Bihar, the land that once used to be inundated with the jewels of societies like Aryabhata, Mahavira, Chandragupta Maurya, and Jayaprakash Narayan, has now transformed into a state of chaos, theft, and whatnot. Every time Bihar makes it to the headline, it is for bad reasons. From theft of cell towers, railway tracks, and groom to collapsing bridges and fake toppers, bizarre news has become a new norm in Bihar. While discussing all of these, how can we skip the iconic decision of the liquor ban in Bihar?
If 15 years of jungle raj, 10 years of Nitish’s hibernation, and an increasing number of migrants were not enough, Nitish put a final nail in the coffin with his decision to turn Bihar into a dry state in India. It all began with a positive mindset, a good cause, and splendid determination but has now turned out to be the worst financial holocaust for Bihar.
Many people might argue that the alcohol ban in Bihar was the greatest spell cast by Nitish Kumar but is it so? If you go by what the politicians say or what the surveys manipulated by those politicians say then they can make you believe SpaceX is the brainchild of Tej Pratap Yadav. Maybe? Who knows?
Well, we are not sure about the Tej Pratap and SpaceX connection but the one thing that we are sure about is ‘the thought of Bihar as a dry state of success is just a fallacy’. So, let’s gulp our pride a little bit (since Bihar is a dry state) and accept the failure of the liquor ban in Bihar through this blog post.
Liquor Ban in Bihar: From Announcement to Reality
The road to transforming Bihar into a dry state (disaster) was not so easy for Nitish Kumar. There were interventions, oppositions, and turmoil but Nitish was determined to end another source of financial income to Bihar (12% of Bihar’s revenue).
Announcement: Drunkard’s Doomsday
It was 26th November 2015, when the words uttered from Nitish Kumar’s chewing mouth shattered many hearts and glasses. Nitish Kumar made it clear that alcohol will be banned from 1st April 2016 by harnessing the power of Article 47. After just 4 days, Nitish made it clear they were going for an all-out war against alcohol and there would be a complete ban on the sale, and consumption of any type of alcohol would become illegal.
“While announcing the liquor ban in Bihar, Nitish Kumar mentioned the first attempt at a liquor ban in Bihar in 1979 under Karpuri Thakur and how it turned out to be a failure. The ironic thing here is he made the same mistake and failed again”
Intervention & Escape
After 4 months of the announcement, on 30th September 2015, the Patna High Court declared the decision of the liquor ban in Bihar as illegal, unconstitutional, and impractical. But even after the order from the high court, Nitish Kumar came up with a stringent law and made it clear that they are not going to back away from their decision to dissipate alcohol from Bihar.
Later on, the government drafted a new law and during a state cabinet meeting, the implementation of the new act was given a green signal. The High Court order didn’t put even a minor dent in the speeding supercar of liquor ban because it was approved by both Governor Ram Nath Kovind and the Bihar Legislature.
A Series of Puerile Laws
What once seemed to be another fantasy soon became inevitable. The liquor ban was imposed and soon thekas began dissipating like half of the population dissipated after Thano’s snap and wine glasses were packed back to cardboard boxes. Disposable glasses, small packs of mixture, and sodas swaying in transparent plastic bags while dangling on bikes became history. But what should have been a coup de maître for Nitish was followed by a series of absurd laws and news headlines like:
- An entire village was fined because of liquor law violation
- Holding the whole family liable if any family members(above the age of 18) is found to be violating the liquor law
- Neighbour will be held liable if anyone is found consuming or keeping liquor in his house.
This simply meant that just bidding farewell to alcohol won’t ensure that you will not land in jail. If you want to steer clear of liquor violations, you must roam around your neighbor’s house, gali-mohalla, and even your entire village for liquor consumption and possession.
Outcome
The outcome of the liquor ban is more complicated to explain. Well, there are two ways you can see the outcome; the reports and surveys show the liquor ban is the most historical move in Bihar after the decision to make Patliputra (Patna) the capital of India by Udaya vs what is happening in Bihar and surveys showing liquor ban a complete disaster.
Since we are not going to be biased (really?) in this article, we will look at both aspects.
Liquor Ban- The Highlighted part of Nitish’s CV
So, let’s enter the world where the liquor ban proved to be a masterstroke and it didn’t only reduce domestic violence but increased the consumption of household products like cheese and milk as well.
In this Disney world, the drunkards who once used to sleep like logs near open sewers, burn holes in their pockets for extravagant alcoholic expenditure, and abuse and beat their families like maniacs are now completely transformed. They now pray to god, treat their wives like queens, and save every single penny to fulfill all the wishes of their family. This video is a perfect example of how the liquor ban has transformed drunkards in Bihar
Now let’s look at the stats that show the positive effects of the liquor ban in Bihar
- Just within a single year of the liquor ban, gang robberies, and murders were reduced by 20%.
- Traffic accidents were reduced by 10%.
- Sales of cheese rose by 200%, milk by 10% and electrical appliances by 50%.
- 2.4 million daily and weekly cases of alcohol consumption have been prevented
- The crime rate was reduced by 63.72%
Liquor Ban- The 8th season of Nitish’s GOT
Now, let’s remove our glasses of fantasy and look at the reality with our naked eyes. In this world, you fall as soon as you leave the ground, not when you realize that you are in the air. This section will be harsh and may turn the Anakin side of Nitsh into Darth Vader but gulp down your pride (if you have any left for Nitish) and open your eyes wide to read and accept the reality.
Financial Blockage
Bihar, a state that is already struggling to garner finances and crushed under a huge burden of debt blocked another source of huge income. It is like a doctor tiering down the pieces of one kidney when the other one is already 90% damaged. From 2015-2016, the Bihar government earned ₹ 3,142 crore from state excise duty (almost 1% of the state’s GDP).
As per the statistics, over 500 people have lost jobs due to the alcohol ban in Bihar but in reality, the number may be more. From 2016 to 2024, Bihar has lost almost ₹40,000 crore due to liquor ban. That’s a huge number for any state, especially for Bihar which is already in the debt of ₹ 34,747.63 crore.
Rise of Recreational Drugs
This is one of those sections of the articles completely based on my experience and the people around me. There might be better representations of Bihar but since the city I live in and the people I see also belong to Bihar, it should be considered.
What I have seen in the past 5-6 years is that liquor is still available but at a higher price and because of this, people have flocked towards other recreational drugs. From cocaine, marijuana, and Propofol-ketamine (medicines used for anesthesia) to syringes and much more. What I thought was a part of big cities and states like Punjab has become a new norm in Bihar. The youth of Bihar are the most vulnerable part of this shift.
During a discussion with a 19-year-old cocaine addict, he said
‘A single can of beer costs ₹300 and that will not be enough for even a single person. At the same time, I can easily buy cocaine (obviously not the original one) at just ₹200, and 3 people can easily get a good high with it. Even if I spend just ₹50, I can buy a packet of marijuana, and I can make 3-4 joints with it. That’s a lovely financial deal’
Blooming Bootlegging
According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) report for 2019-20, 15.5% of men above 15 years devour alcohol. The percentage is higher in comparison to Maharashtra (13.9%) with no prohibition. The surprising thing here is, the percentage of alcohol consumption is higher in rural areas of Bihar.
Doesn’t matter who you are, how many contacts you have, or how cautious you are about your reputation in your area, just give a call to the right person and a shining new bottle of whiskey will be delivered to your doorstep within 30 minutes. Everyone devours alcohol in Bihar, right from people who don’t know whether they will have enough money for dinner tonight to police officers who are assigned with the task of maintaining a liquor ban.
What’s the current situation?
We can’t deny the fact that many things have changed after the liquor ban. Poor people who used to buy alcohol at ₹50 rupees now pay ₹200 and they are not even sure whether they will just get high or die because of the poisonous alcohol. Since 2016, 200 people have been victims of hooch deaths.
Smuggling of liquor from neighboring states like U.P, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal is at its peak. The local liquor suppliers have to pay a fixed amount to their local police station and the police officers get an unlimited free supply of liquor as well. In return, the local liquor supplier gets a free hand for the sale and distribution of liquor.
If you have money and you violate the liquor ban law in Bihar, you will never land in jail. I have seen cases where police have agreed to free the culprit for just ₹1000. So right from the sale of alcohol and payment to police officers to bribes from culprits, every single transaction related to alcohol is being sucked by personal pockets.
Bihar is losing almost ₹3,000 crore from the liquor ban and since alcohol is being sold at double or triple the price, the current yearly illegal market of liquor would be anywhere around ₹6,000 to ₹7000 crore.
Glimmer of Hope
Inspiring politicians like Prashant Kishore know the reality of the liquor ban and he even said that after winning the next year’s election, he will dissipate the liquor ban from every nook and cranny of Bihar within 1 hour. He further added that the money garnered from sell, manufacturing, and distribution of liquor will be used to revamp the dilapidated education system of Bihar.
The alcohol ban in Bihar could have been a huge success if Bihar was a financially stable state if the state was not landlocked with states where liquor is legal, if the law was implemented with strictness, if the cases wouldn’t have piled in courts that already bogged down with files. With unemployment at its peak, with floods washing away dreams of just three-time meals families, and with the education system on the brink of collapse, the liquor ban was Nitish Kumar’s worst decision. Now, he can’t back out from it even when he knows it was a failure because of his ego and pride.
Let’s hope that Bihar will come out of these 9 years of dramatic rules, laws, bans, and failures and will shine again like other states.
