Manipur enjoys a year-long season of festivals. As scarce as means of entertainment is in the State, we have a healthy dose of festivals to keep us entertained throughout the year. While this comes as a welcome excuse for celebration, it is also generally understood that festivals and alcohol go hand in hand. A delightful characteristic of the State is its multi-ethnicity, with each ethnic group bringing in their own festivals for the State to celebrate together. However, like everything else, this characteristic too has its own pros and cons. While it has at times been detrimental to the collective development in the State, it has, at times, showed hopes of binding the groups together. Multiple communities mean that people tend to draw more towards one`™s own community discarding the collective good of the society, whereas at times, the festivals provide a common platform for the whole society to come together and strengthen their bond.
Although Manipur has a dry State status since 1991, it is never a surprise when one easily finds a bottle of liquor. It would however be a big surprise if one fails to get a bottle anyday. During a budget session in July earlier this year, local dailies had reported the State Chief Minister of stating that even though there is a ban on liquor; India Made Foreign Liquor is continuously being brought into the State from other States. Unavailability of the high spirits in Manipur is never an option, as bootlegging ensures free flow of the high spirit throughout the year. Villages where the prohibition is exempted have also helped in the easy availability of liquor. The prohibition is exempted in some villages like Sekmai, Andro and tribal populated pockets in Imphal for customary purposes.
Alcoholism, as any other issues, could not be contained or checked by merely implementing a ban or conducting raids and arresting defaulters.
Considering the dire need of entertainment avenues today in the State, it is no big surprise that people especially the younger lot seem to be taking to the glass for a few hours of enjoyment and abandonment before life`™s ups and downs comeback haunting once again. Unemployment has also ensured that several individuals find solace in the bottle for their failure to achieve their perceived goals or better still a decent lifestyle. Drinking among the youths heightens during the festivals and this is when it gets rowdy and violent. Groups of young kids in inebriated conditions racing along the pothole filled roads on their bikes become a concern. Any misunderstanding among such groups could easily end up in bloody fistfights. Unless properly implemented bans and checks can only act as catalysts for many to satisfy their adrenaline rush by going against the law. In order to encourage the State to recuperate from all such issues and herd the youth away from the problem, there is the need to first understand the issue.
Leader Writer: Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh