Divine Comedy

India, the old country of “ethics and conservation”, makes another desperate call for upholding the “culture of the country”. Newest in the series of “reforms” is the law passed in the state of Maharashtra which raises the “legal” drinking age from 18 years to 25 years in the entertainment capital of India, Mumbai and the rest of the state.

Many opinions have surfaced but none of them are in support of the law. I am no supporter of drinking but its just another law which is not going to be implemented. And it is only going to rise the corruption rate in the already corruption ridden state. The hitches are too many to enumerate. For one, the law hopes to discourage under-age consumption and drinking problem. What I don’t understand is how is the legal age to “buy” liquor going to reduce drinking? Its not. The black market will grow and the underground is going to be the only benefactor.

The law makers are yet again making an erroneous assumption that enacting a law will change the situation. India is not a drinking country. Most youth all over the country feel that the drinking stops at around 25. Rising the drinking age makes no sense. Even when the drinking age was at 18, there were too many cases of under-age drinking. So when the law enforcement couldn’t monitor a few teenagers, they are surely going to see to it that people don’t drink before 25. Doesn’t sound soo sane, does it?

Another view I hold is how are the drinking habits regulated in the villages? Aren’t we a cultivating nation with the majority of the population residing in the villages? Liquor is not even sold in those places. But can the law makers do anything about the consumption? The night life in the city may be attracting a lot of youngsters but the drinking problem is more acute in the villages. So, what is the law going to do about it?

The claims about the taxes the state pays for the imported liquor is just another feeble call from the dark because ultimately the taxes for imported goods are borne by the particular consumer, not by the government. Maybe its time to pay more attention to the tax scams because if the state is finding the liquor tax unbearable, then there is something wrong with the taxation department, not with liquor consumption. That may be something for the law makers to look into, instead of passing such useless laws and wasting everyone’s time. Raising the tax on the imported liquor won’t change anything, it will be just another reason for the youth to vote for the opposition in the next election.

Maharashtra's chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, said drinking problem was a social issue and insisted the measures were not an attempt at moral policing. "Liquor consumption stresses the health system and destroys families," he said. What he needs to look into is how he is going to change the attitude and not the habits. If the drinking starts at 25, how does it stop affecting the health or destroying families?! And how does the government hope to stop in-house drinking? Seems like Mr. Chief Minister didn’t do his homework properly before proposing the law. How effective was the law that required a purchaser to produce identification that he is 18 before buying alcohol previously? Most college campuses have drinkers, are they even 18?

We can vote at 18, but don’t have the liberty to choose if we want to drink or not? If we really want to do something about the drinking problem, its awareness that we need, not a law. A compulsory statutory warning will be more effective.

Just another desperate law which is just as out of context as the rest of the “drinking laws”.