You are most likely to encounter a fearful expression on the face of an Adivasi in Adilabad if you bring up the topic of their heady brew — the ippa sara. The gullible aboriginal people are scared of the Excise and police officials who can file cases under the stringent provisions of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, in case they brew liquor from the mahua flowers (Madhuca indica and M. latifolia), a tradition they have been following for centuries now.
The officials are accused of declaring brewing of ippa sara an illegal activity. This has resulted in Adivasis taking to consumption of the cheap Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) sold through licensed retail vends, risking their health.
Tribal people, especially Adivasis, consume mahua liquor as part of their culture, and hence are permitted to brew and store a maximum of five litres of mahua liquor for their own consumption, according to Adilabad Assistant Excise Commissioner D. Sarveswar Nath. However, lack of knowledge on this ‘concession’ enjoyed by the aboriginal tribes, and perhaps the intent to benefit IMFL sellers, has made the field staff of the Excise and Police Departments deter the tribals from brewing the liquor.
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Though threats of cases being filed were being made since the last few years, it took shape at a campaign last year when the government was cracking down on manufacture of the illegal and deadly gudumba. The field staff of both the departments seem to have conveniently ignored the distinction between mahua liquor and gudumba.
The threats have had a tremendous impact this year, even on the collection of mahua flowers that are held sacred by the Gond and Kolam Adivasis. Besides brewing liquor, the tribal community also consumes it as a substitute to food.
“We have not been collecting flowers since the last few years, as we were told not to do so by officials,” said Beer Shau, a Gond tribal from Tarnam (B) village in Neredigonda mandal. “We are drinking cheap liquor sold in our village, but it is proving to be very expensive.” The campaign and subsequent crack down has resulted in the increase in footfall at the liquor shops operating in the tribal belt, mostly under the Utnoor Excise Police Station and a few under the Ichoda unit. Much of the increase in annual sales is being attributed to Adivasis rapidly taking to consuming IMFL liquor available across the counter in these shops.
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The 18 retail shops in the five agency mandals of Indervelli, Utnoor, Narnoor, Jainoor and Sirpur (U) have sold liquor worth Rs. 34.55 crore between July 2015 to May 2016. This is a jump of over Rs. 9 crore in sales over the previous year’s Rs. 25.48 crore sales recorded between July 2014 and June 2015. The sale of cheap liquor also saw a rise during the corresponding period, from 69,861 in 2014-2015 to 97,215 in the next 11-month period. For the poverty ridden tribal area, this is nothing short of a quantum jump.