Gujarat – Liquor’s Flooding and Water’s Drying!

A few days back, journalist of Ahmedabad Mirror, Mr. Tapan Joshi presented his views on prohibition policy in Gujarat. He is concerned with international delegations and domestic cricket leagues. His article left me surprised as the arguments were not even mature to vote for relief in policy. A few very simple and disastrous consequences can be understood by a common man as well, where a responsible entity like a journalist is leaving me dismayed.

From the day AM has started, it is the first time when I have come to read something very political and far away from truth. Tapan Joshi is having his perspective for the liquor prohibition policy in Gujarat. But apparently, it is a very naive representation from a journalist. It would need a lot of understanding to state anything about the policy and the policymakers. The reason he has mentioned is futile and has no substance. For a few commercially glittered cricket matches, for a few neo-rich foreign delegations, should we change our identity? Should we change are moral values? The long lived recognized policy from Mahatma Gandhi is being abused with the excuses of loosing revenues. Today’s journalism, youths and even leaders seem very short sighted and have least vision for a healthy society. The revenue itself is immoral if it is generated by selling liquor. If you see it with a basic example, if a middle class family is struggling to survive, would we allow any of the family members to earn bread by selling any kind of alcohol? Even in this metro culture, we have an evil eye for such businesses. This is exactly the same situation. We may not be a rich, developed (!) and advanced state, but we have enough to live a basic life. And in anyway, bringing these international traders to Gujarat would benefit the least to the majority. Main interests pushing the policy back are political and influenced by those ‘panch karodpatio’ and their material ambitions.

Mr Joshi also criticizes CM for not relieving the policy, which is again contradictory. It is a political game, ‘Act Accordingly’! And recently, much more relief is given to the businesses and in SEZs, and by our “honorable” Government.

We know the fact that how it is being consumed in majority of the youths and also families. Women are also taking a big part in this growing metro culture. We already had a few incidents recently at a beach Mumbai and on the roads of Punjab. Where to go and what to stop! Giving liberties will make the situation worse only. Today liquor and tomorrow we’ll have bars! “Stopping at the bar for a pint of beer”, Come on! Wake up! At least Gujarat is not the place. There is the whole world to roam around and have a pint.

Sarkar Raj – Prerelease

Ambalal Kausty – an active, experienced and a person with involvement in political activities could not get help for his own family from the authorities. (“BJP can’t protect my family”, 25 March, Ahmedabad Mirror) How much assurance ‘Modi Sarkar’ provides that they would protect our families, our daughters
from anti-social elements? Bugle blower of fighting terrorism, Mr. Modi & party appear to be unable of handling the social violence. It is alarming for any of us to be alert and aware of the domestic issues around our neighborhood. It is very usual to find bigheaded individuals in every locality. We ignore such things and our liberal approach towards them is often encouraging for such people, as Ambalal Kausty had their daughter-in-law left harassed by a local garage guy in Kankaria. They were even threatened and attacked with weapons. It’s a shame that even being an active member of a ruling political party Ambalal cannot get justice for his family’s honour. Why should someone even have to use his political connections to protect the women of his family? Are the law system and the police completely handicapped? Does a victim always need a political relation to get protected or to get justice? Common men’s honour and security are at stake, and have no value in this Modi’s hierarchical power planner. You will be served better, how better your relations are! This government is reaching the highest number of rapes, women assaults, child abuses and there are countless little problems around us. “The number of rape offences registered last year in Gujarat jumped from 253 in September to 336, by 2005 end.” (16 Feb 2006, Sourav Mukherjee, TNN). Our faces are still red with the shameful slap of Patan college incident.

A few anti-socials are not just troubling some women or individuals but they are murdering the social dignity in daylight. Any development and technological industrializations are futile when they are ignoring the social security of the citizens, especially of women. No political party or no government had such an extreme dominance over the people and the social system in past, if we talk about Gujarat. We seem to be least secure with our lives, our dignity and our social disposition at present. Human lives have gone cheaper compared to material development. It is also not restricted to the individuals only, there are convicts who are pain for the whole locality, or to the organizations and still they roam free despite of getting charged for serious offences. They get out of jail merely within two days with their political powers. For instance, Gandhi Ashram residents suffer including some local innocent families and even some gandhians too. They are humiliated with the indecent activities around; they are abused with their belongings and bearing the damages to their reputation and businesses. Gandhi Ashram itself is being disgraced falsely by some individuals on regular basis. Ashram trustees are inactive and ignorant even about such serious tribulations in this heritage premises. Spiritless local authorities and political backing to such anti-socials work well and social integrity get killed here every other day. An immense amount of pain spills over when such things happen in a place which is the source of inspiration to non-violence, peace and humanity through the whole world. It is the place which gives Gujarat and Ahmedabad an identity through the world to feel proud of. It is up to us how much should we care about it?

Sneh Bhavsar | 25 March 2008, Ahmedabad