An Open Letter To Nitish

Dear Chief Minister,

So your ‘sushasan’ has gone to your head and you have assumed the role of moral guardian of Bihar. Today you are deciding what a citizen of Bihar should drink (fruit juice) and should not drink I(liquor). Maybe tomorrow you will decide what he or she may eat and may not eat, may wear and may not wear, and so on.

I am an old man of 85 and I have been drinking India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) since I was thirty. In these ­50-plus years, I have never been accused of neglecting my family, indulging in ­domestic violence, or committing rape. After you imposed prohibition in Bihar, my evenings have gone dry, affecting my mental and physical health. The hue and cry about alcohol consumption being related to domestic violence and negligence towards one’s of a family is the creation of a sick mind. Cases of domestic ­violence and non-maintenance of family are to be dealt with under appropriate laws meant to deal with these problems and not by imposing prohibition. In fact, women should be made aware of how they can seek redress for being subjected to domestic violence ­or if their husbands refuse to take care ­of the household.

Mahatma Gandhi, to be sure, wanted people to give up drinking, but he was against all forms of coercion. Had he been alive today, he would have been the first to raise his voice against the imposition of prohibition. It’s well known that many Congress leaders of those times would drink, but Gandhi never issued a fatwa against drinking or prevented those who drank from joining the party.

Mr Chief Minister, Sir, are you in search of a new constitution, being ­apprehensive of your future in Bihar politics owing to the re-emergence of the RJD in the last general elections? Total prohibition across India—that may sound like a good war cry. But ­addictions are an inherent part of human nature, whether it is addiction to gambling, smoking, drinking or drugs. Indians are no exception to this, and even in Vedic times, people celebrated with som rasa. Though no one now knows what it was, it was most likely an intoxicant. The Mahabharata speaks of Lord Balaram (Sri Krishna’s elder brother) being a habitual drinker and of the Yadav clan coming to ruin because of heavy drinking. And country beer, local wines and distilled spirits are very much a part of tribal rituals and ceremonies. Imposition of total prohibition will mean interference with their religious practices. Mr Chief Minister, you seem to have shown great concern for toddy-tappers, perhaps ­because the community is a votebank, but for tribals, who do not perhaps constitute a votebank, not a jot of concern.

Mr Chief Minister, may I also point out to you that followers of Tantra and the Shakti cult consume liquor as part of their rituals and, of course, it’s well known that wine, in Christianity, symbolises the blood of Christ and is used in the celebration of Mass.

Mr Chief Minister, Sir, please do not make prohibition a prestige issue. After all, more than half the people in the world drink and in this age of globalisation, there is so much intermingling of cultures that more people than you would like to believe enjoy their tipple.

What India really needs is to unite in the fight against religious intolerance and bigotry. Please do not waste time and energy in imposing prohibition.

Suprakash Roy, Patna