Why this Manipur village is raising a toast to easing of liquor ban

On September 24, a public meeting was held at Andro, a quaint scheduled caste village in Manipur with a population of about 9,000 people, famous for its indigenous liquor brews.

The meeting was convened to discuss the BJP-led state government’s new liquor policy. Just four days before, on September 20, the government had announced to partially lift the ban on brewing, consumption and sale of liquor, shedding the “dry state” tag that Manipur had donned for 31 years.

Tribal Affairs and Hills minister Letpao Haokip said one of the main reasons that prompted the decision was the increase in liver and kidney diseases in the state due to consumption of unregulated liquor illegally imported into the state.

All district headquarters, including Imphal city, tourist destinations, hotels with at least 20-bed lodging facilities and camps of security forces will be outside the purview of the prohibition as per the new policy.

More importantly, the government expects the move will help rake in additional revenue of at least Rs 600 crore annually.

After the easing of restrictions, a draft Manipur Liquor Regulation Policy to legalise liquor was rolled out on October 4. It exhorted the need to regulate the sale of alcohol, reduce the easy availability of “illicit and adulterated liquor”, Indian Made Foreign Liquor as well as Foreign Made Liquor.

According to the new policy, the government will also ban the manufacture and sale of any local brew that does not meet safety standards and has not been approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The bottom of the barrel

The government’s move has irked many lobby groups in Manipur such as the Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol and the Meira Paibi (women torchbearers) which think the lifting of the ban will be socially disastrous.

The Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991, was an outcome of sustained protests from civil society groups, raising objections against alcoholism and rising domestic violence as a direct result of liquor consumption.

The prohibition law, however, exempted traditional liquor brewed by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes across the state. In 2002, the policy was modified to exempt five hill districts in the state.

While a chorus of protests was triggered across the state by sections of civil society, concerns were also raised by some sections that fear the new liquor-friendly laws will eventually put the local brewers out of business with big corporate brewers dominating the market.

But Andro villagers are optimistic that the new policy will only bring a windfall. And they have their reasons.

The first settlers

The village, around 25 kilometres east of the state capital Imphal, is believed to be home to Manipur’s first settlers.

Nestled at the foothills of the Nongmaiching (Selloi Langmai Ching) hill range, the picture-perfect village, surrounded by dense lush-green hills, is known for defying norms.

According to some historical accounts and folklore, the Loi community, which constitutes the majority population of the village, preferred to remain “social castaways” to continue practicing their indigenous Sanamahi faith. They refused to accept Hinduism during the reign of Pamheiba (1709-1748 CE), the Meitei king who introduced Hinduism as the state religion of his kingdom.

Before Hinduism became the dominant religion in Manipur in the early 18th century, the native community followed their indigenous religion.

The king, a Vaishnavite, had also banned meat-eating, brewing of liquor and domestication of pigs and fowls in his kingdom. A small group of Meitei people, however, refused to follow the diktat.

It is said Pamheiba classified the “rebel group” as Loi as they refused to accept Vaishnavism. The term ‘Loi’ has been described by different scholars as subdued or exiled or ostracised people.

Some accounts even claim that the Lois were “punished” for their so-called ‘impure’ profession of distilling liquor.

A small group of that ‘exiled’ community reside in Andro, which reportedly derived its name from the word ‘handro’, meaning land of the returnees in local parlance. According to Loi folklore, the local ruler banished some people from the area. Later they returned to establish the village and, hence, it came to be known as Handro and gradually Andro due to mispronunciation.

Even today the village is known for being the hub of Manipur’s ancient culture and tradition. The animist Meiteis of the village are famous for making traditional brew, locally called Yu.

The magic potion

The alcoholic rice brew is an important part of every Sanamahi ritual, right from birth to death ceremonies.

It is so integral to the culture and heritage of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities of the state that they were allowed brewing liquor for traditional and religious purposes even when there was complete liquor ban in the state.

“Liquor and fire are two most important aspects of our tradition. Almost all the houses in Andro have their own distillery where they brew local wine. They offer the brew to their deceased forefathers on the first Sunday of Langban (lunar calendar),” village chief Sagolsem Chandra Meitei told The Federal.

A temple in the village dedicated to its presiding deity, Panam Ningthou, houses a sacred fire that is believed to be burning since it was first lit nearly a thousand years ago. Such was the commitment of the community to its tradition.

Andro, along with Sekmai, Phayeng and Keikhu Kabui, is the undisputed “liquor destination” of the state for the unique taste and kick of its brew.

It is prepared by distilling a fermented mixture of highly nutritious Manipuri rice and stems of yangli (a local creeper plant). The malty drink has a slight sweet aroma and smokiness. The villagers brew it in traditional style for centuries and store the product in their traditional Charai Taba pots, a unique form of pottery the village is known for.

The villagers welcomed the government’s decision as they believe it will transform their socio-economic condition by taking the local wine to the next level. The reason for the optimism is that the new policy also decided to promote local brews through branding and exporting.

Local distillers at Andro and Sekmai will be regulated with the help of experts from Ireland and Scotland, Haokip said.

This is a “bold step” to promote local brew internationally and it will improve the socio-economic condition of the village in particular and Manipur state in general, Sagolsem Chandra said, explaining why they welcomed the government’s decision.

The state government had earlier sent a cabinet sub-committee to Goa to study the modern process of liquor brewing.

The villagers, however, maintained that traditional distillers should be given preference in exporting the locally made brew.

If the big companies are given license to manufacture liquor for export, the traditional brewers would be doomed, cautioned former MLA Ningthoujam Biren.

The Andro villagers though for now want to be optimistic. Also, they believe the prohibition on liquor anyway did not help arrest the rise of alcoholism.

Despite the 1991 ban, alcohol was widely available in the state. According to the 2019-20 report of the National Family Health Survey, Manipur ranked fifth in the list of top alcohol-consuming states.

A reason why Andro villagers feel the lifting of the ban calls for loud cheers.