TUCKED away in the backwaters of eastern UP's Azamgarh district, Bamhaur looks like a nondescript village. But a mere mention of its name evokes awe and suspicion. Bamhaur's claim to fame: it specialises in countrymade pistols and guns.
TUCKED away in the backwaters of eastern UP's Azamgarh district, Bamhaur looks like a nondescript village. But a mere mention of its name evokes awe and suspicion. Bamhaur's claim to fame: it specialises in countrymade pistols and guns.
At least 16 families belonging to the Lohar (blacksmith) caste in the village work round-the-clock manufacturing countrymade weapons called kattas. The process of manufacturing these weapons has been developed into a fine art by these experienced blacksmiths. They were first taught to make the weapons years ago by Jawahir Cha-cha. As an army jawan, Jawahir knew a lot about firearms. Post-retirement, he settled down in Bamhaur and decided to train the village lads in the art of katta manufacturing. Today it is a flourishing business.
As we enter the now infamous village off the Azamgarh-Luck-now highway, we find a dark, barechested old man squatted on a cot surrounded by a group of young disciples. It doesn't take very long to convince the group that we are actually potential buyers. "Koi fajeehat to na hoi? (we should not get into any trouble)," inquired the old man. This is Jawahir Chacha. "Jawahir chacha bigad diyen hein pure gaon ko hi (Jawahir chacha has spread the virus in the whole village)," says one of the hangers-on in mock complaint. "I was in the army since 1949 and learnt about the weapons there. I trained all these lads and now a total of 16 families are manufacturing the saamaan," adds the self-contented chacha.
After a little persuasion, the grand old man agrees to give us the saamaan (the weapon) for Rs 2,000. A boy fetches the katta. "What about the police? Won't they create a problem?" we ask. "Don't worry, the village pays them Rs 30,000 per month," offers a young boy, reassuringly. Meanwhile, Chacha starts giving the finer details of the homemade weapon: "You will not get stuff like this anywhere, I'll give a 10-year guarantee. But why are you buying this? Yeh sab pocketmaron ke liye hai. Kuch bada saamaan chahiye to bolo (This is for pickpockets only. Tell me if you want something big)."
"Actually, we don't want a gun. We want to take some photographs. We are journalists," we confess to get out of the deal. The revelation leaves everyone shocked. The crowd disperses. An annoyed and flabbergasted Chacha says menacingly: "Why did you create this drama? Now just get going from here at once." Later, a local intelligence officer in Azamgarh points out that even the local police get their supply from Bamhaur whenever they have to falsely implicate someone under the Arms Act. Either way, for the people of Bamhaur, katta-making is a way of life.
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