ANTI-ARRACK MOVEMENT

A WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH

ORIGIN

-- Arrack is low cost liquor that is generally consumed by poor people. The anti-arrack movement started as a spontaneous movement in a remote village in Dubagunta, Nellore in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India.

-- The anti-arrack movement started in Nellore district in 1992, and quickly spread to other parts of the state.

-- But this anti-liquor movement in Nellore district can be traced back to the non cooperation movement of 1920-22. By June 1921 in Andhra districts 111 villages had totally stopped consuming drink.

-- Arrack is a rectified spirit which is obtained by distilling fermented molasses.

-- Production of arrack became increasingly high

-- This gave way to large scale sale of arrack

-- The income generated from the production and sale of arrack in the state was too large for the governments to take any steps to stop its production or sale. Many liquor contractors were closely linked with politicians and there was a close nexus between crime and politics.

ATROCITIES ON WOMEN

-- This high consumption of liquor by the men came as a curse to the women.

-- They were illiterate, exploited by landlords, and targets of domestic and social violence. -- Poverty became a byproduct, as most of the income that men received was spent in the consumption of arrack. As time passed, this drinking increased in quantity, and men started drinking more and more. This affected the family as well as the economy. Women had to face the brunt of violence emerging from being inebriated.

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-- After a certain saturation point the women who suffered these torture decided to come together and go for a mass movement.

-- The women’s movement in Andhra Pradesh originated from the anti arrack (anti liquor) movement started by the state’s rural women in the 1990s.

-- Women spoke to other women who faced the torment of drunken abuse, and with the support of the District Collector and the Sarpanch, started an anti-arrack movement.

-- Another factor that motivated women to start the movement was the death of a number of villagers due to imbibing illicit brews.

REACTION

-- Women began their clean-up campaign by destroying articles used for distilling arrack in several houses.

-- The police had no other option but to help the women by arresting some of the hooch makers and seizing the ration cards of others. The cards were returned only when they promised to quit the profession. The women on the “rampage” also had the support of the village Panchayat officials.

KEY OUTCOMES:

--The anti-arrack movement had its basis in a number of factors. The Akshara Deepam (Literary Lamp) program was a Government-initiated program, which aimed at eradicat ing illiteracy.

-- In 2000, with World Bank support, it expanded this program as a thrift based program where women could make small savings, revolve their own resources, and meet their families’ critical consumption and food needs. The program, earlier called Velugu and now called the Indira Kranti Patham, has since evolved into a movement for the all-round empowerment of poor women.

-- The Literacy Campaign helped make the women come forward to resist and be enthusiastic in bringing a change and not tolerate their men’s torture.

-- The government-imposed a ban on sale of liquor in the state, and prohibition was imposed. However, due to financial constraints, the government had to revise its policy of total ban and allowed sale/purchase of Indian made foreign liquor, though arrack continued to be banned.

WHAT MAKES THE ANTI ARRACK MOVEMENT A SOCIAL MOVEMENT?

1) Sustained collective action over tome.2) Marked by a degree of organization and leadership3) Shared objectives and ideologies4) Aim to bring about a change in a public issue5) Develop distinct modes of protest

According to the Relative deprivation theory, people are driven into movements out of a sense of deprivation or inequality, particularly (1) in relation to others or (2) in relation to their expectations. The Anti- Arrack movement can be looked upon with the help of this theory.