This one is for all those members of the Delhi cabinet who lost the opportunity of creating history on Monday. If you think that by refusing to lower the drinking age from 25 to 21 you are helping curb alcohol consumption, wake up and smell the booze. Not only are people under 25 years of age drinking alcohol, but they are doing so in their homes, with their husbands, wives, mothers and fathers. We did a snap poll with some of our “underage” friends to find out how many have been asked for age-proof before being served alcohol in pubs, clubs, bars or restaurants across Delhi. None of the 12 youngsters we spoke to could remember being turned away even once.
By continuing to turn a blind eye to the reality that youngsters drink alcohol the government is merely playing to the electoral gallery. With elections round the corner, Sheila Dikshit can ill afford to have the moral police – read BJP in this case – breathe down on her by terming any move to lower the legal drinking age as a sign that she is promoting alcohol consumption. We would say that if you are serious about curbing alcohol consumption, then why not ban it altogether?
Gujarat has prohibition but there is no other state in India with a better home delivery network. Those you need it, get it, neatly packed and delivered to their doorstep. Haryana tried prohibition but had to reverse the decision. During the time that prohibition was in place, there was no let up in cases of road accidents, wife-beating or drunken misdemeanour. And by no stretch of the imagination can one say that because the legal drinking age in Delhi is 25, people under 25 do not drink alcohol.
Earlier this year, when the class XII board exams got over, there was a huge party in a farmhouse in the Chhatarpur area. There must have been over a thousand kids there. The oldest party animal there was 21 years old. The party went on till the wee hours. Needless to say, alcohol was only the softest stimulant doing the rounds there that night.
Celebrations and alcohol go together. Even the most staid crowd is now popping champagne to celebrate an engagement or a graduation or even a sweet-sixteen. Our politicians need to grow up and realize that people who are taking decisions about who they want to vote for, who they want to wed, who they want to bed are really not going to not drink just because you say they can’t.
Now, the question is – Will it not be practical that the government reduce the drinking age? Can holding people back legally ensure that they don’t pick up a habit? Who is the government fooling?
4 Comments
May 12, 2008 at 5:07 pm
The government is doing a good job while, It would only help the citizens. This is true that the government cannot reduce the drinking age practically but by doing this legal people or students atleast under the age of 25 would stop, many accidents would be prevented by this. I myself have observed students hardly 16 starts drinking in the restaurants. Hence due to this there are many road accidents occurred. So its just a positive method that the government has done which would only help the citizens. I would acknowledge the government for taking such an important step.
May 13, 2008 at 12:12 pm
The Delhi government may have proposed to lower the drinking age from 25 to 21 but Delhiites are not saying cheers. In fact they see it as a halfway measure. The refrain heard across the city is why not make it 18? When you can cast your vote, drive a vehicle and even sign a legal contract at 18, why does the government seek to curb what is finally a personal choice.
Imagine I am 18 years old. It is my marriage tomorrow but I wont be able to celebrate it with a drink, its because my government thinks that I’m not mature enough to drink though I can marry and raise a family.
The law has not stopped Delhites from drinking now and it won’t later so why are they undertaking this pointless exercise. it should take a rational view and bring it at par with the age for voting and marriage.
May 15, 2008 at 7:13 am
Of course not, the government should uphold the minimum drinking age to 25 years. At least a small number of teenagers who are afraid of being caught are abstaining from drinking, if not all. Also it makes it possible the parents to impose a greater restriction on their children, but if the age bar is lowered even they will be at a loss of reason to impede them from drinking.
& beside this there will always be a hue & cry for lowering the age bar further & further and perhaps the entire thought of the minimum drinking age will have to be scrapped in the near future, like what is evident in over 9 countries in the world.
This law of course cannot prevent all the youth from breaking the law, but it is actually a positive step towards educating the under-aged, who, rarely though, are a subject of bullying in the schools by their peers.
But this law IS ill-imposed, the restaurants, hotels, & even bars rarely check the age of the drinkers. Consequently this law isn’t proving to be a great success. It’d be better if the government ponders over permitting the consumption of some of the “mild” alcoholic beverages to be served to adolescents.
Delhi
May 15, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Is Mr. Ramadoss aware of this move by his own people..after all Congress is the ruling party in the Centre as well as Delhi…but then, why should he object at all if this means more votes to the government from youngsters who are otherwise drinking freely but under threat of being caught and penalised.
Keep up the good work Ms. Dixit and Mr. Ramadoss…Now who really cares for the health of the coming generations…let us see..