Ahimsa more potent than pepper spray, its creator tells L Rajagopal

The pepper spray may have got unprecedented publicity on Thursday after Vijayawada MP L Rajagopal whipped out a canister and sprayed those around him on the floor of the Lok Sabha and later claimed that he carries a can at all times for self defence, but the creator of the pepper spray has said Indians have a far more potent weapon -- Ahimsa and self control.

 

L Rajagopal. IBNLive image

Speaking to The Telegraph, from Washington DC, Kamran Loghman said the pepper spray was never meant to be used to vent one's anger. "It is not for the purpose of controlling other people when you're angry," he is quoted as saying.

Loghman, who has helped train law enforcement officers in more than 40 countries, now teaches Indian philosophy at the Catholic university of America in Washington DC.

"The pepper spray was developed for law-enforcement as a low level of force against those who are a physical threat to police officers or bystanders," he said.

A report in The Times of India says the use of pepper spray in an enclosed space could cause temporary blindness, irritation leading to watering of the eyes, persistent cough, breathlessness, wheezing, skin allergies, a full-blown attack for asthamatics and could even accelerate anxiety related symptoms in those suffering from hypertension or a heart ailment.

Pepper sprays typically contain about 10 per cent of concentrated extracts of red chillies — Oleoresin capsicum — diluted with solvents. The objective of using it is usually to disable attackers temporarily.

Reports have said the sale of pepper sprays has grown across India after the 16 December gangrape of a student in Delhi.
"Orders went ballistic for nearly a year," one supplier was quoted as saying in the Telegraph report.

Another Delhi-based supplier reportedly said his company procures imported and domestic pepper sprays and sells 500 to 1,000 cans every month in a market estimated to be about Rs 10 crore.