The Need for Prohibition
Liquor is an intoxicating drink. It is injurious to health. It is also a waste of money and cause of quarrels. Sometime it creates nuisance which turns into violent activities. Many wrong things are done under the influence of liquor. No one supports drinking of it. It is a great social evil. Drinking of liquor is bad for the individual as well as for the society. The drunkard becomes addicted to wine and he continues to do so. The people acquire such bad habits because of their bad company or the society. People generally take it as a mark of fashion in the beginning. But they become drink addicts gradually. Whatever may be the reasons for drinking, it is a great evil in the society. There is a need to eradicate this evil from our country. The best way for rooting it out is to enforce prohibition all over the country.
Drinking causes so many diseases. Heavy drinkers are generally found unhealthy. They have been found the patients of blood pressure, blood sugar and heart diseases. They become fatty and suffer due to heavy weight. It damages the liver and one loses one’s appetite. It gives bad example to children when any senior member of the family drinks in front of them. It creates a number of undesirable activities which are not acceptable in the civilized society. The liquor generally becomes the cause of quarrel between husband and wife. Sometime, that gives very bad turn under intoxication. There are examples that Some male members of the family do work throughout the day for earning money, but they waste it by consuming liquor. Their families face financial hardship and suffer very badly. Those, who are habitual of drinking, waste the valuable time and spoil their career too. People of their society hate them because of their bad habits. We have not found any drunkard doing good work. They are a problem for the family and the society. These kinds of drunkards are really a liability for the nation.
There are a number of incidents where people involve themselves in the smuggling of liquor. They deliver it to unauthorized persons. They are tried by the court and punished for such illegal activities.
This is bad in the society. Liquor has a bad effect. Sometime even high officials holding responsible posts take wrong decisions under the influence of liquor. Many people suffer badly in their life. They do not progress. There are instances where people of working class commit crime because of heavy drink, and they lose their jobs. In addition to that, they are imprisoned against serious charges. There are cases that some of them suffer with heart attack and brain hemorrhage due to high degree of tension consequent on losing the job and getting punishment. The drunkards are usually found poor. They waste money for buying liquor and suffer financially. People, who are habitual of drinking, suffer more after their retirement as their income slashes down but their bad habits remain intact.
Efforts have been made from time to time to drive out the demon of drink from society. Some religions forbid their followers from drinking. Many great social reformers have also tried their best to prevent people from drinking. Mahatma Gandhi was dead against it. It was his influence which made prohibition successful as its main item of social reform. As a result, total prohibition was imposed throughout the country soon after independence.
There are few disadvantages of prohibition. The liquor producing factories are the big source of revenue. Government will lose a good amount if prohibition is enforced against liquor. A number of employees are working in liquor factories. They will be jobless on imposition of prohibition on liquor. The liquor is exported and foreign exchange is earned. At the same time prohibition encourages illicit distillation as well as black marketing. These resources are badly obstructing in rooting out this evil from society. Efforts to check these nuisances are not very result oriented. In fact, the efforts made in this direction go underground, which may be due to any reason, but that causes persistence of liquor in the society.
It also leads to corruption and bribery. It is difficult to make the people moral by force unless they realize the disadvantages of drinking. Prohibition was imposed recently in many states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi on the basis of trial. But it was not very successful due to political reasons, otherwise it threw all positive impacts by slashing down the drunkards in all these states. It can be made successful completely only when there is a strong political will as well as public support.
But the disadvantages of prohibition are few which are tolerable. The prohibition brings numerous advantages, which are in the interest of common masses as well as the nation. Whatever may be the arguments against prohibition, it is a fact that even the drunkards hate themselves. All the addicts are the victims of this habit which is an utterance of their destruction. It is a requirement to mobilize countrywide public opinion to make prohibition more effective and successful, so that this evil of the society is crushed permanently. We can hand over a healthy and progressive society to our youngsters, who are the future of the nation, and that can only be possible when this evil is rooted out through effective prohibition.
Let the Government pass laws making this a legal offence. It will be a message to the people of the country against this evil. There is no doubt that our Government is taking a number of steps in this direction. The Government is highlighting its evil from time to time which is a healthy sign and also a favourable national policy. All our efforts must be made in the interest of the children, youth, society and the nation by driving out the ghost of drink completely from the society. The students, social workers, ladies, teachers, and intellectuals can play a major role in this direction to make prohibition successful.
