If an adult Indian, on average, consumes a trickle of alcohol in a year, an Indian soldier guzzles a bucketful.
The military has emerged as the single most organised guzzler of liquor in the country, with an annual consumption of nine litres per head, at least a litre more than the Malayalees, India’s biggest alcohol-consuming community.
Though alcohol consumption is still not well documented in the country, the average per capita consumption (for population aged 15 and above) is a little less than a litre, according to World Health Organisation figures.
Reply to a detailed questionnaire on the sale of liquor in military canteens, filed by DNA under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, shows that our soldiers consumed a staggering 1.1 crore bottles of hard liquor — rum, vodka, whiskey, and brandy — in 2007, not to mention 1.2 million bottles of beer and sundry wines.
No wonder, then, the recent cut in liquor quota sold in military canteens dampened the spirits of the men and women in uniform.
Rum continues to be the most preferred choice, though it’s gradually losing the kick. Vodka sales, on the other hand, have seen a threefold rise in the last four years.
“Many army wives drink, and they prefer vodka,” said an officer who looks after a few canteens. “It is light compared to whisky and rum.”
Surprisingly, Old Monk, the old favourite of beginners and veterans alike, is not the most sold rum. That crown goes to the military’s own Contessa.
Vodka, the growing choice of soldiers
Military is the top guzzler of hard liquor in the country, reply to DNA’s RTI request has revealed.
In all, the military consumed 74 lakh bottles of rum in 2007 (57 lakh bottles till November 2008). In 2003, 79 lakh bottles of rum were sold, and the number went up to more than 81 lakh the following year.
From a mere 37,609 bottles in 2003, vodka sales in army canteens went up to more than 1.19 lakh bottles in 2007. The figure stood at a little over 1.2 lakh bottles in November last year.
Whisky has also taken a hit — 21.9 lakh bottles were sold until November 2008 compared to 35 lakh bottles in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, whisky sales amounted to 28.9 lakh bottles.
Brandy has maintained steady sales of about a million bottles a year. Until November 2008, 10.4 lakh bottles of beer were sold in military canteens, compared to 12 lakh bottles the previous year. The number has remained steady at around 12 lakh a year for the past half a decade.
Overall, in 2008, there seems to have been a marginal drop in the sale of hard liquor — 87 lakh bottles. Officers say it was mostly because of the reduction in their quotas.
“Liquor in the forces is a way to socialise,” a serving air force officer said. “Many a times, senior officers show up at parties and dinners and then it becomes compulsory to have a drink. The quota reduction is not really practical.”
A junior commissioned officer in charge of an army canteen said, “Most officers are pretty angry at the quota cut. I have to tell them that rules have to be followed; I don’t have a choice.”
