Drink law outdated

THERE are some laws that are observed more in the breach. The law on Delhi’s permissible drinking age must be one of them. India recognises its citizens as responsible adults when they attain 18 years of age. You can vote, get a driving licence or join the military at 18; the legal age for marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys.

Yet, it’s illegal for you to have a drink in a public place before you turn 25. This is irrational in the extreme. Delhi tourism minister Kapil Mishra must be commended for his statement that the minimum drinking age should be lowered in the national capital. This ought to touch off a debate and the age bar lowered.

Delhi has company – states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Meghalaya have the same no-drinks-before-25 law. This unreasonably high minimum drinking age ought to be lowered to at least 21, although there are states like Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry where it is 18. The 25 years age bar is not just risible, it is also counter-productive.

Like many other excessive restrictions our lawmakers like to decorate our statute books with, the ban simply drives the activity in question – in this case alcohol consumption by young people – underground. That gives rise to alcoholism and binge drinking, posing serious health risks. Unreasonable laws also reinforce the culture of contempt for laws that has become endemic in our society.

Last year Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which once banned alcohol being served after 11.30pm, extended that deadline in an effort to usher-in a more vibrant nightlife. If Delhi, or indeed any Indian city, aspires to be a global metropolis beloved of citizens and tourists alike, outdated laws on alcohol consumption must be jettisoned.

Lowering the minimum age for drinking in Delhi would be a start.