An open letter to governor of Maharashtra K Sankaranarayan from Irmel V. Marla (Sociologist/Anthropologist) Chairperson IIHRVA, Vice Chairperson RBHFI
and Dr. Kamal Taori, (IAS rtd., Economist) Secretary RBHFI, Partner & Advisor IIHRVA, Greater Noida

Sept 22, 2012

H.E. Governor of Maharashtra
Shri K. Sankaranarayan
Rajbhavan, Malabar Hills
Mumbai – 400 035

Respected Shri Sankaranarayanan,

We are writing this petition to you with the request that you kindly explore in detail the impact of prohibition in Wardha District during the last 3 decades as we are convinced that it has brought serious harm and disaster to the whole social, economic, political and governmental setup.

We don’t need to go into the details of our general article on prohibition which will be published soon, but we’ll submit our - informal - petition straightforward in short:

1.    Why was prohibition imposed in Wardha and why is it still upheld?
Though we could not get any reasoned answer to these questions, our finding resulted that it was done to ‘honour the father of the nation, Gandhiji’, and, being supported by former Justice Chandrasekhar Dharmadhikari, albeit against strong opposition by many, including Shri Pramod Shendeji, Ex-Depy. Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, and Ex-MLA Wardha. For us, there is no logic in this: why not, at the same time, impose ban on cigarettes Gandhiji opposed the same way? And why upheld a system which is harmful in all ways against better knowledge?

To find the real answer to this, we have to ask the only question which counts:

2.    Who are the beneficiaries of prohibition?
To this, the answers are open and clear, while “dry” Wardha is overflowing with Liquor at all times:
a.    Majority of the Police (paid well for support and/or looking the other way)
b.    Well-organised mafias, involving local business people, bootleggers, politicians – all participating in the profitable game
c.    Big parts of the Judiciary (paid for their support)
d.    Canteens, Restaurants, tea stalls (benefiting by selling and storing)
e.    Transporters (bootleggers)
f.    The Media in the know (paid for their silence)
All these involved in the Prohibition Game have made Wardha into a heaven for black marketers and, to drive hypocrisy to a new height, in the Name of Gandhiji!

We offer to render a detailed presentation on the above mentioned evil infrastructure, and we would like to have open discussions, especially with people who still advocate prohibition. We need not mention the hundreds of deaths yearly through poisonous alcohol which happens in Wardha.
But, we have to ask another important question:
3.    Who are the losers in the “Prohibition Game”?
a.    The State, as there are no revenues, but only black money is generated, logically used for corruption purposes – as the whole “Prohibition Game” functions only on corruption.
b.    The people who avail of the illegalized liquor: the health hazard is immense, and no-one can complain as it is illegal. That means, the producers and sellers can tamper with the goods in whatever way they want without punishment.
c.    Everyone belonging to the above mentioned authorities and groups has to bear the bad reputation, even if he/she belongs to the honest minority. Matter-of-factly, we spoke to some of these, and they don’t dare to blow the whistle out of deep fear. The same applies to all the law-abiding citizens and/or officials who are threatened with violence and assault to life and property if they would try to take steps against the black marketers of all kinds. They are also in danger even if they only dare to question the misery of leadership.
d.    Honest litigants do not get justice timely and in quality, as the dispensers of justice are busy in dealing with squabbles between the various gangs and ringleaders of the black market who fight ferociously among themselves.
e.    Overall, the prevailing machinations in Wardha make a mockery out of all governmental institutions, elected bodies and administration. The people have lost all faith in authorities and in the power of policy making of the state in the interest of the people.

To sum up:
In present-day India, Gandhiji is is the most misused name to justify all sorts of vested interests (exploitation and fraud, corruption, reservation against merit, and misuse of charities) in his name, and the prohibition system in Wardha is one of the worst examples.

Knowing some basics of Gandhiji’s approach to realities, it is naive and wrong to conclude that he would have supported such a morass which is created through prohibition. Rather, he would have fought tooth & nail against the black marketers and the exploiters. Those who take his writings literally, are doing the greatest injustice to him. He would, roughly 100 years later, find much different approaches to solve India’s many problems, and he would have based his analyses and action plans on holistic foundations.

Extensive studies from all over the world, and experiences in India (in recent times Andhra Pradesh, and the fatalities in Gujarat) show beyond any doubt that prohibition is only benefiting the criminals, is criminalizing people, and is doing great harm to society and economy.

Instead of imposing prohibition, the authorities should do proper awareness campaigns concerning all drug consumption, be it alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, natural (like Opium, Kokain, Heroin, Bhang) or synthetic (“Speed”, Crack”, etc.) Citizens in a democratic country should have the right to take their own informed choice, and they should have the right to be protected from criminal outfits favoured by a confirmed doubtful law.

Submission:
Thus, we request you to take up the matter and act in the interest of the people and towards a  people-centric, reason-based policymaking.
Our International Institute would be glad to facilitate a fruitful, high-quality dialogue for removal of prohibition which is a failure in itself.

Looking forward to your reply, greetings and regards,
Irmel V. Marla            Dr. Kamal Taori