Dilemma of a Dry State

Thousands of liters of killer hooch, hundreds of illegal liquor dens, repeated tragedies killing hundreds, Gujarat is not yet ready to reconsider the liquor prohibition policy.

Officially Gujarat is a dry state. And the official toll in the recent hooch tragedy has crossed 150 where hundreds are still struggling for life in city hospitals. It can’t be more ironical. The tragedy in every possible term is enormous.

Television images of gut wrenching wails of the families of victims in the recent hooch tragedy rips you apart from within. And on the other hand, the apathy of the state government can only be described as chilling. When the embarrassed establishment cracked down on bootleggers after the tragedy, we saw the extent of their clandestine operations in the so called dry state.  Such tragedies only show the hollowness of the prohibition policy. Ask the government and it simply washes off its hands by saying – “It’s a psycho-sociological problem” and promises to “eradicate this age-old evil.”

So what has the government done till now to solve this ‘psycho-sociological’ problem? And by terming it as ‘age-old evil’ the government is putting the blame on the poor victims who have paid by their lives. Also, the government is repeatedly trying to establish that such incidents have happened in the past and it happened in other states too. The civil society is confused on what stand to take in this issue. They surely do not want to be named as ‘sympathizers of the drunkards.’ When the price of quality liquor is double to triple than that of the same available in other states, the poor who cannot afford it consume the country pouches which contain deadly chemicals.

The closure of diamond units has direct links with the tragedy. With absolutely no support from the government, a good number of these jobless diamond polishers now take part in marathon clinical trials for survival. They take shelter of alcohol to come out of the stress and the burden of the family and debt. Cashing on to the opportunity, many small to big timers got into the supply chain network of country liquor. Concentrated (pure maal) are brought in drums from places like Mehmedabad, Vanchgam, Gatarad, Ramol, Vashtral, Guma in private four wheelers to Ahmedabad. It contains deadly Methyl alcohol. Then it is mixed with water and is packed in pouches in areas like Bhaipura, Amraiwadi, Chamanpura, Hatkeshwar, Kodiarnagar, Odhav, Vatva, Ishanpur, Gomtipur, Bapunagar, Bhaat, Ranasar and Saraspur. The price of each pouches ranges between Rs.10 to Rs.40 depending on the time and place of the deal. Bootlegging is a cottage industry in Narendra Modi’s constituency Maninagar. Amraiwadi and Ramol police stations are known to rake in huge hafta from the bootleggers.

It’s a known fact that liquor is widely consumed in Gujarat in spite of the prohibition. The Prohibition laws are followed more in violations than obedience owing to a nexus between bootleggers and various organs of the establishment. The state is the only loser as it does not get a single pie as revenue which may be used for improving health and education infrastructure. The Gujarat government itself estimates the excise loss from liquor at Rs 3,000 crore per year. If we calculate excise at 10%, Gujarat has a parallel economy of 30,000 crore of illegal trade of liquor. The establishment has control and claim over this money. Prohibition as a policy brews corruption of the police. This creates ‘posting rates’ for the police officers wanting to be posted in such ‘lucrative’ areas. The government makes lakhs of rupees by such transfers and maintaining the positions. 

The huge sum of money generated through this illegal business cannot be invested in business ventures and it directly contributes in mafia power. In Gujarat, politics is a ‘big business’ as it gives the power to ensure smooth conduct of illegal operations. In return, politicians get huge sums of money as bribe and party donations. Forget lifting the ban, the politicians of the ruling as well as opposition party in Gujarat lack the courage to even debate the prohibition because of the fear of being cornered. Nevertheless, it is against their economic interest too. Whenever anyone said that the prohibition is a farce and it cannot be enforced, instead of debating the merit of the argument, Gujarat government resists and ridicules it. Dave commission, which was set up following the 1989 hooch tragedy in Vadodara recommended that “to prevent the sale of poisonous liquor, it would be desirable for the government itself to start distilleries to manufacture a brew from mahuva flowers and nira from toddy trees and sell them to the poor labour class at reasonable price”. Allowing liquor may end illicit liquor and encourage transparency.

The state government has also mastered the art of ‘commission politics’.  Whenever the government’s credibility is in question, immediately the state government sets up a commission to bury uncomfortable questions. No other state in India has four enquiry commissions running. Basically these commissions work like a shield between the people and the government and helps settle the dust in the name of law. The government has now announced the setting up of Justice Kamal Mehta Commission to look into the tragedy. The report will be on the expected lines. It will point out poverty as one of the causes, point out some small fishes in the establishment, and will give clean chit to the higher ups of the government.

It’s high time for Gujarat to engage in a state wide debate on the relevance of its dry status out of a twisted sense of obligation to the Mahatma whereas in reality it doesn’t seem to care principles of truth, peace and social justice. How long can a state revel in a ‘false’ ideological hangover?