Karnataka: Women's Movement Unaware Government on 'Liquor Shops More Than Toilets'

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Ganjali village of Raichur district, Karnataka. In this village, 58-year-old Sabamma (does not apply surname) is sowing her maiden courtyard.

But it is the broom that repeatedly slips from his hand and falls. Every time she picks up the broom, her eyes go to the cut middle finger of her hand. She watches it for a while and then starts sweeping.

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Sabamma sees this severed finger and goes away in the last days of her life. Showing her right hand, she says, “It has been almost 30 years. My husband was mad with anger and he cut my finger in one stroke just as he cuts a chicken.”

The finger wound is healed. There is a stub at that place now. This now reminds her of the tortures of her husband, whom Sabamma passed away after enduring it. Her husband Hanumanta died three decades ago, Sabamma’s only child born as a single child is no more. She died as soon as she was born

Sabamma, a laborer in the farm, says, “My husband was an alcoholic. He used to drink me every day by drinking liquor. We had three acres of land but all were sold due to alcohol. After his death my mother-in-law sent me to the maternal home Given.”

Alcohol did not stop him in his maternal home. This is troubling them here too. She says, “My brother is also an alcoholic. He has nothing to do with his wife and children. For the last several years, we have been working on debt. Now it has been about three lakh rupees. Liquor has ruined us all.” Is done.”

Protest is the way

The manner in which the liquor destroyed Sabamma’s life prompted her to join the anti-liquor movement in Karnataka. Six years ago in the state, this movement of prohibition led by women started.

This movement of women against alcohol is now being compared to the movement of farmers against the three agricultural laws of the Center on the Delhi border. The farmers’ movement has completed 100 days. It started about seven months ago.

At the same time, it has been years for this movement of women against alcohol. The women here too have now geared up to run this movement for many more years. She wants to kill the government only after hearing her talk.

Hope and despair

Six years is a long time. But hope remains intact within the Sabamma. They feel that things will change because the prohibition movement has started to gain momentum again.

Since 11 February, hundreds of women from 21 districts of Karnataka have started picketing every day in Raichur. These women are demanding a ban on illegal sale of liquor in the state. 58-year-old Sabamma was in Raichur in connection with the movement, but has currently returned to her home.

30-year-old Radha (she does not even write her surname), showing her hand to the women sitting in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Raichur, says, “This is a do or die situation for us. All the women sitting here , All are killed by alcohol. If someone has snatched her husband from alcohol addiction, someone has lost her children. “

She says, “The BJP government will have to listen to our demands. Otherwise our movement will continue.” Radha, a resident of Jagir Venkatpur village in Raichur district, comes here almost every day to participate in this movement. She has been associated with this prohibition movement for the last four years.

Radha is like Sabamma’s daughter and both have almost the same experience regarding the side effects of alcohol. Radha has also been a victim of domestic violence. They have endured its pain for years.

She says, “We had a love marriage. My husband Bhimaraiya used to work in a private company at a salary of Rs. 15. Our village used to get alcohol easily. My husband got addicted to it. He quit his job.” He is paralyzed. Crying, Radha says, “If I don’t give money for alcohol, they beat me up.”

Radha now works in a women’s co-operative bank. Every month they get a salary of 4000 rupees. Both Radha’s sons go to school. The elder son is now doing small work to get the cost of his studies.

40-year-old Yelamma, who joined Raichur’s dharna, says, “The government is promoting the sale of liquor on a large scale for its earnings. Liquor shops have opened up everywhere like mushrooms. Liquor is killing people.” And destroying families. Is the government blind? It does not see these tragedies? ”

Yelamma Devadasi of Aminagada village. He has seen struggle in his life till now. Devadasi is a religious tradition, under which girls are either dedicated to God or married to them. “

Karnataka banned this practice in 1982 by bringing in the Devadasi (Prohibition of Surrender) law. Despite this, this tradition still remains in some parts of the state.

Says Yelamma, “I am a Scheduled Caste woman. I was forced to become a devadasi because of social tradition. My life was ruined. I have two children. The younger son is addicted to alcohol. I ask the government I demand justice. Yelamma became involved with the beginning of the anti-liquor movement in 2015. She was also one of the first women to join the movement.

This movement saw the first major mobilization of women against liquor ban on October 2015. On October 30 (2015) in Raichur, about 46 thousand women took to the field to join this movement.

Such loud capture was women’s movement

During the last six years, women demanding liquor ban did everything to make the government voice their voice. She undertook a long and difficult journey (around 4000 women traveled from Chitradurga to Bengaluru in 2019.

During this, he measured a distance of about 210 kilometers in 12 days.). In 2018, there was a 71-day long protest in Raichur from 20 February to 1 May. Last year (2020), under the water movement, standing in the water up to the throat in the Krishna river and protested.

Last year, the Karnataka High Court said that the government should take strict action against the illegal liquor mafia in the state. The court gave this instruction while announcing the decision on a public interest litigation filed by the anti-liquor movement.

Six years, three governments, one demand

During the last six years, the three major political parties in Karnataka, Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and the current BJP governments have run. During this, the liquor ban movement of women continued. They have only one demand – stop drinking, save families.

Ground reality

Abhay Kumar, state co-ordinator of the rural Kuli Karmikara Sangathan, an organization of rural workers guiding this women’s movement, says, “Nothing has changed. The opposite has happened and the situation has worsened. Liquor sales have increased manifold over the years.” It is illegal to sell alcohol indiscriminately.

The business of big profits for the government?

Illegal liquor is not a new disaster for the people of Karnataka. But the situation became worse during the BJP government between 2008 and 2013. The state excise ministry asked liquor shops to increase sales so as to increase the revenue of the state.

The activists who are running the liquor ban movement say that this new directive made the liquor contracters fear of canceling their license. Now they started giving their liquor to the small shops and groves of groceries. Liquor is easily available at these locations everywhere, village and city.

Says Kumar, “With the support and patronage of the government these small shops started selling liquor without any license. With such open sale of liquor, it became easily available everywhere. Even children had access to it. “

Swarna Bhatt, a women’s rights activist, says, “Liquor is now the new water of Karnataka. There is a huge sale of illicit liquor and there is no way of curbing it.”

Durgamma, who came to participate in the ongoing movement in Raichur, expressed her anger, saying, “There are liquor shops in every village. Now the situation has become that more liquor shops have opened in the villages than toilets. Open liquor With the sale of people, people are becoming victims of its addiction. Even young children of eight-eight years have become addicted to drinking beer. “

Attempts to ignore the government

The government has been denying the allegation that illegal liquor is being sold in Karnataka. Additional Excise Commissioner of Karnataka SL Rajendra Prasad told the BBC, “Where are you seeing illegal liquor shops? Every drop of liquor sold in the state is maintained. It is being sold in a legal manner here. . “

“We conduct raids on illegal liquor vendors and those who are involved in this business are arrested,” says Prasad.

According to officials, the state excise department had conducted 37,950 such raids between July and December 2020. Cases have been registered against 19,406 people under them. A total of 12,239 people were arrested. 928 vehicles carrying illegal liquor were seized.

When asked about the movement of thousands of women against illegal liquor shops, they said that they have not met these women and cannot tell anything about it.

But former state excise department official and now liquor activist and political leader SH Lingegowda denied Prasad’s saying, “You go to any village, town or city, you will see illegal liquor shops everywhere.” In order to increase revenue, successive governments in Karnataka have made alcohol easily available like water. “

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