The case of beer

Modern Times
By Abhay Mangaldas
The case of beer
The continuation of a dialogue on modern times between Bhrahm and Vish – two fictitious Ahmedabadi characters, like you and me.
Vish, you must have often heard that Gujarat is dry because it is Gandhiji’s home state! Have you ever tried to question it or dig deeper?
What’s there to dig? The law enforcing authorities make a huge amount of money from bootleggers…. that’s how deep it gets. Because, I am told that there is more Johny Walker Black Label consumed in this state than what is made in their brewery in Scotland!
That’s just one side of the story. Gujarat is also amongst the safest states in the country.
Maybe so if you discount the riots. But as far as protecting Gandhiji’s ideals are concerned, he was against smoking and eating meat as well, so why clamp down only on alcohol?
He was against alcohol for a different reason. Men mistreated their women and families due to alcohol. There is no denying that alcohol not being available openly has curbed this social injustice to some extent. Don’t forget that women constitute 50% of the vote!
Do you mean to say that Gandhiji’s ideals apply only to people and politics of Gujarat and nowhere else in the country?! Don’t women in other states face the same issues? Do you think that there is higher injustice to women in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan, our immediate neighbors? And if so, why are these states not imposing prohibition? It makes no sense to me that what I do in another state quite freely and legally, is considered illegal in my home state.
So what do you think is a pragmatic solution to this issue, which I believe has not taken center stage only because of the vested interest of the party that comes to power?
I think that no progressive leadership in Gujarat can afford to talk about making the state a forerunner in the country without addressing this issue. There has to be a level playing field for Gujaratis to compete. I think beer, that has less than 10% alcohol content, should be legalised immediately and think about the rest in a phased manner. I don’t think you can even begin to imagine the economic and social impact of such a shift in policy for the people of Gujarat!
Well, for a start, it would probably wipe out the entire fiscal deficit of the state… not such a bad thing considering that it’s coffers are running dry!
Did you know that though Gujaratis constitute the biggest chunk of the tourism happening in this country, they prefer out of state holiday destinations… the big culprit being prohibition?
I think the social scene as a whole would undergo a metamorphosis. People would start going out more…. besides tourism, there would be resurgence in the arts and theatre.. in fact, I can’t think of a negative impact at all! Can you? Don’t forget, drinking mild alcohol like wine was an ancient social custom, deeply rooted in our culture and mythology.
Don’t say! You mean we are being deprived of following an ancient custom?! How can this be allowed when the social and economic (and therefore, political) fall-out of making beer legal appears everything but negative?
Irony is that it won’t even kill the policy maker’s golden goose, because beer is not part of the mainstream bootlegging business… they make their money on harder stuff.
So we are actually talking ‘I don’t lose and you gain’ scenario, are we? ‘Cheers’ to that! But what about Gandhiji’s ideals?
Think about it, if for instance, a portion of the tax collected from sale of beer went towards providing education for every child in the state, do you think Gandhiji would disapprove?