Onus on learned clergies to come up with permissible liquor use

Kohima, April 30 (EMN): Principal of Japfu Christian College, Kigwema, Visakhonu Hibo opined that the responsibility of learned clergies is to come up with a clear-cut picture of liquor and wine usage as per biblically permissible level.

Recounting her childhood days, she said that her mother would serve her zokhu (rice beer chunks) frequently and unadulterated zutho (rice beers) to others. The un-adulterated Zutho, purportedly contains about plus/minus 5% alcohol content.

“When I reminisce about my childhood days and walk down memory lane, I feel no guilt for taking the food beverage. In fact, I feel that the religious intellectuals should start conversations on the Temperance Movement, especially of the early missionaries and Christians in Nagaland”, she suggested.

 “I feel that extremism has been our stance all along,” she said.

But now, she was warned not to drink the “commercial zuthos of today” as they are ” adulterated left and right”, Hibo said.

When people were asked if they know anyone who has died of alcoholism in a survey, she said out of 1032 respondents, 92.9% said ‘yes’ and 7.1% responded ‘no’. Among those who died of alcoholism, ages between 40 and 50 were highest with 39.5%.

This was followed by 30-40 age groups with 31%, 15.7% among 50+ and 13.8% among 20-30 age groups.

The survey was recently conducted by Hibo and presented at the Angami Students’ Union 30th biennial general conference held at Touphema village from April 28 to the 30^th. 

Interestingly, most of the respondents cited that alcohols that are available in Nagaland are rum, whisky, beer and vodka while zutho (local rice beer) was barely mentioned.

In the same survey, 70.5% out of 1027 respondents agreed that liquor is ‘available freely in Nagaland’ while 29.5% said no.

Hibo, who was the main critique for the debate ‘Is it time to lift the NLTP Act? conducted by ASU as part of the conference, said that to lift or to keep the NLTP Act is the lookout of the government, as per their wisdom and knowledge.

However, the educationist noted that there is a ‘unique type of beggar’ —not begging for survival— but begging money for drinks (alcohol). This has become a sociological concern, she said. 

Hibo, said the way “adulterated liquor is free-flowing in Nagaland, allowing even school kids to buy from every nook and corner of Kohima and Dimapur especially”, is a concern’.

Consumption of adulterated liquor shortens life, creates more economic distress for poor families. Domestic violence, sexual harassments and child abuse have not lessened despite NLTP Act being in place, she pointed out.

“Bootlegging is creating a massive illegal economy, encouraging crime and wealth for the Naga Dons, while also engaging even illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the evil practice, which threatens the very fabric of our demography, negatively”, Hibo observed.

“Most young people who resort to alcohol abuse are unemployed. Most young people who are resorting to suicides or self harm are committed under the influence of alcohol that is sold openly in juice, chips and mineral water shops,” she went on to add.

“It is time that all stakeholders stop pretending, stop washing our hands, stop passing the blame on each other but open our eyes, our minds, our hearts to the realities of our drunken society and move towards a safe, sane and progressive Nagaland”, Hibo said.