Tens of thousands in prison as India prohibition bites
RAJAULI: Prem Prakash and his sharp-eyed team cause impatient queues at the border of India’s Bihar state where a hard-hitting alcohol ban has left tens of thousands in jail and drawn the national spotlight. Every rickshaw, every car, every bus crossing from neighboring Jharkand gets a thorough once-over at the Rajauli checkpoint from Superintentent Prakash’s excise department team.
Bihar is a big, poor, rough-and-ready state with 100 million people. It also has India’s harshest prohibition regime: At least 71,000 people have since been imprisoned for alcohol consumption or possession, some for up to fiveyears. It has not been a smooth transition. While around one million liters of liquor have been seized by police since the legislation was brought in last year, local media report that much of it has disappeared, prompting authorities to investigate. Officials caused consternation when they blamed rats for consuming some of the alcohol.
Last month, six men accused of selling liquor escaped prison after their guards dozed off. Authorities were forced to deny accusations the guards were drunk. But while some moan about the effectiveness of the ban and the police tactics used to back it, prohibition has become a vote-winner. Now politicians in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have demanded or promised similar schemes. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who brought in the Bihar ban, has been praised by conservative Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “It will protect our future generations and everyone should back him,” Modi said in January.
Hartosh Singh Bal, political editor with Caravan magazine, described such bans as “a political quick fix to a complicated problem.” “Alcoholism is a big issue in many poorer Indian households which is why prohibition appeals to a popular base, especially women,” he told AFP. However the alcohol hunters’ limited weaponry and the sheer amount of liquor involved makes enforcement difficult.
Superintendent Prakash’s team at the border post about 95 miles from the Bihar capital, Patna, has to check hundreds of vehicles every day. “We have caught people giving different reasons for smuggling alcohol including for family weddings, festivals and illegal sale,” he told AFP. One official told AFP that gangs make children carry the contraband as they are less likely to be searched. —AFP