Prohibit the prohibition

Banning liquor and meat smacks of intolerance more than social reforms

Alok Tiwari

This month Madhya Pradesh implemented a liquor sale ban in 19 cities, towns, and villages in a dramatic expansion of prohibition policy in the state. All these are Hindu pilgrim places and it is another step by chief minister Mohan Yadav to appease the Hindu sentiments. Having nothing much to show for by way of governance, Yadav has been resorting to such gimmicks pretty much like most other BJP chief ministers in the country. Earlier in his term, he had launched a drive targeting the meat shops, mostly belonging to Muslims, in the name of hygiene.

Prohibition is certainly not new for the country. Large swathes have come under prohibition at various times only to be withdrawn eventually. However, it remains in place in significant pockets. Gujarat is one state that has been under prohibition for decades as a misguided and dishonest homage to Mahatma Gandhi. So has been Wardha district in Maharashtra. Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts in Maharashtra were added later. However, a few years later prohibition was withdrawn from Chandrapur. Bihar is now the second state to go under prohibition completely.

The reasons for imposing prohibition have been different in each case. In Gadchiroli, it was done under pressure from Maoist rebels. It is strange for a government that is fiercely committed to crush a movement to accede to its adversary’s demand. In Bihar, as in Chandrapur, it was brought in to save poor families from ruination from liquor addiction by men in the families. Now the latest round, exemplified by MP, is direct result of policies designed to foster and appease intolerance.

I have long been a critic of prohibition policy no matter where and for what reason it is brought in. The main reason for this is that it does not work. The global experience with prohibition, including in the US, is that it is near impossible to ban making and consumption of liquor. One, because many if not most people want to drink. Second, because it is ridiculously easy to make alcohol. Fermenting virtually anything—fruit or vegetable— can produce alcohol. Thereafter, it is a short process to either distil it to turn into relatively harder spirits or into wine.

Curbing liquor in small geographical pockets is even more difficult because abundant liquor supply is available just outside those pockets. Even the latest MP policy does not bar consumption of liquor in private spaces. It just bars sale. So, it is perfectly okay for a person to get their supply from a few kilometres away. To feed this demand, almost invariably a liquor mafia develops with active participation of prohibition officials and police. All the policy achieves is to drive the liquor industry and trade underground. Legitimate businessmen are out while enormous amounts of money begins to flow into the hands of criminals.

But impossibility of enforcement is not the only thing wrong with the prohibition.  It is also the hypocrisy, intolerance, and nanny state mentality behind it. To persist with the policy in the name of Gandhi, particularly in Gujarat, is ghastly. Gandhi is known and admired throughout the world for his philosophy of satyagraha against oppression, non-violent approach to solving problems, and tolerance between communities. Much of the country, following example of Gujarat, has abandoned those principles. Yes, Gandhi was against consumption of liquor, and he emphasized cleanliness but to keep him limited to those while actively going against his larger message of peace and tolerance is utterly dishonest.

Using religious appeasement to ban liquor or meat is even more ridiculous and problematic. Ridiculous because there is no bar on either in Hinduism. Largest number of customers for both products are Hindus. So, prohibiting them either permanently or during certain festival just plays to largely north Indian upper caste values at the expense of those of other Hindus. It also promotes a uni-dimensional version of Hinduism that traditionally has been multi-faceted and had space for all manner of lifestyles, believers and even non-believers.

Problematic because it seeks to impose moral judgment on personal lifestyle choices. Drinking is bad, abstinence is good. Meat eating is bad, being vegetarian is good. These could be the beliefs of a section of population, but it is wrong to impose it on everybody. Will the state next ban residence of atheists in temple towns or near places of worship? If the state is protecting the faithfuls from offensive actions of others, then it should also protect others from troublesome actions of faithfuls like taking out noisy processions and blocking traffic during festivals. It needs to treat all citizens equally.

Let us also address question of state imposing prohibition to protect people from themselves, as has been the case in Bihar. Since the policy has been implemented there have been several instances of people dying in large numbers by consuming illicit liquor. This at the very least indicates presence of a big illicit liquor business. Yes, addiction to liquor does lead to domestic violence and financial stress in some families. That must be addressed through education and awareness instead of liquor ban.

Any marginal social benefit prohibition might bring is more than offset by its ill-effects like rise of well-funded criminal gangs who then begin to control all aspects of life including politics. Tax on liquor is a significant contributor to state revenues. Prohibition cuts this off in one go. The long-term effect of this is that essential programmes of state like providing education, healthcare, water supply and roads that benefit everybody begin to suffer. Few people supporting prohibition take this into account.

Finally, the policy is unfair on the section of population that drinks in a responsible manner. Some indulge in harmful behaviour after drinking. Just like some people drive rashly and kill others or themselves. Prohibition is akin to banning driving because of such drivers.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on April 23, 2025