Let us try to understand one thing very clearly. The worst thing one can do to control something is to prohibit/ban it. We have overwhelming evidence of the failures of the idea of prohibition. The war on drugs by the USA is one glaring example. Having some misleading motives, the one thing the US managed to achieve is make the country No 1 in the list of prison incarceration in the world. And we know how things work in a so called dry state in India. It cannot be more ironic when a road sign in Ahmadabad warned ‘Do not drink and drive’. Gujarat is supposed to be the symbol of the Gandhian philosophy.
The latest to execute this idea of a dry state is the Kerala Government. Let us give this a thought. An average Indian would welcome this decision because never was alcohol consumption considered a good thing morally in India. This is the basic idea of the announcement of the revised liquor policy last year. And you cannot deny that is influenced by the ongoing battle between the state’s Chief Minister Ooman Chandy and the party chief V.M.Sudheeran. Since then it has been nothing short of a political saga that has gone on for almost a year. As recently as last month, the HC has upheld the Government’s stand and has allowed it to pass the new liquor policy. The key aspect of this verdict is “‘Right to drink’ is not a fundamental right” and so only 5-star bar hotels (24) are allowed to serve IMFL while some bars where closed and others were given a revised beer and wine license(to sell only lighter liquor). Also the retailers selling liquor are to be closed in a phased manner. So as it stands the Kerala Government has passed a new law that not many people on the surface would be against except for the ones who would stand to lose business because of this verdict (and possibly appeal to the SC). So just looking at it from an electoral point of view they have done something that appeals to the masses and satisfies its allies and various religious organizations.
Understandably alcohol abuse is a serious problem in Kerala. But there are several key questions that need to be answered. All media who have covered the news for the last one year or so seem to agree that Kerala is the highest consumer of alcohol in the country. And I am still trying to find out the source which says Kerala as the biggest drinking state (in terms of per capita) in India. The Hindu is the only news outlet to publish that it might not be the case. I am seriously not sure here. Is Kerala really the drinking capital of the country or is it being projected so to promote a political agenda. I am not saying there aren’t any issues in Kerala. But it can easily said that there are alcohol issues in Kerala and measures are being taken to tackle it. Kerala needn’t be projected as the highest consumer of liquor to justify the alcohol abuse in the state. And what about toddy, which is totally neglected in this entire policy?
And economically it is not a good prospect for Kerala. They have liquor as their major revenue source and tourism stands to get a big hit through this notwithstanding V.M.Sudheeran’s flimsy argument that tourists don’t come to Kerala just to drink. Majority of the tourists don’t go somewhere ‘just to drink’ but the prohibition for alcohol consumption can influence many while taking a decision. And it has reflected upon the falling number of bookings in Kerala after the announcement of the new liquor policy. Due to this Mr. Chandy had to take a softer stand last year. One other reason for this was because of the bribery charges leveled at least 3 ministers.
This is a reflection of the worrying trend in India. BAN THIS, BAN THAT!! It doesn’t work that way. It is not rocket science to understand that the Government is just pushing the liquor industry underground. And they know it. They are not really worried about eradicating the problem. They want to just divert it into a different direction while gaining a political mileage. Imagine, an alcohol addict is in Kerala right now and he has to deal with the ban. The Government believes that he will come out of the addiction clean because of the ban and the problems that he had previously created is going to end this way. Isn’t this ridiculous.
It is easy to say ‘Ban the bloody stuff’ when the problem is much more deeper. Any form of alcohol or drug abuse are mainly a reflection or I might even say are due to the actual problems in the society and not the other way around. The Government will always turn a blind eye towards this vital piece of logic. But this isn’t new. And this won’t be the last.
Beer In India 