If the Chief Minister of Bihar has his way that ice cold beer at that beach shack in Goa would become a thing of the past. Delicious hot toddies would no longer provide warmth on a chilly Shimla winter evening. And those vacation mojitos and piña coladas would always be virgin. This is the country Nitish Kumar is demanding, yet again.
Almost three years since imposing a total ban on all alcohol production and consumption in his state of Bihar, the chief minister is goading other regional administrators around India to implement the same rules in their states as well. This comes after nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh from drinking toxic, bootleg alcohol laced with methanol. Methanol is highly toxic and if consumed can cause blindness and death. "Today, when so many people have died in two states, I once again request all chief ministers to put a complete ban on liquor in all states," Kumar told reporters earlier this week.
This isn't the first time Kumar has pitched for a total alcohol ban across India. The Bihar CM has made the demand at least five times in the last three years. He has support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose home state of Gujarat is also similarly dry. "[Prohibition] would not be a grand success only by efforts of Nitish Kumar or one party. All parties, social organisations and citizens have to participate in it to make it a people's movement," Modi said at a rally in January 2017. "Bihar will become an example for the entire country through successful implementation of prohibition," Modi had then said.
5 years in jail for drinking in Bihar
Cheap, often toxic, home-brewed liquor has long been a problem in India, with hundreds of casualties over the years. Kumar's solution is a total blanket ban on all kinds of alcoholic drink across the country. He imposed an extreme version of this legislation in Bihar in 2016. When first implemented, anyone caught drinking at home could have their home and vehicles seized and, in some cases, even family members could be arrested as a form of collective punishment.
The draconian prohibition law was amended last year striking down a number of the more extreme provisions mentioned above. However, a drink could still land a first-time offender a Rs50,000 fine and three months in a Bihar prison. Repeat offenders would have to shell out Rs100,000 and spend up to five years in the clink.
Other dry states of India
The Bombay State, created around Independence, was the first state to go fully dry. In 1960, it was dissolved into Maharashtra and Gujarat—the latter remains dry to this day (though there are ways). In addition, Nagaland has total ban on alcohol consumption, though by most accounts, implementation is lax. The Union Territory of Lakshadweep also currently prohibits the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, though Bangaram island is exempt. In the past, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and Manipur have taken stabs at prohibition.