Sauvik Chakraverti
Sauvik Chakraverti is an award-winning journalist and a libertarian blogger who lives in Goa. His ideas and writings – refreshingly liberal and inspiring – can be found on ANTIDOTE. This is what he had to say on the 2009 Hooch tragedy.
[...] the news of 107 people dying from consuming spurious alcohol in Gandhi’s Gujarat, where booze is banned, came as no surprise. My friend Sarina used to tell of her cousin, a student in Ahmedabad 20 years ago, who died consuming spurious liquor there. I am sure that if the press investigates, they will be able to list the history of such tragedies.
I spent some time in Gujarat – and hated it. Cris Lingle and I even took his US passport to the authorities and bought 10 bottles of beer (they took 2 bottles out of the case!) after filling many forms and also having to go out on the streets to obtain photocopies of documents the authorities needed. In the room inside, I spied a young lad pasting labels on bottles.
Gujarat has to decide its own course – to be high, or not to be high, that is the question. I prefer places like Goa, where there is a bar every 10 yards, with names like Frankie’s Bar, Relax Bar, and so on. My favourite is Mr. Booze. On my way to the airport I had a quick Adam Smith lunch at Lounghino’s. The Adam Smith lunch requires meat, bread and beer. In Goa, I got all three. In Gujarat…
The Adam Smith lunch is based on these immortal words:
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the baker, or the brewer, that we expect our lunch, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.
That’s it. It is either the Adam Smith Lunch or the Gujarati thali.
News has it that the purveyor of the poisonous hooch has been charged with homicide. Yet, the first law that should apply is Tort: he must pay restitution for the damages he has inflicted upon others. This should be under civil, not criminal law, so judgement should be delivered “on the preponderance of evidence,” not the “beyond reasonable doubt” required for criminal cases. Thus, restitution can be delivered to the victims through quick legal action; and that too, without calling for the police.
That’s right: Justice Without The Police.
I wonder how much the Gujarat police rakes in from bootleggers? One doctor I met said that the highest incidence of liver cirrhosis in Gujarat is among police inspectors.
Anyway, I don’t live there. Nor do I plan to, ever. The Gujaratis must fix their own State.
How much do you think the Gujarat government must pay for bad public policy?
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On a funny note, the Gujarat Tourism Department wants to boost tourism by promoting jal-jeera and other “health drinks”. Who exactly are they deluding?
[The original content has been reproduced here under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.]
