In alcohol-prohibited Gujarat, which holds India’s only Mahatma Mandir—built at a cost of ₹215 crore and spread over 34 acres—‘liquor-hooch’ is nothing surprising. The cost of Mahatma Mandir does not include the land price; according to current market rates, the land alone can be valued between ₹600 and ₹1,500 crore. If one-bedroom flats were built on the site while observing all regulations applicable to a 15-storey tower, around 13,000 slum dwellers could be housed there.
Anyway! For the sake of business and universal development in Gujarat, the state government deemed the sale of ‘foreign’ liquor necessary and recently opened its first such liquor facility in GIFT City, just 12.5 kilometres from Mahatma Mandir, exclusively for foreigners and non-residents. We understand the state of law enforcement very well. Since the Indian government’s robust programme of ‘indigenous’ self-reliance (Atmanirbharta) does not apply here, only ‘foreign’ liquor is available, while ‘indigenous/local’ liquor remains untouched.
For the past few hours a ‘hooch’ incident has unfolded in Bhavnagar during the holy month of Shravan. According to surveys, 40 per cent of Gujarat’s diverse population is non-vegetarian. As per information provided in Parliament, Gujarat has 10,735 registered and 2,176 unregistered non-vegetarian slaughterhouses, meaning 65,000–70,000 families depend on that income. During the month of Shravan, citing an undefined ‘religious sentiment’, the sale of non-vegetarian food is shut down. Unfortunately, religious sentiments are not hurt by ‘alcohol’. And nowadays videos of priests acting drunk in temples flood social media.
The script of the hooch drama is simple. A young man gets a job in the police, so he throws a ‘party’ for his friends to celebrate. As per social ‘status’, Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) was served, leading to this tragedy. What heroic feats this youth will perform after becoming a police officer is likely to validate the Gujarati proverb “the child’s traits are seen in the cradle.”
The second character in the script is a primary-school teacher earning a salary under the 7th Pay Commission. His ‘invention’ was a method of making an exact copy of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor while preserving its appearance, colour, taste and smell. Unfortunately he did not get his invention patented—and nor can he—because after gulping down half a bottle of his own creation he was found dead by the police in his flat, lying in a pool of his own bloody vomit.
It is a good thing that the classification of liquor is not based on caste or religion. There is ample proof that the ‘Royal Stag’ brand of whisky is popular. This foreign liquor made in India is sold in 33 countries; however, its highest sales are in India. During the year 2025, 3,26,00,000 cases were sold. A case is a unit of 9 litres of liquor. In other words, a total of 2,93,40,00,000 litres of liquor was sold, valued at ₹27,384 crore.
Three varieties of whisky are most popular and sold worldwide. First, ‘Royal Stag’; second, ‘McDowell’s’; and third, ‘Johnnie Walker’. The first two of these three varieties are made in India, and the third in Scotland. ‘McDowell’s’ sales are not small either. In the year 2025, 2,87,10,00,000 litres of liquor worth ₹22,968 crore were sold.
Apart from whisky, the total annual sales of other types of liquor such as wine and beer in India (excluding country liquor) in the year 2025 were around ₹4.5 to 5.5 lakh crore. This means our Indian brothers and sisters gulp down ₹3,50,00,00,000 (three hundred and fifty crore) worth of foreign liquor every year. Compared with this trade, India’s budget for primary and school education is just one-fourth of what is spent on liquor.
Why does a teacher or police officer earning over ₹50,000 a month get into the liquor business? The reason is simple. Because of prohibition in Gujarat, selling liquor without the mercy of the police and politicians is impossible; after factoring in everyone’s share, the black-market price of liquor escalates. A 750 ml bottle of ‘Royal Stag’ costs ₹600–700 in a non-prohibition state, whereas in Gujarat it sells for ₹1,200 to ₹1,800. During festive times the price shoots up to ₹1,800–2,000.
One way to make more money is adulteration. The chemical that proved fatal in the Bhavnagar hooch tragedy was procured from Ahmedabad. Various adulteration items in their loose form are not banned by law. There is a separate business for empty liquor bottles; in an age with the technology to print currency notes, printing labels for any company is child’s play. People deeply involved in this trade create formulas for what to mix. Mixing old batteries or expired medicines into country liquor in the villages of Sanand is a thing of the past; nowadays the word on the street is that mixing toilet cleaner gives a stronger high.
No state has defamed Gandhi in the name of ‘prohibition’ as much as Gujarat has. The mask used to hide that defamation is the construction of structures worth crores of rupees in Gandhi’s name.
In this hooch incident nine people have lost their lives and 21 others are in hospital. There are also reports that some people are avoiding going to hospital out of fear of the police. Everyone knows what will happen next. In a few days everything will return to normal.
Yes, one thing is certain—on such occasions Gujarat’s Home Minister, knowingly or unknowingly, provides entertainment to the public. He ‘scolded’ the police. The poor police always get caught; the politicians dressed in spotless white Gandhi-khadi are saints—what connection could they possibly have with liquor? Is liquor ever involved during elections?
The Home Minister has ordered ‘strict action’!!! He hasn’t explained what the difference is between ‘action’ and ‘strict action’ where prohibition is already enforced by law!!!
The bitter and unpalatable reality is that there is no scope to discuss how ‘liquor’ relates to the Dalit movement. More than atrocities, the vice that is wiping out the young generation from its roots is liquor. In the diaries of seven out of ten girls coming to study at the Dalit Shakti Kendra, liquor is cited as the cause of their household’s ruin.
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*Founder, Navsarjan Trust and Dalit Shakti Kendra, Gujarat
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