Projects Special report

Dry State: Life Under Prohibition

What a decade of prohibition has meant for the poorest — hooch deaths, mass arrests, and the families left behind.

‘God has given us a sky full of sorrow’

What a decade of prohibition has meant for the poorest — hooch deaths, mass arrests, and the families left behind.

Stories from this Project

Liquor BanReport

No crime, only punishment

In Jehanabad district, it is the marginalised Musahars who get picked up in prohibition cases. The legal battles that follow are expensive,…

People’s Archive of Rural India

Liquor BanReport

‘I lost my husband and my house’

In Bihar’s Gopalganj district, Mukesh Ram’s family is struggling in the aftermath of his death from consuming illicit liquor

People’s Archive of Rural India

Liquor BanReport

‘God has given us a sky full of sorrow’

In Bihar’s Jehanabad district, men arrested under the Prohibition Act are largely from the most marginalised communities. They and their families, live…

People’s Archive of Rural India

Liquor BanReport

‘If we stop making liquor, we will die’

Poverty, social stigma and lack of job opportunities push the Musahar community in Bihar to earn an income by distilling mahua liquor,…

People’s Archive of Rural India

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