Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has got his priorities wrong. Instead of addressing the many woes that bedevil his State, he is obsessed with prohibition
Barely 48 hours after the Patna High Court termed the amended section of the Bihar Excise Act, 1915, which enforced total prohibition in Bihar from April 1 this year, as ultra vires the Constitution and unenforceable, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar introduced a new liquor ban law. Scary and hilarious at the same time, and seemingly cast as a response to scathing critique by the High Court of the previous law, the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, contains harsher punishments like arrest of all adults if the contraband is found in a house; fine up to Rs 10 lakh fine; up to 10 years imprisonment; and even death sentence in some cases. Introduced on October 2, Nitish Kumar termed this as a law for social transformation, which at the least is both farcical and funny, and for a variety of reasons.
Anyone who knows Bihar also knows that, despite the hype of good governance, we have seen little changes in the Sate in the last 15 years. There has neither been any transformation, nor any reform, and the State has been on a continuous and irreversible downward slope. The economy is in tatters, with no industries and hence no employment opportunities. Corruption remains rampant, social and human development indexes are poor, institutions continue to crumble, public apathy is peaking, filth and dirt dominate its towns and villages, and governance seem minimal. The alcohol ban policy may appear hugely myopic and a desperate attempt to shift the focus away from the core issues of development and provision of basic facilities in the state.
At 37 per cent, Bihar's illiteracy rate is the highest in India. Apathy too is at its worst, else what would explain the fact that about eight lakh of the 15.47 lakh student in class X failed to clear the examination this year. Industry contributes a paltry five per cent to Bihar's economy. Bihar's contribution to the Indian economy stands at a tiny three per cent, against 14 per cent of Maharashtra. On the UN Human Development Index, Bihar figures third from bottom among Indian States (21 out of 23). One also wonders about the much glorified improvements in law and order. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2012 — eighth year of Nitish Kumar rule — Bihar registered a staggering 55,452 cases of attempted murder (highest in country), 3,566 cases of murder (second-highest in country), 4,807 cases of kidnapping and abduction (third highest). Bihar's percentage share in all-India crimes was 10.8, next and marginally lower than Uttar Pradesh’s 12.3.
Prima facie, Nitish Kumar’s focus on education was welcome and so were some innovations including distribution of cycles to children. Girls' peddling their way to schools made for good newspaper pictures, but sadly it remained at that. There was increase in enrollment rates, but three million bogus registrations were reported as well. Nitish Kumar recruited a whopping 1.42 lakh school teachers between 2006 and 2008, showing a tearing hurry and setting aside all norms of prudence in governance. Bereft of its own cadre of JD(U), many termed these recruits as State-sponsored cadre. Most of these teachers were ill-equipped for the job they had landed, and the outcome is too glaring to contradict this belief. Amid these, the sudden flagging of alcohol ban as the panacea of all ills, and as a key to social transformation, depicts the Chief Minister as a desperate crusader, devoid of either intent or design to change Bihar.
Nitish Kumar should know that the country which consumes the most alcohol per head, luxembourg, also has the highest GDP per capita. The bunch of advisors to the Chief Minister, including top bureaucrats who have led the near annihilation of Bihar, should also note what a 2002 WHO report, ‘Alcohol in Developing Societies: A Public Health Approach, WHO 2002’, said: “Concerning the prevention of alcohol-related problems, the politically easiest strategies are often among the least effective.” The report added, “The most effective measures include taxation to limit consumption levels, specific licensing of alcohol outlets, limits on the number of outlets and on the times and conditions of alcoholic beverage sales or service, minimum-age limits, and drinking-driving counter-measures.”
What's also intriguing is that, despite the ban and noise around it, alcohol has been freely available, through the black market route. The September 30 High Court judgement, dismissing the previous law, makes for an interesting read; it rips apart the prohibition law with robust logic. One sincerely hopes the courts will re-visit the revised law, and hurl an equal blow to it.
(The writer is a strategic communications professional)