had reportedly informed the Karnataka HC that there had been no misuse of this privilege, they have been ordered to conduct a review of the issue with the all the relevant stakeholders and inform the court in eight weeks.
