Prohibition in Nagaland is just a paper act…it can never succeed and no one can have a holier than thou art attitude…correct me if prohibition has restrained alcoholism
Atongla Rothrong, Reporter, The Morung Express
The enormous task of changing our attitude and approach towards a progressive mindset and also to disagree with various problems distressing our society is very much in the mind of everybody today. But can anybody pinpoint as to which problem is the worst of all? Doubtful, I should say. Was it just yesterday or was it in the last decade that Nagaland was declared a dry state? Conceded that Nagas are voracious drinkers and many cases of alcohol abuse have been heard of. Then what of the numerous cases of rape, drug abuses, robberies and killings? Like minded people would agree that the cases cited are the main threats faced by our people today.
Nagaland was declared a ‘Dry State’ and a ban was imposed on the sale and manufacture of liquor in Nagaland by the government under the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act ’89. Prohibition in simple words means banning the manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of intoxicants. Drinking has been considered a social evil and is cursed upon. Wine is often described as ‘liquid fire’. Just like the fire destroys everything to ashes so does intake of liquor masticates through not only our physical health but also the mental and moral values.
Nagas as written in the pages of the local history and said through the ages are accustomed to drinking since time immemorial and today’s generation are practicing it in the open especially during the Local festivals. Then why is it that we are making a hue and cry about the lifting of the prohibition act. The prohibition act prevailing in the state has not worked out in a very effective manner. In spite of the Prohibition which is still in force, the sell of illicit liquor in local bars is found in abundance. Even though the import of foreign liquor is restricted, there has been surplus in the supply of locally made beers, which the law-keepers have failed to look into. One should keep in mind that for the success in implementation of the act the co-operation of all the section of people is essential.
Enforcement of any kind of prohibition has so far not yielded any positive results in the world. It is therefore not surprising that during the recent Assembly Session the Committee on Estimates (CE) recommended measures for the government to take, for the ‘effective implementation of partial prohibition’ in the State. The Committee in its 79th Report on the Estimate of the Excise Department (Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act-1989) has stated that limited numbers of licenses for sale of liquor, only during limited time and day may be issued. However this should be made after proper verification of age of applicant and location of shop.
For effective implementation of partial prohibition, the Committee also recommended that reputed hotels and restaurants may be issued with licenses to sell, consume within the hotel precincts, while the quality of alcohols should be strictly checked and controlled, dry days should be strictly observed and those not adhering to rules should be imposed with fines or their license seized. Further the report also suggested that the volume/quantity of consumption of liquors be strictly regulated by issue of orders to the proprietors, owners and sellers in the hotels/restaurants.
It also suggested that shops selling alcohol should be warned against selling to minors and failure to abide would lead to fines or cancellation of licenses. The proposal also suggested that identity card may be issued for consumers after properly verifying their age while restrictions be made for the volume/quantity purchased by an individual or hotel in a day. Other restriction for implementing partial prohibition was that, liquor shops should not located anywhere near school, church or office premises.
The Committee also recommended that unruly behavior emerging out of drunkenness, drunken driving and disruption of public safety be checked and dealt with strict actions. It also suggested that law enforcing agencies should see to it that the armed forces did not sell above the prescribed limit/quota. The random out flow of liquor should be strictly checked, restriction to drink in public places etc should be strictly enforced and unauthorized sale and use should be dealt with stringent measures, the report stated.
It was also suggested that the revenue earned should be used for generating employment and also to promote awareness programs on the evil effects of liquor.
It was also suggested that the panchayat, area council members, youth of the locality be authorized to help the authorities in checking illegal sale and use of alcohol.
The above recommendations should be welcomed and partial lifting of liquor prohibition can be experimented with. The Committee has put in place sufficient a check in order to curb any untoward incident if at all prohibition is partially lifted.
If one is to go deep into its research it is known that when there was no prohibition in the State, only a few wine stores existed but with the coming of Prohibition Act one can find shops, Restaurants and even private residences dealing in the lucrative business of wine selling at such high cost. It is common knowledge that when it comes to economy Nagas are zero. The State Government should, instead of losing crores of rupees annually, withdraw the prohibition act and make the most of the revenue to generate resources for the local economy.
It can only be through an effort of all like minded individuals, and Social Groups by organizing programmes to reach out to those who are abused because every individual has a mind of their own. “Nagaland for Christ” was declared and being a Christian state and letting liquor co-exist does not sound well and also is not appreciated by the masses. Our society has deteriorated rapidly where our younger generation has become the victims of intoxicating substance especially of liquor. Consumption of liquor has already ruined many happy homes and had impoverished many rich and prosperous families. It has also ruined many of the young promising careers.
As for the Church bodies, a civilized citizen should be able to comprehend that ‘Nagaland for Christ’ is the slogan that our State stands by. But the church should also be rational in the matter of the prohibition act. Proverbs 9: 17-18 says; “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave’. So if an individual wants to indulge in it let it be, maybe the good job on the part of the Church would be by providing the alcohol victims by organizing alcoholic anonymous(AA) programmes and counseling and thereby bringing them closer to God. Correct me if prohibition has restrained alcoholism? It will be an offense to our understanding if someone comes up with a constructive reply. If the prohibition act persists then the State Government should have an alternative for those indulging in alcohol via extra-curricular activities. A survey done says that more than 50% of the youths who are drug addicts presently were alcoholics before but due to the prohibition and high cost of liquor they had opted for drugs and we do know that drug users are one of the sources of spreading HIV/AIDs. As a norm, Nagas have the attitude of aping the west and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the drug users of Nagaland start to sell their blood to support their habit, like the drug addicts of Cambodia. It is highly likely that HIV prevalence in Nagaland will rapidly increase. So it would be better if the Government deviate from the prohibition act and delve into matters more serious.
If at all the Act is lifted then the quality of liquor will be far better than the ones that are available in the black market now. I moreover believe that the cravings would naturally subside for people in general go in for things that (here alcohol) are hard to find within their environment. Further, due to accumulating of mega bucks through the so called illegal business, the dealers resort to adulterating the refined bottled liquor which eventually results in early damage of health. The option to reduce the frequency of the alcohol consumption or to make it legal is a combination of two. For people who take alcohol is no different than any other person, it’s just that the choice of dependency is different.
Prohibition act in Nagaland is just a paper act after all. We, see hardly anyone in a drunken brawl in the neighboring States where there is no prohibition but here in Nagaland where prohibition act is said to be prevailing it not a new sight to encounter drunkenness. Point taken that some people take alcohol or are unable to stop or unwilling to stop them. Coming to the end of my dialogue, as far as the mega potential of tourism industry is concerned- we are doing our best to enhance tourism in our State and if prohibition is a constraint for the flow of tourists than there is every reason to consider partial lifting of the Act.
Prohibition Act can never succeed and no one can have a holier than thou attitude. If one wants to survive longer, that’s their decision, freedom should not be denied to anyone because in my opinion, concern is right and action is wrong. Under no authority can a State say no to this, except perhaps in a communist State.
Yes, alcohol is available and some people drink but it is also true that bootleggers can be arrested, liquor bottles seized, smashed, set to flame—at least something is done. There is less evil. Prohibition has made the business of liquor illegal. The law is there. This is a good thing in itself.
Dr T Jamedi Longkumer, College Lecturer
The recent debate in the media regarding the prohibition issue has been most interesting and thought provoking. Let me start by examining the accusations made against prohibition. It gives me no pleasure to say this but some have smeared and blackened the face of prohibition to such an extent that it is no longer recognizable. Here I hope to attempt the unenviable task of cleaning up.
Some people have reasoned that prohibition has given rise to “other evils” like bootlegging and the drug menace besides other. The argument is put across in such a way so as to blame prohibition for giving birth, nurturing, and encouraging these evils. Let me first tackle the bootlegging accusation. It is well known that bootlegging is a problem, an evil everywhere—prohibition or no prohibition. There will always be anti-socials and criminal elements in a society who would take to the business even if there is no prohibition in the state: (some say lifting of prohibition would end bootlegging) bootleggers would still thrive. The possibility of evading taxes and making large profit is always an appealing proposition to the demon of greed in man. Thus in a no-prohibition scenario we would have not only the so-called legal liquor store but also the non-legal outlets. Such a state would be worse than any present prohibition predicament—at least now we have one less tentacle of the evil octopus. No! I am not saying that the presence of bootlegging is a preferable option—bootleggers must be arrested, there must be retribution for their crime. I am just saying that it is not correct to blame prohibition for the presence of bootlegging. The second accusation against prohibition is that it is responsible for drug addiction problem in the society. Forgive me, but seriously I find this accusation is misplaced. For, in the first place the drug problem was not and is not an isolated Nagaland—centred phenomenon. It came from Southeast Asia like an unstoppable tsunami during the 1980s and enveloped the whole of North east and in fact the whole of India. Prohibition did not invite it; it came on its own, in its own time. Many young people out of curiosity tried it, got hooked, wasted their lives and died. It is sad but I fail to comprehend on what basis it is argued that there would have been less drug-related casualty if there was no prohibition. Take for instance the situation in our neighbouring sister states—the dimension of drug problem is as serious as everywhere, prohibition or no prohibition. So there is no way we can blame prohibition for the drug problem in the society. In fact, I think prohibition played a crucial role in controlling and limiting the fire from being blown to greater proportion. Please do not crucify prohibition for everything you can think of.
Some quarters have expressed the fear that prohibition can be an impediment, a major hurdle for tourism promotion in the state. The question to be asked here is, is our land, our heritage so poor? Do we have to depend on alcohol to attract tourists? This fear is unfounded. Our culture is so rich; nature has endowed us with much beauty that if properly packaged and harnessed Nagaland could easily become a tourist hotspot. We have so much to offer and share with the world; let’s stop worrying about liquor and cease using the argument as a rationale for lifting the prohibition.
Some people have questioned the “performance” of prohibition, questioned its success. It is true that prohibition has not produced the desired results but does it imply that it is useless, a failure? Yes, alcohol is available and some people drink but it is also true that bootleggers can be arrested, liquor bottles seized, smashed, set to flame—at least something is done. There is less evil. Prohibition has made the business of liquor illegal. The law is there. This is a good thing in itself. Of course, this law is not foolproof to aberrations, anomalies and violation in the same way as for instance, the law against theft and murder cannot stop all acts of theft and murder from happening. Because some dead-conscience people flout the law of the land; does it mean that the law is useless? If we follow this line of argument then obviously we will have to conclude that all laws are meaningless, which is not the case as a matter of fact. Laws serve two purposes. Firstly, it is expected to deter acts of crime (deterrence), and secondly, punish the offender. The authority of law is the basis of civil society. It maintains and gives the semblance of sanity to brute man. Imagine the scenario in a free for all society—it will be chaos and violence everywhere. Thus law may not create a perfect society but it surely makes for a civil society. So, as of today, prohibition may not have transformed our society from the evils of alcoholism, but at least we have taken a step in the right direction.
Now the question arises as to whether an act of legislation is enough? No. Mere legislation is not the answer. It can at best be only a stepping stone in the search for a solution to the problem. The failure of our people lies precisely in not understanding this truth. We became content with prohibition law in place. We thought that the final solution had been arrived at. We did not think nor acted beyond prohibition. Prohibition cannot solve the problem. It is meant to be a tool only. But sadly our effort and the missionary zeal displayed in the demand for prohibition ended with the passing of an Act in the legislative Assembly. Where is our will to struggle on? Reform is not a one-time action but a continuous process and each step along the path has to be built upon or else the structure will collapse. After prohibition, we rejoiced, sat and relaxed. Let us wake up from our slumber and do something. The government must perform its responsibility of implementing the law at all (its) level of authority. The civil society, the Church, the NGOs must be vigilant in spotting the problem areas and the problem people and in taking care of them. If we sincerely implement this two pronged approach, we would surely achieve much of what we started for.
Prohibition was demanded because the need was felt. Is the need still there? To protect lives, homes, society? Yes. Anything that is evil that has a destructive influence has to be fought against with all available resources and means at our command. If only our leaders had the vision and the courage to impose prohibition starting from the beginning of the 60s or the 70s, our state and socity would have been stronger, more vibrant, cleaner and productive. Some say that we Naga have been gifted with a natural and inherent appetite for alcohol and that it is wrong to go against. I think such a point of view is nothing less than a poor attempt at rationalizing the evil. However, even if this is true, don’t you think that we need to sublimate, spiritualize and discipline this passion? Such appetite can be redirected toward greater purpose rather than for mere gratification of fleeting desires.
I may be wrong but I sense that the church seems to be getting a little bit unnecessarily jitterly about the prohibition issue. The church stood at the forefront in the fight against alcoholism and it must continue to do so. It must not shy away. We are proud of what the church has done for the well-being of the society. We salute and applaud the church. We also honour the Mother’s Association, the students’ federation and our politicians who ultimately passed the bill. What has to be understood here is that alcoholism is not “just” an individual problem but it is also a social problem. This is the reason why “social action” is necessary to fight against alcoholism. And in doing so nobody is trying to police anybody’s conscience. In fact the conscience cannot be policed around even if we desire to do so. But the conscience can be made to grow healthy, beautiful, strong and pure if provided with the opportunity and vice versa. Prohibition as a social action is an effort in the direction, aimed at creating a healthy environment for the development of healthy individual for the greater good. Prohibition hopes to facilitate this attainment by making scarce the opportunity for degeneration. It is therefore important that we do not lose sight of the greater picture in fighting the battle against alcoholism. The battle has a greater and higher purpose not merely the “prohibition” of liquor.
The important question is, “is prohibition for good or bad?” I don’t know how people can even feel that prohibition is not for a good cause. Of course there are loopholes in the system and failures in implementing but a beginning nonetheless has been made. The journey has begun and good willing in his grace and in his strength the destination will be reached. May be a day will come in the future when we shall no longer require a paper law to fight for the good cause but as of now, we need the crutch for we have just barely started learning how to stand up.
