Deliberating on prohibition : More than Hic-Hic Hurray
- Sangai Express Editorial :: June 17, 2013 -

Single malt. Scotch-8 years, 12 years, whatever the age, blended whisky, rum, vodka and for those not really into 'hard drinks,' beer and of course wine too.

This in a dry State, a State which has been officially dry for the last two decades or so. The irony that prohibition unfailingly kicks up.

This was the core meaning in the Chief Minister's statement on the floor of the House on Friday, June 14, 2013, that perhaps the time has come for the Government and the civil society organisations to seriously deliberate on the merits and demerits of the 'dry State' status of Manipur.

There is merit in the suggestion or observation of the Chief Minister and ignoring it would amount to adopting the Ostrich with its head in the sand, stand.

This is not about cheers and Hic, Hic Hurray and pegs and pegs but about the question of prohibition which is in force, albeit only on paper.

On hindsight, the observation of the Chief Minister may also be taken as admitting to the fact that the State Government has abysmally failed to enforce what it implemented more than two decades ago.

A reflection that the Government of the day, that is in 1991/92, decided to impose prohibition not out of any conviction that the people, especially the youth need to be protected from the scourge of alcoholism but more out of the mounting pressure from the civil society organisations and the non-State actors, especially the armed groups.

Cut to the present and it should be clear that prohibition has totally failed. From the finest Scotch to the ordinary blended whisky to rum, vodka, beer to the locally brewed alcohol, everything is available, for a price, obviously.

For each rupee that is made from the sale of alcohol in the black market, the State must be losing more than a rupee.

So is it all about revenue then ?

The answer could be yes or no or it could fall somewhere in between, but the irrefutable fact is, far from putting a stop to the sale and hence consumption of alcohol, prohibition has largely succeeded in giving birth and nurturing a network, a network that comes close to a liquor mafia.

The result is, what should actually go to the coffer of the State Government ends up lining the pockets of the few who have the connections and the means to smuggle in alcohol of different brands and sell them to the consumers.

Prohibition has not helped the Government. Neither has it helped the people in stopping them from consuming alcohol.

The number of de-addiction centres in Manipur should be a pointer here. It has only helped the liquor mafia and some Government officials who are in a position to dip their finger in the pie.

Harsh and tragic reality it is, especially coming in the face of the mass movement wherein the seeds of the present Meira Paibi movement were sown.

It is not the case of The Sangai Express to advocate lifting prohibition or continue with it, but the fact has to be mirrored and accurately at that.

In the absence of any comprehensive study conducted, it would be naive to say that alcohol consumption has multiplied or increased after prohibition came into force.

Likewise it would also be equally false to presume that alcohol consumption has decreased or gone down after prohibition came into force.

What however can be said with a degree of certainty is, prohibition has not stopped alcohol consumption amongst the people.

It is against this backdrop that the observation made by the Chief Minister should be studied. Any deliberations on prohibition should also invariably take into account the question of whether alcohol consumption, especially amongst the youth, will increase if prohibition is lifted.

There will be no easy answer here, but nonetheless such a question is important.

Another important question is how much revenue the State is losing due to prohibition and how much it can earn if it is lifted. The figures here seem to be missing in the Chief Minister's statement on the floor of the Assembly on Friday.