Prohibition A 'Failure' in Mizoram

Aizawl, Jul 11 : Prohibition in force in Mizoram for one and a half decades now has been a 'failure' according to replies to a questionaire by a study group set up by the state government.

The Mizoram Journalists Association and the the Mizoram Bar Association in their responses to the Study Group on Prohibition suggested that the dry law should be lifted and liquor should not be prohibited but properly regulated as in other states.

The powerful Young Mizo Association (YMA), the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or the apex women's body, the Zoram Taxi Owners Association (ZTOA) and the Mizoram College Teachers Association (MCTA) all said in their replies that prohibition has been a total failure.

The study group is led by a retired IAS officer H Raltawna. He has sought an extension till the end of this month to submit his final report.

With the majority of the main civil societies expressing opinion that the Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995 has not successful, Church leaders were adamant that the dry law was a success.

Prohibitionists, mainly church leaders, claimed that Mizo society has become cleaner and less dangerous especially for women and children after the imposition of the dry law in the state.

They found support in the Mizoram Upa Pawl or the elders association and the Mizo Academy of Letters (MAL).

The contention of the church leaders was questioned by Vanneihtluanga, a former leader of the Kristian Thalai Pawl, the youth wing of the powerful Presbyterian Church.

He said that the church leaders should not participate in discussions on Prohibition as they were biased on the subject.

According to the state excise and narcotics department records, 36,913 people have been arrested for selling liquor since the imposition of prohibition on February 20, 1997 till April 30 this year. Of them 27,123 people were convicted.

The department, which has a staff strength of 542 employees, is responsible for enforcing Prohibition and fighting the massive drug menace in this strategic north eastern state, sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh and sharing a 722 km international border with the two countries.

The department has collected Rs 4.77 crore as excise duty from liquor till April 30 this year.