Plea to replace archaic .303s with self-loading rifles in Tamil Nadu

COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu home guards (THG) have requested director general of police B K Ravi to allow them use self-loading rifles (SLR), instead of the archaic .303 rifles, during Independence Day and Republic Day parades, and to participate in shooting championships.
THG personnel are given .303 rifles as part of the training, Coimbatore area commandant T K Dhanasekar said. "For the first time in Coimbatore, we participated in the Republic Day parade with the rifles last month," he said. "At the review meeting held in Chennai recently, we urged the DGP to provide the personnel with SLRs."
THG is a voluntary force, raised in December 1946 to assist police control civil disturbances and communal riots. Subsequently, the concept of the voluntary citizen's force was adopted by several states. In the wake of Chinese aggression in 1962, the Centre advised the state governments and Union territories to merge existing voluntary organisations into one uniform voluntary force known as home guards.
Home guards now serve as an auxiliary force to the police in maintenance of internal security situations and help the community in any kind of emergency such as fire, cyclone, earthquake and epidemic. It works to maintain essential services, promote communal harmony and assist the administration to protect weaker sections, participate in socio-economic and welfare activities, and perform civil defence duties.
While Tamil Nadu has 16,000 personnel, 440 home guards, including 110 women, are attached to the Coimbatore city police.
The force has recruited 33 personnel and the 45-day training will be completed on February 22.
The passing out parade will be held at the city armed reserve police ground.