The federal government didn’t give any purpose for its newest resolution. Predictably, it drew flak from non secular, social and political outfits in Jammu and Kashmir, who referred to as for a right away rollback of the choice.
“Whereas the consumption of alcohol is banned in lots of states of India, why is it being inspired right here (Jammu and Kashmir),” requested a consultant of the Muttahida Majlis Ulema (United Muslim Students) a consultant alliance of over 30 non secular, social and academic organisations within the Valley.
CPI(M) chief M.Y. Tarigami requested if what was being applied in J&Okay was the Gujarat Mannequin, why was the sale of liquor being allowed freely. “You’re referring to the Gujarat Mannequin throughout the nation, nevertheless it (sale of liquor) will not be allowed there (Gujarat). Why did you select J&Okay for this evil?” he requested.
The choice has come two years after the administration’s push to open a lot of liquor outlets throughout the Valley. In 2020, the UT’s excise division recognized 183 places — 116 in Jammu and 67 within the Valley — on the market of liquor. It was at a time when Kashmir had solely 4 wine outlets — all of them in Srinagar.
The choice has additionally raised eyebrows as a result of being a Muslim-majority state — alcohol and its derivatives are prohibited in Islam — Jammu and Kashmir is among the states with the least alcohol consumption charges, wherever it isn’t formally prohibited. In keeping with the Nationwide Well being Household Survey 2019-21, alcohol consumption in Jammu and Kashmir was lower than 5 per cent. The survey reveals that whereas 8.8 per cent of males eat alcohol in Jammu and Kashmir, solely 0.2 per cent girls rely amongst customers — principally in Jammu. In keeping with the survey, alcohol consumption is extra prevalent in rural than city areas. In rural areas, 9.2 per cent males and 0.2 per cent girls eat alcohol, whereas in city areas, the figures are 7.7 per cent and 0.1 per cent for women and men, respectively.
Whereas there have all the time been voices of opposition to sale of liquor in Valley, successive governments have rejected requires its ban, citing “freedom of alternative”, and since Jammu and Kashmir is a tourism-dependant state. In truth, prior to now, the J&Okay unit of the BJP too has referred to as for ban on sale of liqour. In 2018, BJP chief Ravinder Raina, who’s now the celebration’s president for Jammu and Kashmir, had demanded that the realm needs to be declared a ‘dry’ territory and all liquor outlets and bars instantly banned.
When militancy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir, militant outfits banned cinema halls and liquor outlets within the Valley. A militant outfit referred to as the Allah Tigers and its chief, Air Marshal Noor Khan particularly focused the liquor outlets within the Valley and compelled their closure. Over the past three a long time, solely 4 liquor outlets ran in Valley — all underneath heavy safety guard.
With alcohol having no social sanction each in Kashmir and Jammu, the federal government’s transfer to permit liberal sale of beer and ‘able to drink’ alcoholic drinks from departmental shops is unusual, really feel many.
“There was no dialogue on the problem. The order has come from the highest,” stated a senior authorities official. “Apparently, plainly the federal government desires to make beer and different alcoholic merchandise simply accessible for vacationers, however there is no such thing as a official phrase but.”
The social, non secular and political events in Valley, nevertheless, see it as cultural aggression and a part of a much bigger plan. “That is a part of a cultural assault on Kashmir. It isn’t that no person drinks in Kashmir. It’s a incontrovertible fact that vacationers are right here, and there’s no official curbing coverage. However when the discourse in all the nation is about consuming meat, about being vegetarian and non-vegetarian, selecting a Muslim-majority state for such a factor seems to be sinister, seems to be offensive,” stated a Individuals’s Democratic Get together (PDP) chief. “At a time when non secular students, preachers and everyone out there may be behind bars, when the unemployment is at an all-time excessive, when there may be clear financial misery, this was the very last thing wanted. We expect, it will be counterproductive and would boomerang.”