The very first draft bill of rights for all Indians was a part of the Nehru Report of 1928, it was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with Jawaharlal Nehru acting as secretary. Along with other basic rights to be enjoyed by every Indian citizen, was also the right to keep and bear arms.
Throughout the freedom struggle our leaders protested against the Arms Act of 1878, demanding for every Indian citizen the right to keep and bear arms. For example in Nagpur around 1923 or 1924 there was a Satyagraha movement against the prevailing Arms Act. This movement attracted Satyagrahis from all over India, it went on for six months and the Indian National Congress put its seal of approval on this Satyagraha movement against the Arms Act. In fact even the Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, protested for the right of every Indian citizen to keep and bear arms, going so far as to state that, “Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest”.
The Indian National Congress in it's historic 1931 Resolution on Fundamental Rights passed at Karachi stated “This Congress is of opinion that to enable the masses to appreciate what Swaraj as conceived by the Congress will mean to them, it is desirable to state the position of the Congress in a manner easily understood by them...” “...The Congress, therefore, declares that any constitution...” please note these words - any constitution, “...which may be agreed to on its behalf, should provide or enable the Swaraj Government to provide for the following...” and various fundamental rights are enumerated, among which was also this one-- “Every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms in accordance with regulations and reservations made in that behalf.” Due to the circumstances under which India gained independence and the prevailing volatile conditions, it was decided not to include the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental right but to instead recognise it as a legal right of every citizen, but a citizen's right all the same. This can also be ascertained by reading the stated objectives of the Arms Act 1959.
The Right to Life is guaranteed by Article 21 of Constitution. The guarantee of Right to Life becomes absolutely meaningless if the Right to Self Defense is denied. Also the Right to Self Defense becomes absolutely meaningless if the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is denied. It clearly follows if RKBA is violated by State the Right to Life gets violated by State. The Police and paramilitary are also given firearms for the self defense as per RKBA as allowed by the same Constitutional guarantee under Article 21. Citizens rights are no less.
