When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
India

India Alcohol Ban Linked To Deaths From Bootleg Liquor

India's northern state of Bihar recently imposed a complete ban on alcohol in the state, driven largely by women's rights groups. The prohibition is now blamed for a dozen recent deaths from bad booze.

Buying liquor at a shop in Kolkata, India
Buying liquor at a shop in Kolkata, India
Bismillah Geelani

BIHAR — At a hospital in Bihar's Gopalganj district, Ramesh Yadav is sobbing: Doctors have just informed him that his younger brother Sunil is dead.

The death of the 27 year old marks the 18th death registered in this hospital in the past 24 hours, all from illegal liquor.

Yadev recounts later that he'd found his brother lying on the road, vomiting and complaining of a severe headache. "He said he couldn't see anything," he said. "I asked him what happened and whether he had had a drink and he said yes. I don't understand where he got the liquor."

The sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in the state of Bihar since earlier this year. The ruling coalition in the state imposed the prohibition earlier this year as a fulfillment of a promise they had made to the electorate.

"I think ultimately, in a democracy, public policy must in some way reflect what the public itself is asking for," says Bihar resident Verma. "In Bihar at least, the demand for total prohibition came in an overwhelming and un-ambivalent manner from the people themselves."

In rural parts of India, such as Bihar, alcoholism is often seen as linked to domestic violence. Mala, 35, had this experience growing up. "My father never considered my mother even a human being," Mala recalls. "Once he got drunk he would become so violent that he wouldn't even spare the children. He would go totally out of mind." She says that he'd also spend the family money on liquor that sometimes left them without food. "Finally my sister and I had to give up school and start earning money."

After experiences and stories like this, many women in Bihar welcomed the ban, while several other state governments also announced their intention to follow suit.

Collective guilt

But the recent string of deaths linked to illegally produced liquor has sparked a debate about the efficacy of prohibition. A 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report argued that measures like prohibition create risk to consumers — and allow black markets to flourish.

"The experience of every country that has tried this for the same reasons is that the liquor drinking has not gone down among the poor, the quality of liquor has become much worse, the deaths have risen dramatically," says Prem Shankar Jha, a journalist who has researched the issue. "There is money being made on liquor, so liquor drinking will not stop just as sex will not stop, but the money then goes to criminal elements."

Writer Aditi Mittal says the government is using women's safety as an excuse to curb people's right to choice. She argues that it is misogyny and not alcohol that causes domestic violence. "Alcohol is an excuse for violence; it is not the reason for violence."

Mittal continues: "When women ask for something like prohibition they are asking for more rights over the family's income, they are asking for more control over what happens with their own lives and that is not entirely done by (bannining) alcohol. That is done by a systemic cultural change in the way we think."

[rebelmouse-image 27090423 alt="""" original_size="740x450" expand=1]

Indian women campaigning for prohibition — Photo: Bismillah Geelani

"We want more respect. We need a more sensitive society and we want more sensitive police," urged Mittal.

Prohibition in Bihar is also facing strong resistance because of the way it is implemented, including measures of so-called "collective guilt," where if one person violates the law their entire family will also be punished.

Now even those who campaigned for the ban, women like Mala, are turning against it.

"We used to complain about it, but now we will be held guilty because of it. In a way this law is being used against us because if my husband commits a crime I am also going to suffer," she says. "It is our struggle, our movement that led to this ban, but now we feel we are being victimized by it."

The Bihar government remains resolute in the face of criticism of the ban, but some members of the ruling coalition have indicated their willingness to reconsider the concept of collective guilt.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Black Sea Survivor: Tale Of A Ukrainian Special Agent Thrown Overboard In Enemy Waters

This is a tale of a Ukrainian special forces operator who wound up surviving 14 hours at sea, staying afloat and dodging Russian air and sea patrols.

Black Sea Survivor: Tale Of A Ukrainian Special Agent Thrown Overboard In Enemy Waters

Looking at the Black Sea in Odessa, Ukraine.

Rustem Khalilov and Roksana Kasumova

KYIV — During a covert operation in the Black Sea, a Ukrainian special agent was thrown overboard and spent the next 14 hours alone at sea, surrounded by enemy forces.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The agent, who uses the call-sign "Conan," agreed to speak to Ukrainska Pravda, to share the details of nearly being lost forever at sea. He also shared some background on how he arrived in the Ukrainian special forces. Having grown up in a village in a rural territory of Ukraine, Conan describes himself as "a simple guy."

He'd worked in law enforcement, personal security and had a job as a fitness trainer when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. That's when he signed up with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Main Directorate of Intelligence "Artan" battalion. It was nearly 18 months into his service, when Conan faced the most harrowing experience of the war. Here's his first-hand account:

Keep reading...Show less

The latest