Prohibition Lives On!

Much has been written about Prohibition in the United States. It is probably safe to conclude that most consider that period in the 1920s and 1930s as a failed experiment in social engineering this country is unlikely to repeat. Other countries that have tried and repealed alcohol prohibition include Canada (1918 – 1920), Iceland (1915 – 1935), Norway (1916 – 1927) and Russia (1914 – 1923). However, even as the interest in prohibition has waned in the West, the practice continues in other parts of the world. Today, at least 12 countries prohibit the sale and/or consumption of alcohol:

·        Afghanistan

·        Bangladesh

·        Brunei

·        India (only in certain states)

·        Iran

·        Kuwait

·        Libya

·        Saudi Arabia

·        Sudan

·        United Arab Emirates

·        Yemen

·        Pakistan

Most of these countries have Muslim-majority populations. In these cases, prohibition is grounded in Islamic teachings, which speak against the use of alcohol for spiritual reasons because it is seen as a bad habit that drives believers away from the remembrance of God. The exception is India.

In India, some form of alcohol prohibition is in force in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Manipur and Nagaland, as well as in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, affecting over 200 million people. In some cases, prohibition laws have been in force since the 1950s. None of these are Muslim-majority states. Instead, impetus for these laws appear to mostly come from widespread outcry, especially from women and children, against the social ills and economic malaise caused by alcohol over-consumption. This is despite the fact that liquor tax revenues consistently form a large bulk of government funds, up to one-fifth of state revenues in some cases before prohibition was imposed. However, states which prohibit alcohol do not exhibit lower rates of domestic violence or higher levels of economic growth compared with other parts of India that allow alcohol consumption. Perhaps this is because smuggling and illicit alcohol sales remain common. Perhaps there is something underlying the longevity of alcohol prohibition in certain parts of the world that go beyond the mere pragmatic. I just pray these considerations never reach my little slice of the universe.