Garasia tribal women of Rajasthan campaign against menace of alcoholism in rural areas

By Bharat Dogra 

Due to a combination of factors there has been sharp increase in alcoholism in several rural areas from time to time. While this can be a serious problem for health and family life anywhere, the problems can be particularly serious for those rural communities in which most people are already living close to subsistence level and in such conditions daily expenditure on alcohol can imply further reduction in the nutrition of children and increasing difficulties in meeting their essential educational and other expenses. Mothers are bound to protest against this sooner or later, and when they do so this often results in increased violence against them.

This was the situation in several villages of Bali block in Pali district of Rajasthan inhabited by the Garasia tribal community about a decade back. Women were deeply troubled by the increasing drift towards alcoholism which was partly triggered by the proliferation of illegal selling joints in remote villages in addition to the extension of legally sanctioned liquor selling shops or thekas.

In contrast, however, one positive development had also emerged. In recent times an increasing number of self-help groups had been organized in many of these villages, particularly involving women of the Garasia tribal community. While the more obvious aim was to promote savings and economic security, at the meetings of these groups the women also discussed their other serious problems and concerns and whenever they discussed serious problems including violence against women and economic crisis situations, the growing alcoholism emerged as an important cause of these problems in these discussions.

Can we do something to check this ever-increasing problem, these women asked each other in their group discussions, and in the course of these deliberations, some kind of a plan began to emerge.

The women increasingly felt that only small village-level efforts will not be adequate, a bigger impact must be created by planning something that will reveal the depth of their feelings regarding the increasing menace.

After considering many suggestions the women decided that they will get together to organize a very long march covering most of the area over which their villages are located.

To symbolize their unity and their determination for a joint effort, they decided to prepare a pink dress that they would all be wearing in the course of this march. It was also decided that other social reform issues such as reducing child marriages and preventing domestic violence will also be raised during the march to impart a wider social reform dimension to this march, although the core issue will remain that of checking the increasing alcoholism.     

This decision of women from weaker section households was very courageous as the legal and illegal sellers of liquor were known to be among the most powerful and violent persons of this region.

Starting early in morning this march of women covered a distance of nearly 25 km and ended at night. As many as about 2000 women participated in this long march.

On the way they smashed up several illegal liquor making bhattis (joints) and illegal selling units. They stopped in front of legal liquor vends and shouted slogans against opening liquor shops even in remote villages.

This march made a big impact on people. The courage of the women in confronting the powerful liquor lobby and mafia was widely appreciated. The increasing drift towards alcoholism could be checked. In addition there was a reduction in domestic violence. 

There was also a lot of follow-up- action in the form of sending representations to the authorities for shutting down illegal liquor selling joints and also making community level efforts for this. There was a continuing dialogue on the highly adverse impacts of increasing alcoholism on the community. All this helped to check the increasing spread of alcoholism. 

After the peak of this activity had passed, these women and their groups continued their efforts to check the spread of alcoholism at a smaller level in later years. The result has been that the earlier trend of fast drift towards alcoholism could be checked on a more stable and permanent basis. A recent visit to these villages and conversations with women here revealed that the problem has reduced compared to the worst period seen before the women’s anti-liquor march was undertaken.

Meanwhile these women and their groups have also continued to be active in taking up a range of other important social issues. They continue to remember the march as a very inspirational part of their efforts, one indication of which is that group members have permanently adopted the pink color dress prepared at the time of the march as their regular dress by which the group members are recognized even now.

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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071, and Man over Machine. Pix: Achin Phulre