a More than 40 people lost their lives in the tragedy of spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad district once again brings to the fore the controversial question of prohibition. Gujarat is one of the four states in India that ban alcohol. The victims consumed the poisonous methyl alcohol sold in plastic pouches by bootleggers. 24 people have been made accused in the FIR and 14 have been arrested. The police action after every such tragedy barely inspires public confidence; In fact, it hides the complicity of the administration in shielding the black market of alcohol, wherever prohibition exists. It is difficult to believe that a vast network of illegal manufacture and sale of alcohol could exist without the protection of the police and politicians. Reports suggest that in this case, specific complaints were made to the police, which continued to look the other way. Prohibition makes alcohol illegal, but hides in the black market. By driving sales and production underground, the state loses tax revenue while consumers face enormous health risks. Though prohibition is listed in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution, no state has been able to achieve it with any lasting effectiveness. Globally, it’s a similar experience.
However, prohibition remains a strong slogan for some politicians. Alcohol damages health, family finances and human relationships, and calls for a complete ban on it have a certain moral, even if not practical, appeal. But using the law’s sledgehammer to curb alcohol use can backfire, as experience shows. The Gujarat High Court is considering five petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949 on the ground that it violates fundamental rights including privacy. The law is being questioned for its alleged arbitrariness as it allows out-of-state tourists to consume alcohol in the state. Prohibition laws give broad and intrusive power to the police, which have used them in recent days against political protesters in at least one case in Gujarat. On the one hand, prohibition provides an opportunity for rent collection and on the other hand it gives freedom to the police to enforce the law selectively. There is a moral burden that many political parties in India try to carry on their shoulders by discouraging or prohibiting the consumption of alcohol – many parties prohibit members from consuming alcohol – but in practice it turns out to be comical hypocrisy. Is. Already in campaign mode for the Gujarat Assembly elections, which are only months away, the tragedy has prompted the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party to train their guns on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Instead of sticking to the dogmatic and impossible goals of social reform through harsh legislation, there should be a more honest discussion on prohibition.