Tekalkote Akshay

SIMS

Do Bans Really Work For The Society And The Economy?

Ban: Officially or legally prohibit one from doing something.

If what is written above is understood correctly, neither the economy nor its dependency will get
affected. The problem comes when a ban is implemented, followed, and taken advantage of,
willingly. Irrespective of what the ban says, it is the willingness of the authorities to implement
it. The society is nothing but a bunch of onlookers when a ban is implemented. They have to
agree, morally and psychologically.
Bans have been in place in India for decades, Gujarat, Nagaland, Parts of Manipur, Lakshadweep
and Bihar are few states where Alcohol is banned. Kerala has started its ban in phases. In my
opinion, in all these states, the biggest mafia or the underground trade would be on for liquor.
The Indian Mindset is akin to that of a child. We all remember our mother telling us not to eat
the entire chocolate or we fall sick, but we still would go ahead and do it. We would find means
and ways of getting that chocolate legally or illegally. Usually, the love of something which you
dont have decreases when you do, with alcohol it is pretty much the opposite. Alcohol is
something which is blatantly sold in liquor shops for all strata of the society but, imposing a ban
doesnt affect the upper class or the cream, but definitely the people who cannot afford a bottle of
Jack Daniels or Glenlivet would suffer. Before going for a ban, the government needs to look
into educating and rehabilitating the abusers.
Ban on drugs, the menacing issue not only in the much hyped *insert state*, but all across India.
It has become a menace everywhere, attracting the juvenile crowd of just13 years of age, and the
dependence keeps increasing as there are better and potentially enhanced drugs available.
Science has done great progress not only technologically but also chemically. Drugs such as
Methamphetamine, Benzodiazepines, Heroin and Cocaine are technologically altered to make
them more and more efficacious. The famous Cannabis aka Ganja, which is very popular
amongst the youth and the elders, is in itself a banned substance but is still widely consumed.
Although drugs are banned, they are not controlled or contained on purpose, because the entire

Tekalkote Akshay
SIMS

network is so consumed by its dependency that everyone from the purchaser to the politicians are
involved in its business. The country of Mexico is known for two reasons, firstly Drugs,
secondly Drug Cartels. We definitely can relate to the facts through the famous TV Series
Breaking Bad or Narcos, they are the glimpses of how drugs can make or break a person
and his livelihood. To further see how it affects the structure we have our very own Abhishek
Chaubeys directed movie Udta P*@#&b which elucidates on the fact of how it is taken to
advantage by the system.
Everybody remembers the incident of 8th Feb 2012 where in 3 MPs were caught watching Porn
on a smart phone when the session was on. It was not the first time they were nor would it be the
last time. Porn is something which is kept mum about in our country, perhaps being the
conservative country we are. Or are we? The population speaks otherwise! Rape is considered
Taboo but its reports we hear or watch on the news regularly. A country obsessed by taking pride
in creating the Kamasutra should actually be the most sensitive in understanding women, as
the book itself talks about pleasuring them and oneself not beastly but passionately. As of today
porn is not banned in India, although few websites are, but the cases of rape and assault are still
on the rise, a stronger sentence/punishment is the only way these incidents can be brought down.
All in all, each of them is interlinked with each other and can be solved only through a strong
resolve. The resolution is to be taken not only by the government, but by the citizens as well. As
rightly quoted by President Theodore Roosevelt The Government is us; we are the Government,
you and I.