Click to play videoGandhinagar (Gujarat): Every year, lakhs of bottles of liquor are destroyed by the Gujarat prohibition department. But more of it is believed to be surreptiously consumed in the state.
Now a group under the banner maltmarch.org is trying to bring the fact to light. They are planning a public debate on the issue next month.
The group has also planned a rally that will end with volunteers gulping down liquor in full public view.
"The idea is to show support for the cause. Only a handful will drink in defiance of the law. It’s going to be a symbolic gesture,” says Coordinator, maltmarch.org, Dinesh Ahuja.
For supporters of the bacchanalian cause, it's the environment of fear that is stifling.
"Liquor is freely available. Eminent citizens consume it. What is really most disturbing is that people are afraid to come out in the open,” says Ahuja.
Ironically, the idea of the malt march first came up as the organisers were raising a toast to mark 75 years of Gandhi's Dandi march. Ahuja says Gandhi himself spoke of complete prohibition and not selective prohibition.
And with this effort, the group says it aims to free the Gujarat spirit. Or should we say, the spirits for the Gujaratis?
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