India's use of pellet guns sparks global concerns over so-called non-lethal weapons

Amnesty International’s July 2026 study documented India’s export of large quantities of weapon parts to Israel throughout the Gaza offensive, warning that such transfers could aid alleged genocide. The organization also highlighted India’s internal use of pellet guns, a weapon first deployed in Kashmir in 2010 and promoted as "less-lethal" for crowd control. Between 2016 and 2019, the guns caused 18 deaths, blinded 139 people and injured nearly 3,000, many with serious eye damage.

A recent Delhi police deployment during a student march injured at least ten civilians, including a young man facing possible permanent vision loss. Observers contend that the practice of branding these firearms as non-lethal normalises their use worldwide, a pattern already seen in the United Kingdom and the United States.