‘Prohibition has never been the solution’: Here’s a report card on how Indian states fared in applying this rule

We try to answer CM Siddaramaiah’s question with  a report card on Indian States which have taken the prohibition route and how they fared

Wherever prohibition has been implemented in India, its fate has been like that of Tughlaq Reforms – good to set into motion but failed to perform. Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq forced many reforms but most of his plans did not see success as they were could not be practically implemented. 

Bihar

Is the most the recent case of prohibition, wherein in 2016 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that he was going for complete prohibition of alcohol in the state. As a result the state was staring at a loss of upto to Rs 6,000 crores. But Kumar said he was doing it for the women and children. He promulgated the 'new' Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, on October 2. Now there are reports of  people crossing over to bordering Nepal where alcohol is being sold at a premium, or going to shops in states like Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. 

Gujarat

Gujarat, after its formation in 1960 out of Bombay State, enforces the liquor ban to this day. So basically, the manufacture, sale, consumption and storage of alcohol is illegal in the state. Back in 2013, Gujarat state unit Congress president Arjun Modhwadia had told reporters: Water is not easily available in drought-hit areas in the state but liquor is not only readily available but at the rate cheaper than water. So while this may  be a taunt at the powers that be, it is also a reflection of the ironic circumstances in the state

Nagaland

Nagaland where prohibition has been in effect since 1989. Under the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989, no person(s) is allowed to transport, sell, consume or manufacture liquor. Publishing of advertisements on liquor in newspapers are also prohibited under the Act. A jail term of three years and fine is the penalty for the illegal import of liquor into the state. But it certainly has not been a success because only in 2014 around 500 illegal bars in Dimapur,were shut down.  And there are reports of illegal cross border smuggling of liquor from Assam. 

Lakshwadeep

This is one union territory where liquor is not widely available and a complete ban is in place. The consumption of alcohol is permitted only in the island of Bangaram.

Kerala

The Congress government in Kerala introduced a liquor policy in August, 2014 advocating for total prohibition. It is not irony that it is a state which boasts of high levels of liquor consumption. The liquor lobby fought tooth and nail and even found ways to get illegal licences (a huge scandal). The top court in December 2015, finally restricted the sale of alcohol only to five-star hotels and establishments. More than 700 bars were reportedly shut down in the wake of the policy. Now on June 8, you have change in the policy. The Kerala government unveiled its new liquor policy by deciding to open closed bar outlets in three star and above classified hotels besides allowing serving of toddy in these hotels from July 1. The government has also decided to increase the age limit for consumption of liquor from the present 21 to 23.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the policy was redrafted considering the fall in state revenue and increase in the consumption of intoxicant substances. Vijayan said the LDF had clarified in its election manifesto itself that it was not for total prohibition, but for abstinence.

Andhra Pradesh

Chief Minister NT Rama Rao imposed prohibition in 1994, after an anti-liquor women's movement. Eleven districts of Andhra had been under prohibition from 1958 to 1969. But, in 1997,  N Chandrababu Naidu lifted prohibition, claiming it was neither successful nor feasible because of smuggling from bordering states.
 

Alcohol prohibition abroad

Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict interpretation of Islamic law, bans alcohol. Some people drink cologne in the kingdom as a substitute for alcohol. People who are caught are even given lashes. 

From 1920 – 1933, the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol was banned in the USA. The famous after effect of the prohibition was the rise of the gangsters and especially of  Al Capone who made money smuggling and selling alcohol. In 1933, the Prohibition officially ended. 

Assessing all the states mentioned above, one can come to the conclusion

#Prohibition has been effective election -winning tool. Every time a leader wants to come to power in a state or win an election, the plight of the people become visible and methods are adopted to change the status quo. Once in power, the ban is lifted. It's like the Myth of Sisyphus -always there but never achievable. 

#Any kind of prohibition just sends the business into underground channels and thus leading to building up of  spurious liquor pipelines . Remember the Hooch tragedy of 2009 Hooch tragedies — deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor — are legion in Gujarat. The most notorious is the incident in July 2009, when nearly 148 people lost their lives in Ahmedabad.

#We must understand that anything which is prohibited only increases in demand. To get around it,illegal bars were created and alcohol was smuggled.

#Liquor provides states with a lot of revenue and loss of this kind of money is not something most treasuries can tolerate. So while governments start with a lot of fanfare when it starts affecting the state treasury, leaders are forced to change and then liquor only comes to help. 

We are in no way endorsing consumption of liquor in the country, knowing fully well the devastation, death and sadness it brings., but above is the report card on every time a state has tried to implement liquor prohibition. The question remains - Who will bell the cat?