What you can’t do at 18
What you can’t do at 18
You can drive, marry, get a job and even vote at 18, but not drink, and when you can, at 25, pack up at midnight!
Curfew is for kids, not bars
Delhi's drinkers literally have a Cinderella hour - they're supposed to stop at about midnight, when standalone bars and also many hotel outlets have to stop serving liquor. In 2007, the excise department of the Delhi government allowed outlets serving alcohol to remain open till 1am for an extra license fee, which the city celebrated as something of a coming of age in the context of India's conservative nightlife scene. However, 24x7 licenses were considered for only bars in five-star hotels in the city, and that too only one outlet per hotel.
This is one of the issues we have taken up over the years - that to make Delhi a world-class city, its nightlife also has to be world-class. At 1am, the party's just started in a world when people are able to leave the workplace and reach home at only about 8pm, and that's for those with fixed timings and 10-6 jobs. Economic realities have changed, and many cities in the world boast of 'staying awake' all night, providing locals and tourists a chance to explore the vibrant nightlife.
The argument given by the administration, however, is the same as the one for raising the drinking age - 'law and order problems'. In 2007, Sanjiv Khirwar, excise commissioner, had said, "We have given 24-hour licenses to five-star hotels, considering Delhi's tourist requirements. With more and more foreigners visiting Delhi, it is important that a few restaurants are open all night." When standalone bar owners asked why only five-stars, then-Additional Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak had said, "If 24-hour licenses are given to stand-alone bars and restaurants, there will be a law and order issue." That, of course, is because a) it is not the police's job to ensure that there are no law and order issues, and b) because Delhiites cannot just drive down to Gurgaon or the other suburbs and buy alcohol from outlets that stay open longer. Bar owners have also often argued that a drunk causing trouble or an accident after stumbling out from a bar in a five-star is no different from one drinking at a standalone bar.
But that has made little difference, as the only concession made is that special licenses are granted for a fee on occasions like New Year's Eve, when places serving alcohol can stay open for an hour longer, till 2am. We'd like that extra hour, and a few more, far more often, if anyone's listening!
It's deluded: imran
Imran Khan was among the well-known voices to speak out against the absurdity of raising the legal age to drink in Maharashtra to 25, and the actor went a step further by declaring his intention to file a PIL against the decision. In an interview to us last year, Imran called the decision "deluded". He was finally unable to file the petition because his nationality is American, but his support for it gave ballast to an argument we've been making for years now.
"I understand their intention (in raising the drinking age) - and it's absolutely correct. Alcohol addiction is injurious to health. It can lead to serious problems," Imran had said.
"However, this is not the solution. 1) It's not restricted to people under the age of 25. I think that there might be more people over the age of 25 with alcohol addiction - call me crazy, but I think there's a chance I'm right; 2) if we allow this to pass, if we say theek hai, alcohol addiction is a problem for people under 25, therefore, even though they're adults, they shouldn't be allowed to drink, it paves the way for any number of addendums to the law. For instance, they could say our population is growing out of control, therefore, if you've married after the age of 23, you can't have kids. Sorry, you've missed your chance. To keep population in control in India, you see, it's for a good cause - what's to stop that legislation, then?"
He added that after the spoke up about the issue, many people just assumed it's because he 'likes to drink'. "A lot of people say, you just want to party, you're promoting drinking. But had they said, you can't have kids now that you're 28, I would have fought against that as well. It's important, from time to time, to raise the level of debate. Sometimes, inadvertently, our personal freedoms are curtailed. It's not only our right, but also our duty, to stand up and save it sometimes, in a democracy."
Absurdly low drinking age
India's population might be among the youngest in the world, and the rest of the world might be hailing that as one of its strengths, but the Indian state doesn't seem to think this young population can handle its adulthood. We'd been arguing for many years that the legal age at which one can drink should be lowered to 18 across the country, from the 21 or 25 that it was in various places. So when, in June last year, the Maharashtra government announced that it was raising, instead of lowering, the legal age to drink to 25 (achha 21 for beer, tumhare liye), it left many wondering what they were thinking. Delhi, of course, had refused to lower the drinking age from 25 a couple of years ago, when it got its own Excise Act.
So here's what you can and cannot do, as per the law on drinking in Delhi:
At 18: Nothing. Have a glass of milk at night and go to sleep. If you're going out to celebrate with friends - driving, because you're an adult and the state grants you a driving license, maybe celebrating because it was the first time you voted, since the state thinks you're old enough to elect your political representative - try fruit beer.
At 21: Become a bartender. You can serve alcohol at 21 in Delhi, as per the law, but you cannot drink it. Does your Bloody Mary taste bloody good, and is your Screwdriver screwed? You can't sip and tell. Ask mommy if she'll tell you.
At 25: Drink, finally. And if your server or bartender happens to be younger than you and law-abiding, let her/him have a sniff, be nice.
The wonderful thing about Delhi, however, is that neighbouring UP has a legal drinking age of 18. You just need to drive out to the suburbs to be served a drink if you're an adult. Even in Goa, India's party capital, you can have a drink at 18, and enter a pub at 16, and we haven't really heard of a moral breakdown in either state due to mass alcohol addiction. Other states, including Karnataka and West Bengal, have a legal drinking age of 21.
The idea, the authorities have said, is to discourage youngsters from having alcohol. Because of course, the dismal growth rate, inflation, divorce and everything else that needs a scapegoat has alcohol consumption to blame for it. The very idea of trying to 'discourage youngsters from having alcohol' reeks of moral policing. Persisting with impractical, outdated laws that haven't kept pace with the times just leads to unnecessary infringement of an adult individual's freedom, and makes criminals out of people who're doing something entirely routine and harmless. Change the mindset, the law, not the drinking age!
Curfew is for kids, not bars
Delhi's drinkers literally have a Cinderella hour - they're supposed to stop at about midnight, when standalone bars and also many hotel outlets have to stop serving liquor. In 2007, the excise department of the Delhi government allowed outlets serving alcohol to remain open till 1am for an extra license fee, which the city celebrated as something of a coming of age in the context of India's conservative nightlife scene. However, 24x7 licenses were considered for only bars in five-star hotels in the city, and that too only one outlet per hotel.
This is one of the issues we have taken up over the years - that to make Delhi a world-class city, its nightlife also has to be world-class. At 1am, the party's just started in a world when people are able to leave the workplace and reach home at only about 8pm, and that's for those with fixed timings and 10-6 jobs. Economic realities have changed, and many cities in the world boast of 'staying awake' all night, providing locals and tourists a chance to explore the vibrant nightlife.
The argument given by the administration, however, is the same as the one for raising the drinking age - 'law and order problems'. In 2007, Sanjiv Khirwar, excise commissioner, had said, "We have given 24-hour licenses to five-star hotels, considering Delhi's tourist requirements. With more and more foreigners visiting Delhi, it is important that a few restaurants are open all night." When standalone bar owners asked why only five-stars, then-Additional Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak had said, "If 24-hour licenses are given to stand-alone bars and restaurants, there will be a law and order issue." That, of course, is because a) it is not the police's job to ensure that there are no law and order issues, and b) because Delhiites cannot just drive down to Gurgaon or the other suburbs and buy alcohol from outlets that stay open longer. Bar owners have also often argued that a drunk causing trouble or an accident after stumbling out from a bar in a five-star is no different from one drinking at a standalone bar.
But that has made little difference, as the only concession made is that special licenses are granted for a fee on occasions like New Year's Eve, when places serving alcohol can stay open for an hour longer, till 2am. We'd like that extra hour, and a few more, far more often, if anyone's listening!
It's deluded: imran
Imran Khan was among the well-known voices to speak out against the absurdity of raising the legal age to drink in Maharashtra to 25, and the actor went a step further by declaring his intention to file a PIL against the decision. In an interview to us last year, Imran called the decision "deluded". He was finally unable to file the petition because his nationality is American, but his support for it gave ballast to an argument we've been making for years now.
"I understand their intention (in raising the drinking age) - and it's absolutely correct. Alcohol addiction is injurious to health. It can lead to serious problems," Imran had said.
"However, this is not the solution. 1) It's not restricted to people under the age of 25. I think that there might be more people over the age of 25 with alcohol addiction - call me crazy, but I think there's a chance I'm right; 2) if we allow this to pass, if we say theek hai, alcohol addiction is a problem for people under 25, therefore, even though they're adults, they shouldn't be allowed to drink, it paves the way for any number of addendums to the law. For instance, they could say our population is growing out of control, therefore, if you've married after the age of 23, you can't have kids. Sorry, you've missed your chance. To keep population in control in India, you see, it's for a good cause - what's to stop that legislation, then?"
He added that after the spoke up about the issue, many people just assumed it's because he 'likes to drink'. "A lot of people say, you just want to party, you're promoting drinking. But had they said, you can't have kids now that you're 28, I would have fought against that as well. It's important, from time to time, to raise the level of debate. Sometimes, inadvertently, our personal freedoms are curtailed. It's not only our right, but also our duty, to stand up and save it sometimes, in a democracy."
Absurdly low drinking age
India's population might be among the youngest in the world, and the rest of the world might be hailing that as one of its strengths, but the Indian state doesn't seem to think this young population can handle its adulthood. We'd been arguing for many years that the legal age at which one can drink should be lowered to 18 across the country, from the 21 or 25 that it was in various places. So when, in June last year, the Maharashtra government announced that it was raising, instead of lowering, the legal age to drink to 25 (achha 21 for beer, tumhare liye), it left many wondering what they were thinking. Delhi, of course, had refused to lower the drinking age from 25 a couple of years ago, when it got its own Excise Act.
So here's what you can and cannot do, as per the law on drinking in Delhi:
At 18: Nothing. Have a glass of milk at night and go to sleep. If you're going out to celebrate with friends - driving, because you're an adult and the state grants you a driving license, maybe celebrating because it was the first time you voted, since the state thinks you're old enough to elect your political representative - try fruit beer.
At 21: Become a bartender. You can serve alcohol at 21 in Delhi, as per the law, but you cannot drink it. Does your Bloody Mary taste bloody good, and is your Screwdriver screwed? You can't sip and tell. Ask mommy if she'll tell you.
At 25: Drink, finally. And if your server or bartender happens to be younger than you and law-abiding, let her/him have a sniff, be nice.
The wonderful thing about Delhi, however, is that neighbouring UP has a legal drinking age of 18. You just need to drive out to the suburbs to be served a drink if you're an adult. Even in Goa, India's party capital, you can have a drink at 18, and enter a pub at 16, and we haven't really heard of a moral breakdown in either state due to mass alcohol addiction. Other states, including Karnataka and West Bengal, have a legal drinking age of 21.
The idea, the authorities have said, is to discourage youngsters from having alcohol. Because of course, the dismal growth rate, inflation, divorce and everything else that needs a scapegoat has alcohol consumption to blame for it. The very idea of trying to 'discourage youngsters from having alcohol' reeks of moral policing. Persisting with impractical, outdated laws that haven't kept pace with the times just leads to unnecessary infringement of an adult individual's freedom, and makes criminals out of people who're doing something entirely routine and harmless. Change the mindset, the law, not the drinking age!
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