The lovely tale of Liquor
during Lockdown and before
At every stage, addiction is driven by one of the most powerful, mysterious, and
vital forces of human existence. What drives addiction is longing —
a longing not just of brain, belly, or loins but finally of the heart.
Cornelius Platinga
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The use of alcohol in India for drinking purposes dates back to somewhere between 3000 and 2000 BC. An alcoholic beverage called Sura which was distilled from the rice was popular at that time in India for common men to unwind at the end of a stressful day. . Yet the first mention of Alcohol appears in Rig Veda (1700BC). It mentions intoxicants like soma and prahamana. Although the soma plant might not exist today, it was famous for delivering a euphoric high. It was also recorded in the Samhita, the medical compendium of Sushruta that he who drinks soma will not age and will be impervious to fire, poison, or weapon attack. The sweet juice of Soma was also said to help establish a connection with the gods. Such was the popularity of alcohol. Initially used for medicinal purposes, with time it evolved and became the beverage that brought life to social gatherings, and eventually consuming alcohol has become a habit for many.
With such a rich history of not just humans but also of the gods,
what is a worldwide pandemic to stop anybody from drinking?
. . .
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According to a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018, an average Indian drinks approximately 5.7 liters of alcohol every year. In a population of casual and excessive drinkers, with the shutters of liquor stores down, it must have been extremely difficult for “certain” people to survive lockdown. In the first two phases of lockdown, the desperation had quadrupled prices of alcohol in the Grey Market of India. Also, According to Google Trends, online searches for “how to make alcohol at home” peaked in India during the fourth week of March, which was the same when the lockdown was announced. As a consequence, a few people died drinking home-brewed liquor. People committed suicide due to alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Owing to the worsening situation and to reboot the economy, some states decided to open licensed liquor stores in the third phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown in India. This decision was the worst best decision the state governments could take. The kilometer-long queues in front of liquor stores were evidence that a pandemic can turn your life upside down yet your relationship with alcohol cannot move an inch.
The love in the hearts of those who are addicted was explicit. We might have seen addiction, we might have witnessed desperation but what happened in the month of May was madness, not just in terms of the way people pounced but also in the way the government earned. According to a report by Hindustan Times, on the first day of the third phase of Lockdown, the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recorded a sale of over Rs 100 Crore from liquor. On the second day of the reopening of Liquor stores, Karnataka reported sales of 197 crores in a single day which was the largest ever. Eventually, the prices of Liquor were hiked to 100% to discourage people from drinking.
. . .
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There was a special corona fee that was imposed in Delhi by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. A 70% corona fee was imposed in Delhi, yet the sales did not drop. The entire situation was a disaster for the law enforcement officers, social distancing was easily abandoned and a basic code of conduct was happily violated. Despite the chaos created, the states continued to collect revenues. Home delivery of alcohol was allowed in Maharashtra and e-tokens were sold in Delhi.
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Demand for liquor is inelastic which means that
the sale of alcohol is not much responsive to change in prices.
In general, since alcohol policy is a state subject in India, revenue from Liquor is a cash cow for state governments. In 2018 and 2019, four states collectively collected about 20,000 crores in taxes from the sale of liquor. As much as the state earns from the sale of Liquor it is undoubtedly, a threat to the Economy. Consumption of alcohol has dire health consequences. When a person consumes an alcoholic beverage, there is a rise in BAC because of which there is a gradual and progressive loss of driving ability because of an increase in reaction time, overconfidence, degraded muscle coordination, impaired concentration, and decreased auditory and visual acuity. This is known as drunken driving. (V. M. Anantha Eashwar, 2020) Drunken driving is the third biggest cause of road accidents and over speeding in India. Road accidents are not it; alcoholism causes sleep problems, heart, and liver issues. Also, it is not about an individual’s life, it ruins the lives of all people concerned.
Addiction also causes economic loss. In 2000, Vivek Benegal and his team assessed 113 patients admitted to a special de-addiction service for alcohol dependence. They found that
the average individual earned a mean of ₹1,661 but
spent ₹1,938 per month on alcohol, incurring high debt.
They also found that 95% did not work for about 14 days in a month. They concluded that it led to a loss of ₹13,823 per person per year in terms of foregone productivity. A more recent study, Health Impact and Economic Burden of Alcohol Consumption in India, led by Gaurav Jyani, concluded that alcohol-attributable deaths would lead to a loss of 258 million life-years between 2011 and 2050. The study placed the economic burden on the health system at $48.11 billion, and the societal burden (including health costs, productivity loss, and so on) at $1,867 billion. “This amounts to an average loss of 1.45% of the gross domestic product (GDP) per year to the Indian economy,” the study said. (Mint, 2020)
Setho ka Gaon
With each passing day, the ‘curtain of separation’ weighs down on the women of Afghanistan, paving the way for tyranny to thrive.
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In conversation with Prof. Archana Aggarwal...
Q. Why did you choose economics? What attracted you to the subject?
A. A good teacher in grade 11 and 12 to begin with; a subject that was mentally stimulating and over time it became a medium to understand the functioning of society.
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Q. What are your interests aside from academia?
A. I like to read, paint, which I have resumed recently and watch films and of course travelling which I am missing in the pandemic.
Q. If not teaching, what would be your profession?
A. I’m not sure, right since the time I was doing my graduation I had decided that I wanted to teach. The world was much simpler then and I started to look into the requirements I needed to fulfill to try to teach and kept doing that. I joined immediately after completing my post graduation in 1989, the profession has changed enormously since then. Teaching is more restrictive now as compared to earlier, right now we’re probably in the worst phase due to everything operating online but otherwise teaching and learning gave scope to read, observe, absorb, explore, analyze especially earlier. If not teaching, I can’t say what I would have done.
Q. Are their stark differences in student and teacher relations when compared from the past?
A. Yes, absolutely. One grew up in a much simpler world which was reflected in college life, the workspace and the classroom. To begin with there was so much more space to interact. There was a lot more time to philosophize, read together, understand together, to have study groups outside the classroom. Unfortunately, the present generation has been born in a more competitive world, earlier also a mental pressure prevailed for students to discover themselves at the end of three years or the pressure of earning well but it was much more relaxed at that time. Even 10-15 years back I had formed a research group with students called ‘Perspective’ which also included students from across DU, JNU and Ambedkar University along with young teachers, we decided on a theme, did field surveys, brought out booklets and conducted seminars and discussions around that, which was possible then. It continued from 2006 to about 2013-14, now it’s become difficult to have these interactions given the mental space of students while also the timeline we follow in the university, also the pressure society puts on students has not left the space where these interactions can occur. For most students each choice is calibrated,competitive pressure was less earlier.
Q. If you would require me to read one thing before I graduate, what would it be and why?
A. One thing? Well it is difficult to suggest only one thing, but I would definitely like you to read 'The Economy' by the Core group, it starts with real world problems and then introduces concepts used in microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics etc. It is a good way to provide a foundation for the subject.
Q. What’s a quote that resonated with you?
What people remember is not the words that you say but the way you make them feel.
Q. A memorable moment from your classroom.
A. Too many moments to choose from, the one I'm able to recall now is when I was teaching one of the non-honours courses, so at the end of the semester, the students brought out a cake which had the IS-LM made on it. That was very sweet.
Q. An advice you would give to your students.
A. I know that you are restricted and constrained by expectations of the world around you but I would want to suggest to the best possible way to try and opt out of the rat race, try to think about what makes you happy, what you like doing, even if it makes you less “successful” that’s perfectly alright. This is applicable for everything be it studies or choosing a profession. Success is not a phenomenon that can be quantified in material terms, what ultimately matters according to me is having the luxury of ‘choosing’ what one wishes to do rather than being compelled to do things. Also, college is a transformative time where deep friendships are made, even though we are in an online mode don’t ignore that, try to make those friendships and treasure them.
Q. A place you would like to visit.
A. From my bucket list I would like to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam outside the country. In India I would like to visit the North East. I would like to explore the country rather than having a destination.
Q. If you were to choose between one, Keynesian or Classical Economics.
A. I would not choose one since theories evolve in a certain historical context and one has to see what is more relevant to society. In terms of theories, one can’t choose.
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Q. Preferred beverage, tea or coffee
A. Both, as long as they are made to my liking. I like Darjeeling tea and filter coffee.
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Q. A person you would like to interact with (dead or alive).
A. Too many people in different fields but Irfan Khan, not just for his acting but for his philosophy of life and Van Gogh who lived long before I was born.
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Q. A book you are currently reading
A. Farrah Bashir’s “Rumors of spring”