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Sacramental wine offered during daily Holy Mass at various churches in the state is exempt from the blanket ban on sale, according to TOI. The 130,000 strong Christian community has welcomed the logical step. . "Sacramental wine for religious purposes has been permitted," state excise commissioner Kunwar Jang Bahadur has reportedly clarified to TOI. Sacramental wine is a symbolic representation for the blood of Jesus Christ and is essential offering during the special prayer services held at various churches in the state.
Interestingly, according to the report in TOI, all members of the Bihar assembly and the legislative council had recently adopted a resolution that they would not consume liquor. This must have been the first time in Bihar that such a step would have been taken.
It is doubtful if the prohibition will see the desired or touted results. Historically, full prohibition has never worked successfully in India or anywhere in the world. The experiment in the USA where prohibition was enforced from 1920-1933, failed miserably with reportedly more people drinking alcohol than before. The country suffered revenue loss and the cost of enforcing ban was quite high. There was a well-developed black market of liquor and the number of people indulging in “illegal trade” just skyrocketed, according to a report in Business Standard
The Bihar government gets revenue of nearly Rs 2,000 crores (Rs. 20 billion) from the sale of IMFL and revenue of around Rs 4,000 crores from country liquor sales in 2015-16. It will have to compensate the loss by some other means and not be at the mercy of the central government.
Most likely Bihar will see a similar outcome. CM Nitish Kumar has the political will to enforce the liquor ban. But the administrative machinery of the state is not known to be very efficient and honest in the dealings and is unlikely to achieve these results. There is a positive risk that improperly executed prohibition would have negative implications, politically just as Bansi Lal , Chief Minister of Haryana and the chief architect was obliged to, and lost the elections. It will also not help that Nepal which shares the boundary with Bihar does not have prohibition and because of the porosity of the borders, it may not be able to carry out the orders to enforce prohibition. Bihar is also surrounded by states where liquor is permitted and might be available easily.
The Bihar government has indicated that it will work with civilian groups and self-help groups to enforce total prohibition. In theory, it seems like a good idea. But the bureaucrats are known to loathe sharing any power with the social groups, even if the objective is common.
CM Nitish Kumar has taken a risky decision. The reward, if any, will be very limited and less than expected by the government.
Subhash Arora |