‘High’ Time:

August 02/2011: Intoxication has been a historical problem. In known history, the British had waged a long battle that was termed the ‘Opium Wars’. The idea was to subjugate a huge nation like China through the use of that intoxicant. When common people need to be controlled by rulers, who are not necessarily looking after the interests of their subjects, the easiest way to achieve that end is by keeping them ‘high’. In Indian mythology, the Gods and the Demons fought tooth and nail (most probably) to acquire the brewing and bottling rights of “somrus”. Although we cannot, for certainty, state that somrus was an alcoholic liquid (rus), yet it could be construed, from descriptions in myths and stories, that it affected the mental abilities or consciousness levels of those who gulped it. This may be understood as an intoxicant of times gone by. Shifting in time, we see the example of the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. The USSR was born out of a revolution headed by Vladimir I. Lenin and a handful of his supporters. Overthrowing the Czar and family was no mean feat. At the beginning of the 20th century, this revolution marked a major change that occurred in world history. On one side stood the powers of capitalism and imperialism headed by the United States of America. On the other stood the deprived and underprivileged nations notionally headed by the political and military might of the USSR. It was a period when humanity discovered that the age old battle between the haves and have nots had become sanctified and official. This took shape in political struggles, sometimes even military battles, and the world moved on. Built on a theory of no inpidual freedom or no possibilities for human ingenuity and enterprise to play a role in the development of the society, the communist system started to rot from within while it stood mighty without. From the long line of Stalins and others to culminate in Brezhnev, the ham handed brutal rule of the Soviet leaders had started panicking because the populace in that immense country had started getting uneasy. Instinctively, most of those despots fell in the usual trap. That time, the favorite Russian drink, Vodka, came in handy. The problem became so huge that when, in the early Eighties, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power talking of opening up and changing (glasnost and perestroika), alcoholism was a national issue. Wanting to bring about a social change in the existing situation, Gorbachev risked his seat of power for the love of his nation. He went all out to stop people from accessing alcohol. This action made him unpopular yet he went ahead. The Soviet Union may have broken up due to historical reasons but ill thought out wars like the one in Afghanistan and general people disenchanted with a government that tried to change their personal habits did make a huge dent. It is rare for the world to encounter a leader like Gorbachev.

Many centuries ago, when the White man wanted to conquer the wilds of North America due to greed for gold and land, he had to battle the ferocious Red Indians (now politically correct word is Amerindians). The best way was to introduce whiskey, which the locals named the ‘burning water’. The European physique could handle alcohol. The Amerindians just wilted away as a powerful race. Some tribes simply were wiped off the face of the earth, thanks to alcoholism.

Now look at India. We have been talking of ‘harijans and apasis’ in the same breath for a long long time. Mahatma Gandhi coined the term hari (lord’s) jan (people) with the hope that they will get assimilated into main line society and contribute to nation building. Instead, all those who came along preferred to send alcohol to harijan and apasi villages in the hope of getting their votes. Those who came out from that strata of society, once educated, prosperous and successful, immediately forgot their roots. Never did they try to fight intoxication at that level. Disowning their brethren was easier for those who benefitted from the system. The ‘system’ systematically has been trying to propagate alcohol. The rich find it easy to control an over populated nation like India through means that can never be traced back to them directly. If the people want it, give it to them. And give them copiously so they drown their sorrows and miseries in the ‘burning water.’

For many years, rural women in different parts of Orissa have been waging an untiring battle against sale of alcohol in deep villages of this state. The police and other arms of government, instead of assisting them have always tried to suppress their struggles. This is a known and accepted story. The excuse is it gives enough excise money to fill the coffers of the government. Yet, at what cost! It is, therefore, heartening to note the new strategy the Maoists have adopted in parts of Orissa. On one hand, we all denounce these extremists for murdering innocents and creating mayhem. On the other, one cannot but appreciate the threat served by Maoists that selling or consumption of alcohol in their strongholds will have negative consequences for those who indulge. It is a great thought. It may be one of their very few strategies which could be embraced by all. If they lead through social change and bring in the fear of life, many lives and the country as a whole may be saved.