History books portray him as a deranged autocrat, who forcibly imposed his absurd whims on hapless subjects. Over centuries Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq has been a byword for a psychopathic ruler of North India in the mediaeval times.. His most outrageous act was to march the entire population of Delhi (cats and dogs included) to a South Indian town called Devgiri. Some historians contest Tughlaq’s description as a “mad monarch”, claiming he introduced many people-friendly reforms too. But his eccentricities have overshadowed other attributes.
So may it be with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, once regarded as a sensible, development-oriented administrator. At present he seems to be a man possessed, with all rational thinking having deserted him. He is single-mindedly pursuing the enforcement of prohibition in his State at the cost of good governance.
He has blissfully ignored the fact that prohibition has succeeded nowhere, starting with the US in the 19th Century. Arguably, it has been in force in Gujarat as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, but it is well-known that smugglers and bootleggers make a mockery of the ban. In fact there too the policy is being steadily eased over the last decade. Andhra Pradesh and Haryana did impose prohibition in the 1980s, but had to rescind it in the face of widespread production of adulterated hooch, which resulted in countless people turning blind and even dying.
Mr Nitish Kumar has gone further than any prohibitionist with a decree that would lead to the arrest of all male relatives found in the house of a person storing or consuming liquor. In a throwback to the days of the British Raj, he has ordered the imposition of a collective fine on all residents of any village where bottles of alcohol are discovered or liquor is distilled. So even those not remotely connected with consumption or distribution of booze will be slammed in the cooler. This is Police Raj of an extreme variety not seen snce the Emergency. Such draconian laws can only lead to rampant misuse and cause corruption to proliferate. The Bihar Chief Minister will be well advised to repeal this law which is bound to cause huge social unrest apart from costing the State upwards of Rs 3,000 crore in revenue lost to the exchequer.