Kashmir’s Growing Anger Over Alcohol Is Turning Political |
The latest political storm in Kashmir began outside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence. BJP workers marched in protest as the debate around a proposed liquor ban intensified in Jammu and Kashmir.
Slogans filled the streets, television panels erupted, and social media timelines turned into battlefields.
Another political confrontation had arrived in a region already exhausted by endless public feuds.
This time, though, the anger touched a nerve much deeper than party rivalry.
The campaign against alcohol has gained visible momentum in Kashmir during recent months. Religious groups, civil society voices, parents and sections of the political class have pushed the issue into the center of public debate. Growing concern about addiction among young people has transformed alcohol from a private habit into a public question about the direction of society itself.
Political parties soon entered the fight with familiar aggression. Leaders attacked one another with statements designed for headlines and hashtags. Ordinary people watched the spectacle with growing disappointment.
Kashmiris have deep political awareness, and they know the history of parties, the contradictions in speeches and the convenience behind sudden moral positions. Public frustration therefore comes from experience rather than confusion.
People expected governance, but they received political theater. The liquor debate exposed that disconnect with unusual clarity.
Alcohol has existed in Jammu and Kashmir for decades. The region’s Excise Act came into force in 1984 and laid down rules for sale and consumption. Historical records place wine shops in Kashmir much earlier, dating back to the nineteenth century. Dogra rule played a major role in normalizing........