Citation

Maheshwari B. Soc. Change 2004; 34(1): 40-48.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Council for Social Development, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/004908570403400104

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The green revolution brought prosperity to Haryana, but much of the increase in disposable income, instead of being ploughed back into infrastructure development, was frittered away in alcohol consumption, leading to major domestic problems all over the State, with wife beating and alcoholism, according to one study, seen to be inseparable. An anti alcohol movement, spearheaded by women, took root in this fertile soil, and spread. Though the political establishment sought to gain mileage by imposing prohibition, a mafia emerged to fill the void, and the consumption of liquor and related problems did not disappear. The women who spearheaded the anti liquor movement did not however raise their voices in protest, due to a number of reasons. When men usurped the frontal roles, they were inhibited by purdah and social mores, they lacked the resources to sustain the movement, they were adversely affected when the State turned enforcer and their menfolk were sent to jail, they were stymied when patriarchy reasserted itself via links with the mafia, which the women were not able to withstand, and there was no social support for the agitators, who came to be blamed for the fall in government revenues. Yet the anti liquor movement helped women organise themselves, and brought their voices into the political limelight.

Language: en