Real Life

Meet the gun toting grannies of India

These Indian grandmothers have been secretly honing their shooting skills in the small village of Johri, writes Lianne Ryan.

Meet the gun toting grannies of India who are winning awards for their shooting skills.

Most grandmothers are known to have a hobby or two but for these women in their seventies their choice of hobby is raising more than a few eyebrows.

Prakashi Tomar, 74, and sister in law Chandro Tomar, 79, are known for their sharp shot and together with the all-female shooting team in Uttar Pradesh, India they have won awards for their skills in national shooting competitions.

Prakashi began her foray into shooting when she was 60 when she accompanied her granddaughter Shefali to a shooting range, near her home in the small Indian village of Johri.

Curious to see what it would be like, Prakashi had a go on her granddaughter’s gun and was instantly hooked.

But worried about what others may think, she kept her passion for shooting a secret and instead offered to accompany her neighbour’s daughters to the shooting range where she secretly honed her skills.

Prakashi said: “Out of sheer boredom I borrowed my granddaughter’s pistol and let fly, I pulled the trigger and the pellet hit the target. Bas, Rajpal told me that I’d do well in shooting and I should form a team.

“Little did they know that I had started pistol training too. Even my family didn’t have any clue.

“When everybody had gone off to sleep, I used to hold a jug of water in a closed room to enhance my grip and strengthen my wrists.”

“The men used to make fun of me and joke that I should go to Kargil and send my army-man son home.

“But after Rahul gave us two Pardini pistols worth one lakh rupees each, they began to take us seriously.”

Soon, Prakashi, Chandro began to inspire women of all generations to take up the sport and join the team at the Johri Rifle Club.

The club was launched in 1998 by Dr Rajpal Singh, president of the Johri Rifle Club who said they were inundated with girls wanting to enrol in the club thanks to the Tomar sisters-in-law.

He said: “We launched the range to harness the energy of Baghpat’s youth.

“My son Vivek Singh, a Commonwealth Games medallist, and I donated our own pistols to the trainees so they could stay away from crime and not get involved in land disputes that often end in gunfire.

Together, the team began winning major shooting tournaments, where they were awarded medals for their skills often outshooting the male competitors.

In 2001, Prakashi went on to win the national championships in the veteran category. And the next year Chandro stood second in the North India Shooting Competition.

Prakashi once defeated a deputy superintendent police officer who was so embarrassed to have been defeated by an old woman he refused to attend the awards ceremony.

Her daughter, Seema Tomar is also a champion shooter and a member of the Indian Army.

She has been awarded almost 40 gold medals for her shooting skills and became the first female shotgun shooter from India to clinch a medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup, which was held in Dorset, UK, in 2010.

Seema, 31, said: “Until my mother began shooting in her 60s, I wasn’t encouraged to learn shooting.

“But I persuaded my parents to allow me to compete.

“Even after I got married in 2011, although I was competing at the international stage, my in-laws took time adjusting to my routine.

“I wish I had received more support from them. But then, most families share the same thought, women should stay home and do the housework.

“They want them to earn but still don’t want them to step out of the house. Shooting is helping change these mind-sets.”

Coach Neetu Sheoran says the gender dynamic in the village was now evolving and girls as young as 11 were training to become sharp shooters.

He said: “A few years ago, not many of the 25 girls training at the Johri Rifle Club range today would have been allowed to step out of home.

“Girls who have trained at the range have got jobs with the Army, the Air Force and the Border Security Force.

“This has reassured the men, they understand finding employment for their children is easier because of shooting.

“So they no longer insist that they should just stay at home.”

Prakashi Tomar, 74, and sister in law Chandro Tomar, 79, are known for their sharp shot and together with the all-female shooting team in Uttar Pradesh, India they have won awards for their skills in national shooting competitions.

“Out of sheer boredom I borrowed my granddaughter’s pistol and let fly, I pulled the trigger and the pellet hit the target. Bas, Rajpal told me that I’d do well in shooting and I should form a team.”

“Little did they know that I had started pistol training too. Even my family didn’t have any clue.”

“We launched the range to harness the energy of Baghpat’s youth,” said Dr Rajpal Singh, president of the Johri Rifle Club who said they were inundated with girls wanting to enrol in the club thanks to the Tomar sisters-in-law.

“The men used to make fun of me and joke that I should go to Kargil and send my army-man son home… But after Rahul gave us two Pardini pistols worth one lakh rupees each, they began to take us seriously.”

Coach Neetu Sheoran says the gender dynamic in the village was now evolving and girls as young as 11 were training to become sharp shooters.

“Girls who have trained at the range have got jobs with the Army, the Air Force and the Border Security Force.”

“This has reassured the men, they understand finding employment for their children is easier because of shooting… So they no longer insist that they should just stay at home.”

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