Alcohol Ban

Ajinkya Gondane

11 August 2018

Indian society has always seen itself as very sacrosanct to its heritage and culture. From the teachings of Buddha to Gandhi, all have preached a particular way of living which is to be in tune with the soul & human body. In the pursuit to attain this state, usage of any kind of intoxicants is strictly prohibited. With the formation of the Indian nation-state, our constitution has incorporated provisions in the form of directive principles of state policy which explicitly specifies banning of intoxicants.     

So when we hear about banning alcohol in some states of India we shouldn’t be surprised. Instead, we must ask questions as to what kind of socio-economical & financial implications will arise with such steps in contemporary times.

In India, we have 5 states( Gujarat, Kerala, Bihar, Manipur, Nagaland  & 1 union territory(Lakshadweep) where there is a complete alcohol ban. Bihar is the latest state to join the club.

On 26th November 2015, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced that alcohol would be banned in the state, it was a complete ban from the day one. This decision was challenged in the court but eventually, the ban stayed. CM commissioned two studies to look into the socio-economic effects of the alcohol ban in the state. Some independent research agencies also came up with their report.

The following were some of the observations.

• Women feeling their opinion was valued more
• People spending their money on clothes & food items instead of alcohol
• Sale of expensive sarees rose by 1,751% & expensive dress materials rose by 960%.
• Consumption of honey has increased by 380%
• Consumption of cheese by 200%
• 19% of households acquired new assets from the money they earlier splurges on alcohol.
• Buttermilk, flavored milk, lassi also saw spurge in consumption.
• 58% of women feel they were given more respect & played a better role in making household decisions.
• 22% of women said their opinion was now counted not just for households matters, but for village issues as well

The above observations show that there were some positive changes in the social condition of the people in Bihar, especially the people from the lower-income group who often face the menace more. Having said that one must also consider the other outlook. There is a pragmatic case against prohibition, which is often seen as a populistic measure. 

Banning has caused disastrous effects on the individual health of people, state economy, administration, with the rise in liquor mafia, superior police actions, etc.

As more & more states are moving towards banning or prohibition laws that are more populistic in nature, such steps must be seen in its totality. Governments should come up with alternative ways of substituting the loss of revenue if it assumes that prohibition can virtuously transform society.