Geelani demands blanket ban on liquor in J&K

Hurriyat leader also calls for post-prayer demonstrations at mosques

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Dec 7: Churning out a loud reaction to Dr Farooq Abdullah’s advocacy of cinema and liquor in Jammu & Kashmir, separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani today demanded blanket ban on circulation of alcohol in the Muslim-dominated state. Even as the Hurriyat hawk has not yet served his typical ultimatum on Omar Abdullah’s government, he has called for anti-liquor demonstrations after Friday prayers at all mosques in Kashmir valley on December 9^th.

Seeming to be taking diktats in quite a many matters from Geelani, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has, for a change, confronted the Valley’s Islamist icon over seeking total closure of cinema and liquor in the state. Without talking much about liquor, Omar has put a straight poser to the Hurriyat chief. Bollywood movies and dances, according to his averment, are not available to viewers through the big screen alone. “This is all available also through cable and dish. Should he (Geelani) next demand ban on cable and television ?” Chief Minister has desired to know.

Geelani is yet to respond to Omar. He has, nevertheless, begun efforts to mobilize the Kashmiris against production, import, trade and circulation of liquor. Getting the peg from Farooq’s December 5^th statement, Geelani has lashed out at the National Conference patriarch and held him responsible for promoting “cultural aggression” and “social evils” in Kashmir. According to him, New Delhi has been using her “foot soldiers” to undermine the value system of the Kashmiris and thus strengthening “forced occupation” on the state.

While emphasizing that moral values of any nation were superior to its economic interests, Geelani has urged the Kashmiris to gear up for a massive agitation against the “social evils so audaciously promoted by politicians like Farooq Abdullah’. He has demanded blanket ban on sale and circulation of liquor in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Kashmiris to stage demonstrations after concluding Friday prayers at the mosques on December 9^th.

In contrast to Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather’s announcement on floor of Legislative Assembly in April 2011---‘our government will not issue any more licenses”--- NC’s President and union Cabinet Minister Dr Abdullah has described J&K as a tourist state and called for setting up of liquor shops and cinema theatres. Almost all of the Valley’s clergymen and separatist leaders, including the pseudo-separatist MLA Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, have immediately shot off their negative reaction to Dr Abdullah. However, efforts of getting him declared as “excommunicated” by way of a Fatwa, which a mainstream opposition party had once clandestinely initiated, are not visible at this stage. Maintaining his self-confidence, Dr Abdullah has refused to withdraw or dilute his statement.

Advocates of ban on liquor have been referring to Hindu-dominated and BJP-ruled Gujarat and asking if that state could afford to ban liquor, why a state like J&K couldn’t. Those favouring sale and circulation of liquor argue that the excise revenue of over Rs 350 Cr a year accounted for over 10 percent of the state government’s total receipts. They have also been emphasizing that J&K was a tourist state which had attracted over a million of domestic and foreign tourists in the current year.

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