Quibble: SMLE is an abbreviation for (Rifle), Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. It is the rifle that is short, not the magazine.pedalman wrote:Those bolt-action rifles look like good old-fashioned small-magazine Lee Enfields left over from the British occupation.
Those in use in India aren't leftovers, they were almost all made new in Ishapur, in caliber 7.62 NATO (not the original .303 British). The metallurgy of "Ishies" is considered superior to the British rifles of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and they were produced until the mid-1970s. Production supposedly stopped in 1975 or '76, but I've seen pics of rifles dated in the '80s.
A number of police forces and guard units were also equipped with Enfields converted to .410 shotgun. The magazines were blocked so that they were single-shot, but when equipped with a bayonet the scary part wasn't the firearm, but the big Punjabi carrying a half-yard of sharpened steel. The Indians generally ground them down to 12" post-occupation, though.
(Edit, after seeing the pictures): There are some No.4 rifles shown there. I'd love to know what they're chambered for.