Dr. Viu Meru
Alcoholism is a disease that has very wide ranging bad effects. And more than any other people, the Nagas for a number of reasons have become hapless victims of it. Even though there many factors that contribute to the development of alcoholism, the specific agent of cause is ALCOHOL. In public health practices, if you want to get rid of a disease you first remove the causative organism by the best option at hand. And so when the Government of Nagaland passed the Liquor Prohibition Bill in 1989, regardless of how it came about, it was a step forward because it aims at reducing the prevalence of the causative agent. It was never a total prohibition because the traditional preparations were allowed though they also cause the same kind of drunkenness and alcoholism. The delightful thing was that the glittering liquor shops disappeared from our towns, so was the drunken brawls that were disgusting daily sights in our streets. However, more than a decade past now, the prohibition has not fully succeeded in preventing our people from drinking alcohol and the debate is now on as to whether it should be lifted from the land or not. Here I venture to enumerate a few important reasons why it is what it is today-
1. Alcoholism once set is very difficult to cure. The process of healing is very painful and he will do any thing to get his next bottle. Many of them are more comfortable drunk for whatever personal, familial or social reasons and therefore they are not at all keen to part with it. It so happen that you can not cure an alcoholic unless he desperately wants to be free from it.
2. Bootleggers. Selling Foreign or IMFL is illegal in Nagaland and yet many are exploiting the hapless alcoholics by smuggling them in and selling them at exorbitant rates. While they may become rich, they are abetting slow suicide among users besides putting their families to untold miseries. These black alcohol dealers are indeed some of the worst criminals in our society. They don’t care if they destroy people’s life as long as they get their money! I don’t see how they can go to their graves in peace.
3. Policy makers and the Law enforcers: Unless these important people are serious and committed to the Bill, it will never succeed. However, in the present scenario we find that many of them are drinkers themselves. While they make laws they seem to have no intention of abiding by them themselves. I was told that during official dinners also some of them have their evening pegs in the side rooms before joining the rest for meal. They behave as if they are above the law. Then the police and the excise agencies have among them some of the worst offenders. I have personally seen so many of them drunk! What can the good ones among them do when the task demands total commitments from everyone of them?
4. Our porous border. We are a small state surrounded by liquor abundant neighbours, many of them are all out exhibiting their wares right across the boundary. Go along Nagaland Assam border from Lahorijan to Bihupar and Namsa and you will know what I mean. This is obviously so because there are heavy demands from across the boundary. Fortunately for us our eastern border is not playing much, except of course that the hard drugs come from there. And on the south, Manipur has similar legal frameworks.
5. In adequate scope of the Bill. As I stated earlier it is not a total prohibition allowing the addicts, if worse come worst, to hang on to the locals which are very potent themselves.
It is always heart breathing to see the suffering women doing what they can in Manipur, Mizoram and here in Nagaland obviously and rightly with the backing of the Church. However, how much can they do and how long?
In view of the present depressing scenario, will the prohibition ever succeed? Unlikely. If it will not succeed, should it be lifted? I hope not. I will give you my reasons, please read on.
1. Some things in life we have to relentlessly pursue regardless of failure simply because doing them is right. I am a doctor and so far I have not being able to prevent any person from dying ultimately, even the patients of doctors who are much better than me have ultimately died. That does not mean we should give up our good efforts to keep people healthy and alive. In fact, greater efforts are being made and more researches are being done to help people stay healthy. A great number of sicknesses and deaths in our state is alcohol related. Should we not want to prevent them? I will hate to see wine shops in every corner of our towns again simply because alcohol is extremely hazardous to health.
2. Good works very often spread from a small struggling corner of the world. We can show the world what we are made of for a good cause by our relentless refusal to give a disease agent’s free rein in our administrative areas in spite of our limitations and failures. My vision is that in 50 years both tobacco and alcohol become history. It is possible when the whole world get together for a common cause. In my professional life, I have been involved in the global eradication efforts of two dangerous diseases. Small pox was done away in 1978 and presently Poliomyelitis, which will be certified eradicated soon. Both these are successful because they are global efforts. If the same kind of effort is put against alcoholism there is no reason why in 50 years we will not succeed.
If it is not a global or at least a continental effort, will the Liquor Prohibition succeed? Unlikely. And if it does not succeed, should it be lifted? I hope not.
Dr. Viu Meru
Consultant, Comm. Health, CIHSR, Dimapur,
State Mentoring Support Cordinator, EHA/STRC, Nagaland
