M A I N   N E W S

78-yr anti-liquor tradition
By Sarbjit Singh
Tribune News Service

DHAPALI (Bathinda), Feb 7 — Unknown to the outside world, power of the people has prevailed in this village for the past 78 years in keeping the liquor shop away.

This village has not any liquor shop since 1922. Every time the government dangled the bottle, the people led by women successfully battled to get the shop shifted away from the village.

Liquor shop proved to be rallying point for the locals to jump into the freedom movement way back in the 1920s. Spurred by the agitation against liquor, even locals marched to Ludhiana to participate in the “Simon Commission go back” agitation in 1928.

It started with the setting up of a liquor shop in the village in 1922 by the then government authorities. Locals opposed the move by holding protest rallies. When the authorities did not shift the shop, the agitation spread to nearby villages. This village became a focal point for activity against the British rulers.

Led by Swami Arjan Dev, a Congress activist, people started a movement against the foreign rule in the garb of a protest against the liquor shop. Eminent freedom fighters like Baba Hira Singh Bhattal also visited the village. Soon, it became a safe place for most of the freedom fighters of the area to take shelter.

Elders of the village told Tribune News Service that fearing intensification of the agitation the authorities sent a Lahore based senior officer to get the liquor shop shifted from the village. He also gave the assurance that the liquor shop would never be set up in the village.

The present Sarpanch of the village, Mr Buta Singh told TNS that in 1952, Mr Chanan Singh became sarpanch of the village. He also did not allow the liquor shop in the village. An attempt was made to set up the liquor shop in 1977 but with the intervention of a local MLA, the shop was shifted to other place. Again during the Darbara Singh government, liquor shop was opened in the village. Led by Mr Harbans Singh Sidhu, a former Congress minister, locals met Mr Darbara Singh who immediately ordered the shifting of the shop.

The government again opened the liquor shop in 1995-96 in the village focal point . Maintaining the old tradition, villagers started peaceful agitation. They organised akhand paths near the shop and urged all people not to buy liquor from the shop.

Women formed Aurat Mukti Morcha as a part of their campaign. The agitation continued for three years. Ultimately villagers succeeded in May 1999 to get the shop shifted away from the village boundary.

When asked whether people in the village take liquor, Mr Buta Singh said there may be some people who consume liquor. He said locals were against the opening of liquor shop in the village, but did not prevent anyone from consuming liquor. However, by and large people of the village stay away from the liquor as they have participated for decades in the anti - liquor campaign.