The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 99
The commentary of al-Qa si dah 99 Similarly, the government of India in 1956 tried to pass laws to place partial controls on alcohol production. What came out of this was reported by the reporter of an Urdu newspaper Naw a-e- Waqt : Since April 1, 1956, there is a partial control on the consumption of alcohol in Delhi. There were seven places in the metropolitan area, producing local wine, which were closed down. Only three places were allowed to operate outside the metropolitan area. In western bars new restrictions were placed on the hours of operation. The alcohol was allowed from noon to 3pm and between 7pm and 10pm, and was allowed only with meals. Before April 1st bars were required to close on Tuesdays. Now they are required to be closed on Tuesdays as well as on Fridays. However, the interesting news is, in spite of these controls, the consumption of alcohol went up instead of going down. It has been reported that compared to April of last year, in the city of Delhi, the consumption of alcohol was higher by 634 gallons of hard liquor and 2,559 gallons of beer. There was a noticeable increase in the licensed places which sell local alcohol. Actually the increase in these locations was greater. In April of 1955, they sold 1,800 bottles, but in 1956, in the first week of April alone, they sold 3,000. ( Naw a’-e- Waqt, July 10, 1956 , p. 2, Makt u b-e-Delhi) The effect of the holy personality of the Holy Prophet sa was such that in the 4th year after hijrah , when he announced that the drinking of alcohol was no longer permissible, the Muslims gave up drinking immediately. It has been reported in a H ad i th , that when this was announced in the city of Medina, a drinking party was