I love Jharkhand…was thinking about something I felt there…some people I talked to said “that a major problem of our community is drinking (or alcoholism)”…alcoholism is bad…but what is worse is being made to believe that a process integral to your culture is being branded as wrong/immoral by an outsider…and even worse is to perceive that and accept it…
Drinking has been a part of their culture…now two points are important
that what is a part of culture is always REGULATED
Indigenously produced items can never be produced (thus, consumed) in excess (economics duh!!)
drinking is not bad, but if it harms society, it is…I mean how the hell can you say that for these people who drink it is bad and not put this problem up fiercely in urban places and in non- cultural settings where drinking has become a norm. in so many places across the world, drinking is largely not as culturally infused and thus, a social problem (youth in pubs, drinking and driving, wife beating, spending all money on alcohol when you are poor or not)
so I wanna say two things:
they have come to think drinking AS A PART OF THEIR CULTURE is bad…when its not the case, drinking and hurting society is bad (which needs greater attention in other places/cities/countries) and
these indigenous alcohols are gradually being replaced by ‘branded’ alcohol…this shows i) how the market is destroying what was a part of their culture and very much regulated in society AND a part of their rituals and festivities…ii) how branded items are given social value and perceived to be better than indigenous stuff
thus, the market has no culture, thus, no concern for society…it maybe secular but its very much destructive.
Drinking has been a part of their culture…now two points are important
that what is a part of culture is always REGULATED
Indigenously produced items can never be produced (thus, consumed) in excess (economics duh!!)
drinking is not bad, but if it harms society, it is…I mean how the hell can you say that for these people who drink it is bad and not put this problem up fiercely in urban places and in non- cultural settings where drinking has become a norm. in so many places across the world, drinking is largely not as culturally infused and thus, a social problem (youth in pubs, drinking and driving, wife beating, spending all money on alcohol when you are poor or not)
so I wanna say two things:
they have come to think drinking AS A PART OF THEIR CULTURE is bad…when its not the case, drinking and hurting society is bad (which needs greater attention in other places/cities/countries) and
these indigenous alcohols are gradually being replaced by ‘branded’ alcohol…this shows i) how the market is destroying what was a part of their culture and very much regulated in society AND a part of their rituals and festivities…ii) how branded items are given social value and perceived to be better than indigenous stuff
thus, the market has no culture, thus, no concern for society…it maybe secular but its very much destructive.
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