Events & Issus
New Delhi, 17 August 2015
Politics Over Prohibition
NATIONAL SHAME INDEED
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New
Delhi)
The death of an anti-liquor crusader
protesting atop a 120-foot high mobile tower in a town panchayat in Kanyakumari
district of Tamil Nadu has drawn the nation’s attention to the fickle prohibition
policy of the governments. The novel way of courting death has served to bring
together a number of political parties on an issue worth fighting in the next
Assembly election in Tamil Nadu next year.
Sasi Perumal, the martyr in this
case who is known as a “Gandhian”, was demanding the closure of a particular
liquor shop located near a school and a church. This IMFL (Indian-made Foreign
Liquor) retail outlet of TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Ltd.) was
opened in 2012 amidst protests from the residents there. Organized protests are
going on for the closure of this shop for the past 7-8 months under the banner
“People’s Movement Against Liquor”. The recent decision of the Kerala
government to implement prohibition in a phased manner seems to have encouraged
the movement in Tamil Nadu.
Following the death of Perumal, large-scale
protests spread to several districts. Liquor shops were ransacked and student groups
clashed with the police. Incidents of anti-liquor protesters climbing up mobile
phone towers have become common.
The agitation is continuing for over
1,000 days in which representatives from all political parties except the
ruling AIADMK are participating. The PMK, MDMK, DMDK, Congress, BJP, VCK, and
TMC comprising both national and regional parties, unleashed joint and their
own individual protests against the Government’s liquor policy. A State-wide
bandh was also called which received considerable support in some places.
The agitation has gained momentum and
is spreading vigorously like the anti-Hindi movement in the mid-1960s. Every
party is now compelled to come with a firm policy on prohibition and express it
in unambiguous terms. People seem to expect that party manifestoes for 2016
election would clarify their stand and measures they would take.
The PMK has been advocating
prohibition for a long time going back to the DMK rule long before other
parties woke up. Its leaders claim a 25-year-old agenda for ban of liquor as
well as tobacco. They are complaining that drink addiction is the main reason
for the backwardness of many “backward” castes despite the policy of
affirmative action.
DMK leader Karunanidhi requested the
Governor to prevail upon the State government to promulgate an Ordinance or
adopt a resolution in the Assembly to implement prohibition. He promised to
bring total prohibition in the State. His son MK Stalin, too asserted that his
party would come to power after election and its first job would be to
implement prohibition. But, why no steps were taken in this regard in the long
rule of the DMK or what is the sudden urgency now is anybody’s guess.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi
supporting the agitators assured that his party would formulate a new liquor
policy if voted to power. He accused the regional parties of listening to the liquor
lobby instead of the suffering families. Incidentally, he is in no mood to
advise all Congress-ruled
State governments to
introduce prohibition.
The Tamil Maanila Congress has
undertaken a signature campaign to mobilize public opinion for prohibition.
BJP’s State unit has set up a “Taskforce Against TASMAC” and a hotline inviting
people to join the movement. It is
asking the government to spell out its measures against the sale of alcohol,
and to set up de-addiction camps. The party is for carrying on a peaceful
agitation to bring about a revolutionary change.
MDMK leader Vaiko is in the
forefront of many protests and courting arrest. However, his vociferous demand
for closure of TASMAC shops has raised a counter question about his silence on the proved evil of smoking and tobacco use – a trade in which his family is said to have
vested interest. The CPI as a national party wants the Prime Minister to
intervene and declare prohibition for the entire country by passing an urgent
bill.
Recall, prohibition was introduced
in Tamil Nadu in Salem
district in 1937 by the Congress government formed by Rajaji. It was extended
to the entire province and continued till 1971. It was the DMK government under
Karunanidhi (contrary to the avowed wishes of the party’s revered leader
Annadurai who died in 1969) that lifted prohibition in 1971 when Tamil Nadu
along with Gujarat had the unique distinction
of following prohibition policy.
Protests by the Congress under Kamaraj and the Swatantra parties were in
vain.
In 1974, the DMK government facing a
formidable challenge of the breakaway group under MGR, who then supported
prohibition and staged a massive victory in a bye-election immediately after
parting company with the DMK, chose to close arrack and IMFL shops in 1974. Evidently,
it was a political strategy. MGR too changed his stand after coming to power
and reintroduced sale of toddy and arrack in 1981 for revenue, and established
TASMAC in 1983. Prohibition was again introduced in 1988, but lifted within two
years.
Both DMK and the AIADMK were patrons
with little difference. In 1989, the government formed TASCO to manufacture IMFL
and beer. In 1990, country liquor was reintroduced, but abolished by successor AIADMK
government under Jayalalitha in 1991. Thereafter, the State government’s
interest in liquor trade increased by leaps and bounds.
In 2003, TASMAC was formed which
took over the sale of IMFL. By then, the government had entered liquor business
wholeheartedly with the sole object of increasing its revenue, unmindful of its
social consequences. Income from liquor sale that stood at Rs.3,639 crore in
2003-04 rose to Rs.26,188 crore by 2014-15. Incentives are offered for boosting
sales and instructions are provided for augmenting liquor trade. Shops are
opened in big malls for the benefit of elite drinkers. Women are encouraged to
participate by providing separate entrance in liquor shops.
TASMAC shops flourish as a
monopolistic state enterprise under Items 8 and 51 in the State List in the
Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Electoral alliances for national or State
elections are mostly in the form of seat sharing and not on common policies or
agreed programmes. Hence, prohibition has never been a subject in election or
government formation or in political alliances.
Politics over prohibition cannot be
derided. It is written in Article 47 of the Constitution that the “State shall
endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal
purposes of intoxicating drinks which are injurious to health”. In flagrant
violation of this Directive Principle, many State governments are actively
promoting intoxicating drinks and are engaged in a flourishing liquor business.
It is believed that the tainted money is used in providing freebies. Alcohol
addict can hardly understand the intricacies of populist policies.
What is strange is the sudden
involvement of several political parties in the prohibition movement. Most of
these are small parties that cannot hope to come to power to implement what
they are promising. The bigger ones are in dire need of forging a strong
electoral alliance for which the current prohibition movement provides an issue
that can appeal to various sections of the voters.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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