Overview
The Bombay Presidency of 19th century India included districts in the present-day Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. The key districts that made up the Bombay Presidency were: Bombay, Ahmedabad, Poona, Ahmednagar, Thana, Belgaum, Surat, Bijapur, Gujarat, Khandesh, Ratnagiri, Kolaba, Nasik, Kaira, Sholapur, Southern Mahratta Country, Aundh State, Karwar, Chiplon, Sangli, Cambay, Munmad, Dharwar, Alibag, Kathiawar, Mahikantha, Ilao, Ankleswar...
Field cultivation of cannabis in the Bombay Presidency
Seed planting starts just before the monsoons in the central parts of the Presidency and is later as one moves southward. The Commission reports that 'The field is thoroughly worked up for some month or two before the south-west monsoon, and is heavily manured, sometimes by folding sheep upon it. In Khandesh the seed is sown in the very commencement of the rainy season, i.e., early in June, the munga nakshatra. Further south it is put in later, viz., in the Punarvasa and Pushya nakshatras, which correspond with July-August. The seed generally preferred is that from Ahmednagar.' The seeds from Indore were famous in the Bombay Presidency, as much as in the Central Provinces. In his letter to the Hemp Commission, dated 30th August 1893, the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, says 'The seeds required are brought from Ahmednagar and Indore in Central India. It is said that the seeds from the latter are of a superior quality than those obtainable from the former place.' After six weeks, when the plants are about two feet high, an expert is called in - a parakhai who is well-paid - to weed out the hemp plants from the ganja plants, where the local farmer does not possess the skills. The term 'male' and 'female' are used interchangeably to denote these two varieties, depending on who is speaking. The Commission reports that 'Witness (47), Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner, and Director of Land Record and Agriculture, says that the ganja cultivators of the Poona district are skilled in distinguishing the male plants. Everywhere else the parakhai, or examination for male plant, is done by an expert, who is paid at the rate of Rs. 8 to Rs. 10, or even more, a month.'
As we saw throughout India, great care was taken to uproot the cannabis sativa L. plants, if they were found growing in the midst of the cannabis sativa or indica plants. It is interesting to note that, in today's world, since only cannabis sativa L. is legal, the reverse is done, i.e., any cannabis plant that is not cannabis sativa L. is uprooted. The world, I believe, is worse off due to this, as we have lost numerous precious cannabis varieties due to the horrendous prohibition of varieties of cannabis that are not cannabis sativa L. In his letter to the Hemp Commission, dated 30th August 1893, the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, says 'When the plants grow to a height of about two feet, the operations of selecting and uprooting the male plants commence, the female plants only, as far as possible, being allowed to remain and grow to maturity. This selection can only be made by an expert called "Párakhi," and if after great care any male or staminate plants escape attention, and are allowed to grow, there is every fear of the entire crop being damaged. The female plants are said to be so sensitive that if, perchance, male ones are allowed to grow even altogether in a separate plot of ground situated in a windward position of the crops, almost all the female plants run into seeds, damaging the crops to a great extent. I am informed that separate plots of grounds were selected for growing the seeds. The experts always walk through the crops, up-rooting the male plants, and this continues up to the time the crop is harvested and gathered. The owner of the ganja farm here has secured the services of an expert from Lengri, a village in the Khanapur Taluka of the Satara district, where the drug is grown on a large scale.'
The method of cultivation of ganja is much like in the rest of India, grown mainly during the southwest monsoon season and harvested around November-January. Once again, this similarity in ganja cultivation practices across India shows a culture that has existed for a long time. The process of drying out, compacting and packing the harvested ganja was a community activity, over a period of days, accompanied by music and dancing. Mr. Ebden, Collector of Ahmednagar, states in his evidence to the Commission that '"The treading-floor is sometimes prepared like an ordinary threshing-floor with clay and cowdung. I have lately witnessed the operation of treading, and in that case the floor was simple moorum soil on a nalla bank, and had undergone no preparation beyond cleaning and sweeping. The ganja was spread in squares of fifteen or twenty feet wide and about six inches thick. A line of eight or ten men danced on it to the music of a tomtom. Treading began in the outer edge of the heap, and was continued in a spiral until the centre was approached, when the men fell out one by one as the space grew smaller. They followed close on one another, dancing sideways in the leader's footsteps. The tomtom appeared to be highly necessary, and kept them at it."' One of the pleasures of this way of life in connection with the divine plant and nature, was that some of the rewards were immediate for the hardworking cultivator and labourer. Mr. Ebden states that the charas obtained, as a byproduct, from a day's work gave pleasure to the worker and his friends. He says 'Charas.—This is locally a bye-product which is not brought into account, but appears to be the harvesters' perquisite, who probably part with it to friends who smoke, if they don't want it themselves. It is the resinous substance that sticks to the hands or collects on the sickle when cutting or plucking the tops. The hands are now and then rubbed together, and the charas is collected in the shape of a pill, which is naturally half dirt and sweat and half charas. A piece about the size of a marble may perhaps be the reward of a day's work.'
The outturn of ganja per acre cultivated in the key growing areas was estimated to be about 6 and 1/2 maunds, or approximately 240 kilograms. This is quite a high yield when we compare it to the estimate of 320 pounds or 128 kilograms, the estimated outturn in the Madras Presidency, which is only about half this amount. The Commission states that the ganja outturn in the Deccan was sufficient to meet the needs of not just the Bombay Presidency, but also neighbouring Aden and Sind. The report states that 'The Collector of Ahmednagar states that the outturn of ganja cultivation is 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 maunds per acre according to soil and season. Of two Satara witnesses, one puts the outturn at 6 1/2 maunds, and the other at 8 maunds. A fair average of these figures is 6 1/2 maunds. On the average of the last five years, the cultivation of the Deccan and Southern Maratha Country, including the Native States, is about 1,100 acres, which at the above rate would yield 7,150 maunds of ganja. The cultivation in the other parts of the Presidency proper is insignificant, and yields only bhang. The whole of the Presidency, including Cutch, Kathiawar, and the other Political Agencies, draws its ganja supply from the Deccan. Baroda also comes to the same market, and so do Sind and Aden.' Out of a total estimated outturn of 7,150 maunds of ganja, an estimated 3,000 maunds was said to be consumed internally by the Presidency. This represents higher consumption figures than the Central Provinces and the Madras Presidency. But the overall accuracy of all these figures is questioned by the Commission, given the fact that homestead cultivation remained a largely unknown factor in both the Bombay and Madras Presidencies. The Commission reports that imports were low, given the quantity of local outturn, when it states 'But both in Khandesh and Nasik the cultivation is almost sufficient to supply the demand of those districts. The import from the Central Provinces cannot be large.'
Out of the remaining 4,000 odd maunds that were exported to various places, sea exports formed a major route. Not only was Bombay ganja exported to other places within the Presidency, but also to neighboring Indian ports through the sea route. The Bombay sea port served as a major source of ganja exported to Africa, Arabia and Europe, especially London. The Commission states that the export of ganja to London by sea from Bombay was considerable. It states that 'About 28 per cent. goes to Aden, Arabia, Africa, and Europe. The export to London is very considerable. There is no reason to suppose that any of the sea export consists of other than Bombay ganja.' We also saw significant exports of ganja by sea to London from the Madras Presidency. It is clear from this that these two Presidencies supplied a large part of the ganja reaching London by sea, and that there was a significant ganja market in London during the 19th century.
Homestead cultivation in the Bombay Presidency
Homestead cultivation in the Bombay Presidency was reported to be on a much smaller scale than in the Madras Presidency. It appears that home growing had been more successfully suppressed early in the Bombay Presidency. The Commission reports that 'Regarding homestead cultivation, the Collector of Thana writes: "The plant is not cultivated in the Konkan as a field crop, nor even as a market crop in gardens, but it occurs in small numbers in many private gardens, and I have seen specimens that seemed to me to be self-sown, and afterwards taken care of by the gardeners." This is the only positive evidence of the existence of such cultivation in British territory in the Bombay Presidency, though there are to be found hints that it is carried on to a very small extent in the Ahmednagar and Dharwar districts in the present day, and some definite information that it was formerly practiced more widely. It seems certain that the extent of it in British territory is now absolutely insignificant.' The Commission reports that 'There is not much evidence of the cultivation of plants in homesteads and enclosures for private use, but Mr. Sinclair, Collector of Thana, alludes to such cultivation as occurring in many private gardens.' We can gauge from the evidence of low retail sales that the homestead cultivation formed a key source of ganja, especially for the poorer farmers who supplemented their incomes with ganja as a crop, and the spiritual mendicants and working classes. Not only did the Commission recommend drastic reduction in the area of cultivated ganja, it also recommended that home growing be completely prohibited. The Commission stated that this could be easily done through fear of law enforcement, as had been achieved in Bengal, Assam and the Central Provinces. The Commission states that 'If it be objected that the prohibition of occasional cultivation of a few plants in the private gardens or enclosures of individuals will be difficult to enforce, to this the Commission would reply— (1) This difficulty has been overcome in Bengal, Assam, and the Central Provinces, in parts of which, as abundantly established by the evidence taken by the Commission, this sporadic cultivation was equally prevalent. (2) The difficulty is not so great as it seems; for whereas at first sight it seems that it would be necessary in order to enforce the prohibition to increase establishments and exercise vexatious interference with the people, such has not been found from experience gained in other provinces to be actually the case. The difficulty of concealing the plant and the evidence of illegality involved in the mere existence of a prohibited plant in occupied lands, coupled with a legal prohibition, has in fact sufficed almost to exterminate such growth in tracts where ganja is produced with a minimum of prosecutions and penalties.' The injustice that such a move would cause the cannabis communities is not a matter of concern for the Commission. We consistently see throughout the witness evidence to the Hemp Commission that despite stating that prohibition is unnecessary, and that ganja is an integral part of Indian society as medicine, intoxicant and spiritual herb, these very same witnesses also state that prohibition can be achieved easily without any serious backlash from the people. The Commission states that 'In Bombay, though several witnesses say that further control is unnecessary, three of whom are under the impression that licenses are already required for cultivation, there is no opinion adverse to its restriction on other grounds. The following officers see no serious objection to restriction of cultivation:— Mr. Vidal, Chief Secretary to Government; Mr. Reid, Commissioner; Mr. Campbell, C.I.E.; Collector; and Mr. Ebden, Collector of Ahmednagar. Mr. Monteath, Collector, though he thinks there is no need for controlling cultivation, is of opinion that the time has come for putting the drugs on the same footing as alcohol and opium. Three Deputy Collectors are in favour of control; also two mamlatdars, an inamdar, a forest officer, and a drug farmer. From this analysis of the evidence it seems clear that no great difficulty need be anticipated in bringing the cultivation of ganja generally under control.' This information greatly emboldens the administration to impose prohibition, knowing that resistance will be minimum, considering that the entire upper classes and upper castes will not oppose it, and the indigenous communities, working classes, farmers and spiritual mendicants will be too powerless to do anything about it. We also see that a number of witnesses themselves actively practiced homestead cultivation of cannabis, primarily to study the plant and to nurture it. Mr. W. F. Sinclair, Collector, Thana, says 'Dr. Kirtikar's references to Cannabis indica as under cultivation in the Konkan are to plants cultivated in gardens in small numbers for private use, or in some cases for his own study, as besides his own garden he has more or less use of several others, including mine, for such purposes.'
Modes of consumption and consumption rates
Much like in the Madras Presidency, cannabis was predominantly smoked as ganja, though sweetmeats and beverages were also popular. Charas was consumed by upper classes in Bombay and increasingly Poona. In terms of the consumption of ganja in the Bombay Presidency, the Hemp Commission ranks the districts according to decreasing amounts of consumption as: 'Such as they are, they make the various districts take approximately the following order as regards their consumption of ganja: Dharwar, Bombay, Kanara, Bijapur, Nasik, Satara, Poona, Ahmedabad, Surat, Ahmednagar, Belgaum, Broach, Sholapur, Khandesh, Panch Mahals, Kaira, and Ratnagiri.' We see the number of persons in the population per retail license to be the second highest in Bombay after Madras, indicating the potential to increase retail outlets. The Commission, however, states that there were nearly twice the number of retail outlets to licenses issued in Bombay.
As we have seen across India, the consumers of the ganja plant, as bhang, use the flowers, leaves and resin to make their bhang, completely contrary to Dr. Prain's definition of ganja as the flowers and bhang as the leaves - a grossly erroneous definition that has even made its way into the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS)of 1985. The Commission reports that 'The bhang crop in Gujarat is turned into drug by drying the plants and shaking or beating them so as to detach the leaves, flower, and fruit. The character of the bhang of the Bombay Presidency must be noted. When it comes from the ganja crop, it consists very largely of pieces of the female flower head, and is in fact, as many witnesses have described it, largely composed of what is known in Bengal as chur. If the customer asked for chur, the shopkeeper would produce what he calls bhang.' Charas, we see, was consumed only to a small extent, mostly by the upper classes in the city of Bombay and, increasingly, in Poona. Most of this charas was imported from the North Western Provinces. The Commission states that 'Charas is only used in Bombay City to the extent of 7 or 8 maunds a year. Seven sérs only were sold in Poona for the first time in 1892-93. The drug is imported from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur.'
As in much of the rest of British-controlled areas, the administration struggled to estimate the number or percentage of consumers among the population. The administration stated that retail sales were increasing, indicating an increase in the ganja-consuming population. But using the available information, the administration estimated the population of ganja smokers, it came to a figure of .46 percentage of the population. This was a percentage most experts refused to believe. One witness put the percentage as around 4 percent. Various witnesses report almost 50 percent of certain communities being consumers of ganja or bhang. Lack of understanding of the long-standing ganja culture of India is behind these gross underestimates. For one thing, retail sales was a new phenomenon introduced in British-controlled provinces less than a decade ago. The vast majority of consumers would still have got their ganja from home cultivation or barter or direct purchase from the farmer, despite the excise regulations insisting that farmers and sellers must possess licenses to sell. It is also a well-known fact the large numbers of the spiritual mendicants and the working classes consumed ganja. It is very unlikely that these classes would have purchased all their ganja from the retail outlets after thousands of years of self-reliance. The movement of ganja between British- and non-British-controlled areas was extensive, despite regulations, making it all the more impossible to estimate the percentage of the population that smoked ganja. Regarding the unreliability of retail data, the Hemp Commission states that ' [The Collector of Dharwar] attaches a statement showing that the retail sales of 1892-93 amounted to 1,345 maunds, an increase of more than 200 maunds over the figures of 1891-92. It is impossible to suppose that this huge amount can have been consumed in the district. It is larger than the whole consumption of the Central Provinces with its Feudatory States and zamindaris. The only reasonable explanation is that the greater part of it leaves the district, and enters the surrounding foreign territory, Hyderabad, Mysore, and Goa. The Kanara district also may possibly get its supply from the Dharwar shops. The Dharwari ganja is not unknown, as the Commission found, in Mysore. This exaggeration in the Dharwar figures furnishes one more reason for distrusting those of other districts as an index of the local consumption.' The arrival of the railways also facilitated more easy movement of ganja, legal and illegal, between regions.
Reinforcing the evidence that the richer you are, the more likely you are to drink bhang - since the way the upper classes and castes who look down upon ganja drink their bhang is using ingredients that are most often out of reach for the lower classes and castes - we see in the Bombay Presidency the Hemp Commission stating that 'The simplest form of eating ganja and bhang is to pound them up with such spices as were mentioned in the preparation of bhang, and to swallow the paste in the form of a bolus. The mass is sometimes compounded with molasses or gur. The leaves of the green plants are even chewed on occasion. It does not, however, appear to be a regular practice with any people in any part of India to consume the drugs in this manner. The habitual bhang drinker will do it when he has difficulty in preparing his drink. It is done on a journey. It would seem to be more common to eat the paste in the cold weather than the hot. A mass will sometimes be prepared and kept for use day by day. This paste is known in the Punjab, Berar, and Bombay as fakki or fanki, and it seems to be used by the poor not uncommonly.' J. Gerson Da Cunha, Medical Practitioner, Esplanade, Bombay, says, 'Dr. Garcia d'Orta, the earliest European observer of the effects of bhang in India, and who published his work in Goa in 1563, mentions maju as eaten by Sultan Bahadur of Gujrat. He also mentions green betel-nut, nutmeg and musk as ingredients of the infusion.' Bhalchandra Krishna Bhatavadekar, Brahmin, Medical Practitioner, Bombay, says, 'Among the Deshastha Brahmins and Nagar Brahmins and Gujrathis generally on marriage occasions it is customary to use bhang in bhajias and in milk.' The fact that the non-caste-based communities smoked cannabis as ganja became a means of discriminating against these communities and looking down upon them. Bhalchandra Krishna Bhatavadekar, Brahmin, Medical Practitioner, Bombay, says, 'Both social and religious public opinion is against the use of these drugs, expecially the sect of the Swami Narayen Pantha in Gujarat and Kathiawad. The ganja smoker is particularly looked upon with indifference.'
Ganja-smoking was predominant among the non-Vaishnavite and non-Vedic religions who were regarded as lower castes by the upper castes of Vaishnavism and Vedism. The predominant ganja-smoking community, as was the case all over India, were the Saivites. As a part of the information submitted to the Hemp Commission, was a note titled "The Religion of Hemp" by Mr. J. M. Campbell, C.I.E. In this note, Mr. Campbell describes the deep association between ganja, Siva and the ganja-smoking communities. The thinking revealed in the note was widespread across India and not restricted to any particular Presidency, showing the close association of ganja with Siva.
We see a local alcoholic drink made from jowar, called boja, being prepared in the Bombay Presidency, that consists of bhang powder and toxic ingredients like nux vomica, that are fermented for a number of days. The drink is said to be very potent, as one would expect, rendering the consumer motionless for the duration of the intoxication. The preparation of this drink is elaborate, as detailed in the letter to the Hemp Commission, dated 30th August 1893, by the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, where he says, 'This is one of the intoxicating preparations in which bhang powder has to be used. It is prepared as follows:—Ordinary jowari flour is soaked in water for a night, which is boiled the next morning, and the kosht-kolanjan (the roots of Costus Arabicus), kuchla (Nux vomica), and bhang powder are then mixed in it. Some mix the powder of the roots of aconite with a view to increase the strength of the drink. The mixture thus prepared is then spread on a mat and allowed to dry in the shade. This stuff is called 'kanya.' A second preparation, called mávyáche peith, is next prepared. Best sort of jowári is soaked in water for 11 days until the grain germinates. The jowari is then dried in the sun and ground into fine flour. The two stuffs, viz., kanya and mávyáche peith, when proportionately mixed up, produce a fluid substance like nuchhu, the common staple food of all classes of people in this part of the country. This fluid substance is then stored up in a big earthen vessel called ránjan and allowed to ferment therein. A small quantity of this preparation is mixed with water, which is strained and drunk. No sugar or jaggery is used in preparing this drink. It produces a strong intoxication to such an extent that the customers seldom leave the premises of shops, but lie down there quietly until the intoxication subsides. The drink has a very sour smell, and is used only during the hot season. It is sold in common earthen pots called 'moghas.' I am further informed that the contractors, with a view to make good profits out of their farm, buy deteriorated or rotten jowári for preparing the stuff called 'kanya.'
The use of the seed to produce oil and for edible purposes is also mentioned in the letter to the Hemp Commission, dated 30th August 1893, by the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, in which he says 'Oil is extracted from the ganja seeds just as that from the safflower and other oil seeds. Generally the oil is used for burning lamps, but when fresh it is also used, however very rarely, for culinary purposes. Chutney is also made from the seeds. For this purpose the seeds are slightly parched and mixed with chilly, salt, and other spices. The several ingredients are then well pounded and used as chutney with bread. It has a good taste. The seeds form one of the ingredients in native tonic medicines prepared by native doctors.'
Widespread opposition to prohibition in the Bombay Presidency
Out of a total of 118 witnesses, only 5 were in favour of cannabis prohibition. Even out of these 5, one witness expressed the difficulty of implementing prohibition given the interlacing of British territory with native territory in the Bombay Presidency.
There were witnesses who, rightly, regarded western alcohol as a far greater danger than ganja for the people. The social reform organization, the Arya Samaj, said that though prohibition would be desirable, the government would do better to focus on the spread of European alcohol, and leave the cannabis users to themselves. The Hemp Commission reports that 'The Secretary to the Arya Samaj in Bombay (109) states that while fully sympathising with the objects of the Commission, which are apparently understood to be the restriction or prohibition of the drugs, the Arya Samaj "is of opinion that any Governmental action in the direction of further restricting the preparation and sale of the drug will be productive of very little good. The Samaj believes that education of the masses is the only proper and effective remedy for correcting such baneful habits, and fears that any compulsion in this matter is likely to drive the consumers of these comparatively innocuous drugs to the use of more injurious intoxicants that are plentifully supplied to the people like the various preparations containing alcohol." The Samaj prays that the Government will devise measures for the restriction of the sale of European liquor in India, and leave the hemp drugs to themselves.' Sewak Lal Karsondas, Secretary, Arya Samaj, Bombay, in his full statement to the Commission, says 'The Arya Samaj fully sympathises with the objects of the Commission referred to, as the principles and tenets of the Samaj enjoin on its members total abstinence from all kinds of intoxicating drugs. The Samaj, however, is of the opinion that any governmental action in the direction of further restricting the preparation or sale of the drugs will be productive of very little good. The Samaj believes that education of the masses is the only proper and effective remedy for correcting such baneful habits, and fears that any compulsion in this matter is likely to drive the consumers of these comparatively innocuous drugs to the use of more injurious intoxicants that are plentifully supplied to the people like the various preparations containing alcohol. The Samaj, therefore, prays that the Government, actuated as it seems to be in taking these steps by high moral motives, would be pleased to devise measures for the restriction of the sale of European liquor in India, which is perpetrating a great havoc on the morals and the physique of the Indian people. The Samaj fervently hopes that the comparatively less injurious drugs of Indian origin may be left to themselves, until the strong hand of Government is able to check the rapidly growing diffusion of European liquor in India.' Mr. Purbhuram Jeewanram, Nagar Brahmin, Native Doctor (Vaidya), Bombay, says 'With the advance of the natives of India in English education and ways of thought, and the influence of contact with Europeans, there has been generated amongst natives of the educated and lower class a taste for spirituous drinks. The inconveniences and trouble in preparing bhang, as contrasted with the ease with which liquor may be obtained and drunk, has stimulated the wide use of the latter, and decreased the consumption of bhang. I think the evil effects of spirit drinking are beginning to be felt, and that in the distant future bhang may be more extensively used than it is now. To vegetarians spirituous stimulants are altogether unsuitable.' Mr. Purbhuram Jeewanram further says, 'The use of spirituous drinks is not wholesome with the simple vegetable native diet. Only vegetable stimulants are best suited to our climate and diet. It would certainly be a serious affliction to the poor native to debar him from his native, uncostly, beneficial vegetable stimulant, which in some cases is a necessity to him.' He says, 'Natives with imperfect English education have begun to discard old beneficial usages, and, in imitation of the worst habits of Europeans, pride themselves in mistaken advanced views by using liquor, looking with disdain on the somewhat crude vegetable preparation of bhang. Many have been the premature decays of life and intellect on this account.'
Some witnesses speak in favor of opium, stating it to be safer than cannabis, demanding that regulation of cannabis be at least on par with opium. Daji Abaji Khare, Honorary Secretary, Bombay Branch, East India Association, Bombay, says 'It is true that hemp drugs and preparations made from these drugs are much more deleterious to health than opium, but notwithstanding, these drugs are in common use by a very large part of the native population of this country and to which some of them are attached. It is also true that these drugs have good qualities as well as bad. The good and wise measure, which our good Government should adopt for the benefit of the people, is to impose more stringent precautions and restrictions upon the sale of these drugs than they have on the sale of opium, and to increase the severity of the punishment for the adulteration of liquor and other beverages with hemp drugs.'
As in all other British-controlled provinces, the majority of the witnesses to the Hemp Commission in the Bombay Presidency - especially the more experienced, higher-ranked and more knowledgeable witnesses - were against prohibition of cannabis in the Presidency. Out of the numerous witness statements against prohibition, the Commission selects a few key witnesses, and their principle argument against prohibition, when it states that ' 583. On the other hand, the opinions against prohibition are weighty. The following may be specially quoted :— (1) Prohibition impossible or unnecessary, or could not be enforced without a large preventive establishment. (1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc. (3) Mr. Vidal, Chief Secretary to Government. (10) Mr. Monteath, Collector. (12) Mr. Cumine, Acting Collector. (53) Mr. Vincent, C.I.E., Officiating Commissioner of Police. (110) Rai Bahadur Vishvanath Keshava Joglekar, Merchant. (108) Daji Abaji Khare, Honorary Secretary, East Indian Association. (2) Prohibition would be strongly resented by religious mendicants, or would be regarded as an interference with religion, or would be likely to become a political danger. (1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc. (2) Mr. Reid, Commissioner. (10) Mr. Monteath, Collector. (8) Mr. Lely, Collector. (59) Mr. Foard, Superintendent of Police. (57) Mr. Austin, District Superintendent of Police. (54) Mr. Kennedy, District Superintendent of Police. (26) Khan Bahadur Dadabhai Dinshaji, Deputy Collector. (38) Mr. Almon, Assistant Collector of Abkari. (49) Yashvantrao Nilkanth, Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner. (104) Desaibhai Kalidas, Pleader. (46) Balkrishna Narayan Vaidija, State Karbhari. (39) Rai Sahib Ganesh Pandurang Thakur, Mamlatdar. (110) Rai Bahadur Vishvanath Keshava Joglekar, Merchant. (100) Parbhuram Jeewanram, Vaidya. (115) Nanu Mian B. Shekh, Municipal Secretary, Surat. (3) Prohibition might lead to use of dhatura or other intoxicants worse than ganja. (1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc. (6) Mr. Sinclair, Collector. (53) Mr. Vincent, C.I.E., Officiating Commissioner of Police. (49) Yashvantrao Nilkanth, Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner. (62) Rao Sahib Pranshankar, Inspector of Police. (102) Ramchandra Krishna Kothavale, Inamdar. (109) Secretary, Arya Samaj, Bombay.' Mr. T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Custom, Salt, Abkari and Opium, Bombay, says 'As regards the objects which Government should keep in view in reference to excise of these drugs, I think there is a demand for the hemp drugs, and that the demand will be satisfied legitimately or illegitimately. Government should, therefore, exercise a certain amount of control over the drugs, its measures should not be so restrictive as to induce smuggling and other crimes, and Government should at the same time be entitled to derive such revenue as it legitimately can from this source.'
Cannabis regulation in the Bombay Presidency at the time of the Hemp Commission's study
Cannabis regulation policies in the Bombay Presidency at the time of the Hemp Commission's study show similarities with that of the Madras Presidency. Both these Presidencies had relatively recently introduced the license system for cultivation, selling and purchase, as a result of the success seen in Bengal, the Central Provinces, the North Western Provinces and Assam. Serious government interference in the cannabis culture in both these presidencies began around the year 1878 with the introduction of the new Abkari Acts.
At the time of the Hemp Commission's study in the 19th century, the Bombay Presidency was governed by the Bombay Act V of 1878 with regard to intoxicating drugs. The Act essentially stated that import and export could only be done with permits. Sale of drugs, if permits were in place, had to follow the rules. The maximum retail quantity that could be sold an individual, and the maximum possession limits for an individual were 40 tolas. A cultivator needed a permit, without any fees, to dispose off his crop. There was government supervision of the crop harvested. The Hemp Commission reports that 'The cultivator has to obtain a permit, for which no fee is levied, to enable him to dispose of his produce. The Excise Commissioner states that the cultivation is noted and watched by the village officers, and he cannot dispose of his crop without obtaining the necessary permit.' This indicates a level of inconvenience for the cultivator already, even though there are no permit fees for cultivation. For one thing, the majority of the farmers in the Presidency would have been small-holding poor farmers. To have to face the inconvenience of procuring a permit from the Collector, and to have government officials supervising the crop till harvest and disposal would have been discouraging to most of these cultivators who had grown cannabis and sold it like any other crop in the preceding thousands of years. This itself, along with the pressure put by the neighboring Central Provinces, would have led to a significant drop in area of cultivation from the time that the Bombay Act V of 1878 would have been instituted. Regarding the drastic drop in area cultivated since the introduction of licenses for sale, Mr. Mackenzie, states in his memorandum that 'The Collector of Khandesh reports that the area so cropped is declining and the reason is not far to seek. As the Collector of Surat puts it—"now that the sale and transport have been brought under control, only wholesale sale is allowed, and that to the licensed farmers. As ganja and bhang soon deteriorate if kept, the result is that no one grows the plant unless he has a previous contract with a purchaser. The area under the plant is confined to two or three villages, and does not extend to more than 15 to 20 acres. It is said to have been much diminished since the arrangements of 1880."' Rao Bahadur Vyankatesh Bapuji Wadekar, Deputy Collector, Ahmednagar, says, 'Since the introduction of the Abkari Act, there has been decrease in the area under cultivation, owing to the restrictions imposed on the sale of ganja and the necessity of obtaining permission to prepare ganja though not to grow it.' Rao Bahadur Rudragowda Chanvirgowda Artal, Lengayet Deputy Collector, Bijapur, says 'The cultivation of the hemp plant is not restricted in this part of the country; but the cultivator cannot manufacture the drug without a license to be granted by the Collector on this behalf in the Form B, sanctioned by Government, and the drug can only be sold to persons duly licensed to sell the same by wholesale.' The rules are absurd, effectively meaning that cultivation can only happen under license, because what is this 'manufacture' of ganja post-cultivation that requires a license? It is the harvesting of the crop, the separation of flowers from leaves, and the drying out of ganja for packing and transport, typical processing done with any cultivated crop. There is no other manufacture involved with ganja. By stating that licenses are not required for cultivation, but are required for 'manufacture', the government is effectively imposing regulation on the cultivator in order to discourage cultivation. This word 'manufacture' appears to have been transposed from other material, possibly opium cultivation or the preparation of western alcohol, to create the confusion that has persisted ever since. 'Manufacture' of ganja finds its place even in the NDPS Act of 1985, with no attempt being made to correct the error which works conveniently for the administration in prohibiting ganja.
There was no separate license for wholesalers and retailers. In fact, the cultivator, retailer and wholesaler are lumped together under one term 'farmer'. The licensed retailer procured the ganja from the cultivator, or through imports, and sold it at retail outlets. The cultivator himself could sell, import or transport with a retail license. Most sellers were called farmers even though they functioned as wholesalers procuring their ganja from various sources and then selling them at their own retail outlets. The Collector determined the number of retail outlets in a particular district. It was not unnatural for a single person to have the retail rights for an entire area, thus creating a monopoly. The Commission reports that 'The rules provide that the joint privilege of manufacture and retail sale at one or more shops shall be auctioned. The vendors are the only importers of the drugs, and there are no wholesale dealers acting as middlemen between the cultivators and the farmers of retail vend. The farmers pay import and transport duties as above described. As a rule the farm of the drugs for a whole district is sold to a single vendor. The retail shops are usually fixed by the Collector.' Mr. T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Excise, Customs, Opium and Abkari, states in his memorandum submitted to the Commission that 'The only importers of ganja and other hemp drugs are the licensed retail vendors, i.e., the farmers or contractors for each district or in a few cases each taluka or shop; the arrangements for import, transport, and export are stated in paragraph 3 of the notification mentioned above, and this information may be supplemented by stating that a permit has to be obtained from the Collector, Assistant Collector, or Mamlatdar, according as the drug is to be imported from outside the district, taken from one taluka to another, or from one village to another in the same taluka. When the bhang or ganja arrives it is compared with the pass by the Mamlatdar in the first two cases and by the patil in the third. The retail vendor may store the drug in his own store-room, but the Mamlatdar and Abkari officers go from time to time, and compare the quantities in store with the accounts.' While on the face of it, the regulations for the import, transport and retail sale of ganja in the Bombay Presidency appear more lenient than that of other British-controlled areas - where retail licenses were auctioned and duty had to be paid on stock by retailers - there is no doubt that the imposition of a license for a commodity that was freely traded in the past would have affected the number of persons looked to sell ganja. For the poor farmer, who earlier had to only find a buyer for his produce, it was now required to get a permit from the Collector, often located at a distance from the cultivator, in order to sell his ganja. These factors would surely have been added hurdles for the cultivation, sale and transport of ganja with the existing Bombay Act V of 1878, that had been in effect for more than a decade, when the Hemp Commission carried out its study in 1894-95. No price was fixed for sale between cultivator to retailer and retailer to consumer. The price varied from district to district according to demand and supply. Mr. Mackenzie states in his memorandum that 'It is very difficult to say accurately what is the average retail price for consumers, as it varies considerably in the different districts, and even in talukas of the same district according to the supply of and demand for the drug.' The retailer, in effect, functioned as a wholesaler and a retailer.
In the Bombay Presidency, the right to vend is auctioned. It is interesting to note that the wholesaler here is referred to as the farmer. Surely, only the wealthiest of farmers would have been able to bid for the right to auction. It is most likely that wholesalers are being referred to as farmers here. The evidence that the farmer mentioned here is effectively a wholesaler can be seen from the statement, 'As the sole right of sale within the island belongs to the farmer, no wholesale drug shops occur in Bombay. Under a license granted by the Collector the farmer issues to his nominees nokarnamas or service certificates countersigned by the Collector. In these service certificates all the provisions of the license relating to the working of the shops are embodied.' He procures ganja from various places, including that which he himself has cultivated, and sells them in retail outlets that he himself has set up. The only difference here is that other retailers cannot purchase their ganja from him. The concept of the independent retailer did not exist as in other provinces. Again, it is surely only the most influential and wealthy farmers who would have followed the cumbersome process of obtaining licenses from the Collector and having enough workers and resources to set up and run the retail outlets. Since the majority of farmers in India, then and now, are poor small-scale farmers, this rule would have effectively curbed the sale of ganja by the these small-scale farmers directly to customers, as just another agricultural commodity along with his other produce, in order to supplement his income. Such coercive measures would have discouraged a lot of farmers from seeking to cultivate ganja. In his letter dated 1st September 1893 to T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, J. M. Campbell, Esq., C.I.E., Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium, Bombay, says, 'In the town and island of Bombay the right to sell hemp-drugs is put to public auction by the Collector, and with the sanction of the Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, is sold to the highest approved bidder. Notice that the right is to be put to public auction is given by advertisement in the Bombay Government Gazette and in some of the local newspapers. Printed slips are also circulated for the information of the Collectors of most of the districts in the presidency. The right is usually sold for a term of three years.' The rates for annual license fees were quite high. The seller was required to pay 1/12th of the license fees in advance at the beginning of each month. 'For the present term, starting from 1st August 1893, the annual license fee payable is Rs. 48,000, that is, Rs. 8,500 more than the same fee paid for the previous term of three years.' 40 tolas of ganja was the possession limits for an individual, and a vendor was to ensure that not more than 40 tolas was sold to the customer. This is, of course, much higher than the 5 tolas that the Hemp Commission was recommending as possession limits throughout India. In his letter dated 1st September 1893 to T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, J. M. Campbell, Esq., C.I.E., Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium, Bombay, says, 'Except by such special order as is contemplated under section 17 of the Abkari Act the ninth condition of his license prevents the farmer selling to the same person on the same day more than 40 tolas of any hemp-drug. Applications for such special orders are unknown. No case is on record of any one requiring more than 40 tolas of a drug for his own use during a single day. The possession of more than 40 tolas of a drug by one person, except under the authority of a permit, is also illegal.'
Dissatisfaction of British government with existing regulatory system.
As in the Madras Presidency, the administration of the Bombay Presidency was quite happy with the situation, but the British government was not. The Commissioner of Excise, Mr. T. D. Mackenzie, himself states, in his memorandum, that there appears to be no need to modify the system set up in 1878. He says 'I am not aware of any modifications of the present system in respect to hemp-drugs being under consideration. I can not see that any are urgently called for. The total revenue is small, mainly because the demand for these drugs is small, and it is easily collected. No hardship is caused either to the wholesale seller, the cultivator of the crop, the retail seller, or the consumer. No hindrance is put in the way of legitimately supplying what is an undoubted want of certain classes, no encouragement is given for excessive production, and no inducement is held out to smugglers or others to indulge in illicit practices to meet the demand for the drug. So far as this presidency is concerned, the system which was devised 13 years ago has been successful in every way as I have endeavoured to show above.' Mr. F. S. P. Lely, Collector of Surat, says, 'I think increased taxation of ganja would be highly impolitic. I can hardly see how, apart from political reasons, it could be beneficial. The consumer would be prepared to spend a pice or two more upon it. It is much cheaper to get intoxicated on ganja than on liquor. I do not recommend increasing the cost of the former, because the people who use it are poorer than those who drink liquor. I never remember seeing a person intoxicated by ganja.' Mr. Purbhuram Jeewanram, Nagar Brahmin, Native Doctor (Vaidya), Bombay, says, 'I have said that the tax is unnecessary. I think it is also unreasonable. In India, in the face of an ever-increasing and exacting land tax, every product of the land, whether it be an article of life or an article of luxury, has been taxed, to the great burden of the poor classes. When, after bearing a land tax, the article is subjected to a special tax, the consumer is taxed twice. In the case of bhang, although it is not a necessity, it is a harmless source of enjoyment and relief which often serves the consumer in ill-health as well as a valuable medicine, or prevents him from getting ill. Bhang is cheifly used by poor people, and to them every pie has its value. The tax, though not felt by the rich, is a burden on the poor.'
The British government, however, had other ideas. The comparative study of revenues between Bengal, the Central Provinces, Bombay and Madras, showed the vast difference in revenue flowing in through the systems in Bengal and the Central Provinces as compared with Bombay and Madras. In Bombay too, the taxation per acre of cannabis cultivation was very low as compared to Bengal. This situation made the central government express its discontent at these disparities. The Commission reports that 'The system in Bombay is somewhat more formulated, but in view of the large amount of ganja produced, and the still lower price of the drug in the producing districts, there is no less need of an improvement in the system of administration.' As in the Madras Presidency, a large amount of ganja was exported by sea to other regions, within and outside India. In fact, nearly half the produce in the Bombay Presidency was exported as compared to about 1/7th in Madras. The Commission reports that 'But as the bulk of these exports goes to Native States, or is exported by sea, no revenue is realized therefrom'. As expected, the general conclusion of the administration was that the ganja in the Bombay Presidency needed to be taxed at much higher rates. The Commission reports that 'The general conclusion is that as compared with Bengal, or even with the Central Provinces, the taxation of the ganja produced in Madras and Bombay is very light.' The Commission itself stated that the laws were too lax in the Bombay Presidency, and recommended that things needed to change, if reduction of overall consumption and increased revenues are key objectives. The Commission stated that 'The system in Bombay, which was introduced in 1880, does not seem to have been brought under discussion since that time. The Commissioner of Excise states that the subject attracted little attention till the Commission was appointed. The Commissioner of the Northern Division says that the system seems to have grown up in a haphazard way. The subject has been treated mainly from the revenue point of view, and the control exercised has not been strict. At the same time the area of regular ganja cultivation in Bombay seems to be considerably larger than in any other province; and if measures with a view to restriction in consumption are necessary anywhere, they certainly appear to be so in this Presidency.' The Commission recommended that the same amount of regulation of the cultivator, as was present in Bengal and the Central Provinces, be introduced in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies, and the area under cultivation be drastically reduced. It stated that 'The Commission on a full review of the whole circumstances connected with the ganja administration have framed the opinion that cultivation of the hemp plant for the production of narcotics in Madras and Bombay should be prohibited except under license, and that the licensed cultivators should be restricted to a limited area as in Bengal and the Central Provinces. They are of opinion that no greater difficulties exist in this respect than have been already overcome in these provinces.'
The same people who said prohibition was unnecessary also stated that it could be implemented easily. These very same people, belonging primarily to the ruling upper classes and castes, who knew that ganja was the herb of the poorest communities in India, also recommended that taxation on ganja be considerably increased. The argument of many of them was that alcohol was much costlier due to the tax on it, therefore the tax on ganja must also be raised. This is knowing the terrible harms of alcohol as compared to ganja. For these administrative officials, mindless control and revenue maximization are the only objectives. The Commission states that 'In Bombay there is also a good deal of evidence as to the needlessness of further interference on taxation; but there is at the same time weighty evidence in favour of increased taxation. Mr. Mackenzie says: "I think the taxation of the hemp drugs in this Presidency might be raised; but the question would require details and careful examination. The ganja of this Presidency is roughly manufactured, though the cultivation is careful enough. A direct tax would necessitate the adoption of a system of distinct wholesale vend. I see no objections to that, as the tax does not fall on the cultivator. The variations in the retail price shown in paragraph 8 of my memorandum are, no doubt, excessive, and seem to indicate that there is room for taxation to regulate the wholesale rates of the drug." Mr. Vidal says: "In view of the higher taxation in other provinces, I see no reason why there should not be a higher direct tax in this province. The disproportion between the taxation of liquor and of hemp drugs, and the relative dearness of liquor which results from this, also points to the propriety of increasing taxation on hemp drugs." Mr. Monteath, Collector, says: "I think the present system of excise administration in respect of hemp drugs has worked fairly well, but that the time has come for putting these drugs on the same footing as alcoholic stimulants and opium. Hitherto the consumption of preparations of hemp has not been extensive, and so long as it was very small, the farm of the right to sell, as dispensing with the need of any preventive establishment, was perhaps more suitable. But it seems that not only in this district (Bijapur), but throughout the Presidency, the amounts bid for the right to sell have been increasing, and it may fairly be inferred that the habit of consuming these drugs is spreading. It cannot, indeed, be said yet to be prevalent; still the total consumption is, I think, sufficient to make it worth while to impose an excise duty; it is already in this district much in excess of the consumption of opium, though insignificant as compared with the consumption of alcoholic stimulants, particularly toddy. It is, I believe, generally admitted that the system of deriving a revenue by farming the right to sell is suitable only in the earliest stage, and that the levy of an excise duty is the fairest and most satisfactory method of taxing an article produced in the country. Now the levy of an excise duty on preparations of hemp will present no difficulties in this Presidency. The existing abkari establishments would probably suffice for the levy of the duty, or at least would require strengthening to but a small extent. The levy of an excise duty would not, I think, excite any opposition. An alteration in the form of duty could not reasonably be objected to." Mr. Ebden, Collector, says: "The hemp drugs are very much cheaper than liquor now. For a pice a man can get enough ganja to last him for a week if he is a moderate consumer. There is, therefore, considerable margin for heavier taxation of the drug without driving the people to liquor or other intoxicants. I consider there is a considerable margin for taxation, though the drug is consumed by the very poor. I have no sympathy with the excessive consumer, and the moderate consumer would not feel a moderate increase." Mr. Sinclair, Collector, says: "I consider there is a margin for increasing taxation, having regard to the price of other intoxicants, the fact that the drugs are mainly used by the poor, and the danger of smuggling." Mr. Almon, Assistant Collector, Bombay, says: "My impression is that the tax on the drugs is too low. I think that the ordinary liquor consumer pays twice as much for what he wants as the ordinary ganja consumer would, or three times as much as the ordinary bhang drinker. I think the rates should be equalized." Other advocates of increased taxation are three Deputy Collectors, the Administrator of the Jath State, an Assistant to the Commissioner, an inamdar, a mamlatdar, a pleader, and a drug farmer.'
In the Bombay Presidency, the limits on possession under the Bombay Act of 1878 was 40 tolas for ganja. It was the same amount that could be sold to an individual by a retailer on a given day. Numerous witnesses stated that this led to smuggling. Hence, the Commission recommended that the limits on possession in the Bombay Presidency be brought down to 5 tolas, in line with the possession limits in place in Bengal, Assam, the Central Provinces and the North Western Provinces. The Commission states that 'In Bombay and Sind the Act (V of 1878) prescribes the limit fixed by the Government for retail sale as the limit of possession. This limit has been fixed by notification for the whole Presidency at 40 tolas or half an Indian sér for all intoxicating drugs. There is a considerable amount of evidence in Bombay that this limit is too high. Mr. Mackenzie says that it might be very considerably reduced, and four Collectors, Messrs. Campbell, Monteath, Woodward, and Lely, recommend the adoption of 5 tolas as the limit for ganja. Eleven other witnesses in this province advocate reduction of the maximum.'
So, we see the gradual imposition of tightening cannabis regulation across India. The Bengal model is being systematically applied to the other British Presidencies - in the name of efficient administration, reduced consumption and increased revenue - by bureaucrats who had no connection with the divine herb or the communities that use it, disrupting a culture that has existed for thousands of years. The people are passive throughout, just as in the other provinces, even as the herb is slowly taken away. The fact that cannabis was such a normal part of day-to-day life, with the ganja-smoking communities seamlessly blended in, until the British authorities decided to start focusing on it can be gauged from the evidence of Mr. T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Salt, Opium and Abkari, as a part of the memorandum submitted to the Hemp Commission. Expressing his difficulty in obtaining ganja-related information for the past twenty years in the Bombay Presidency, Mr. Mackenzie states that 'The plain fact is that in this presidency ganja and the preparations made therefrom have not attracted very much attention either as a source of revenue, or, owing to the comparatively small consumption, as a cause of crime, or as affecting materially the moral or physical well-being of any but a very small proportion of the community.' Mr. F. S. P. Lely, Collector of Surat, says 'Some of the healthiest looking men in the district are moderate consumers. A robust-looking active man of 50 was talking to me yesterday who had smoked ganja for 30 years.'
Cannabis was a profitable crop for the farmer until the administration decided to slowly strangle it and eventually kill its cultivation. In his letter to the Hemp Commission, dated 30th August 1893, the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur, says 'The farm at Bijapur produced about 60 bags of ganja, each containing four maunds (a maund is equal to 960 tolas), worth about Rs. 180 in 1891. In the following year (1892) the yield was about four hundred maunds, worth about Rs. 800 after deducting the necessary expenses incurred in raising the crop, &c. The area sown was about 13 acres.' With one maund being equivalent to approximately 37 kilograms, this would have meant that 13 acres would have yielded the farmer 14,800 kgs or 14.8 tons of ganja. Both the extent of the yield, and the revenue secured for it - translated into current equivalent currency - indicate the huge outturns that are possible with the crop, at roughly 1,000 kgs per acre, yielding Rs. 62 per acre at that time. Today, ganja is priced at over Rs. 1 lakh in the black market. Fully legalized ganja, that has once again regained its status as an an important agricultural commodity for the farmer, even if sold at Rs. 1,000 in the open market, would realize the farmer a very reasonable price of Rs. 10 lakhs per acre. This alone would be sufficient to lift a majority of India's small-scale farmers - who make up more than 80% of India's farming community - out of poverty and secure sustainable healthy livelihoods for them. The export of surplus ganja to international markets, where it will be much sought after, will bring in vast amounts of renewable sustainable revenue to an Indian economy that is currently among the top global 3 emitters of greenhouse gases due to the development trajectory it has taken, shunning cannabis and embracing the industries opposed to it.
Social and cultural importance of cannabis in the Bombay Presidency
The social and cultural importance attached to cannabis among the Vaishnavite and Vedic cultures of Bombay and Gujarat is mentioned in Note on the Religion of Hemp, by J. M. Campbell, Esq., C.I.E., Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium, Bombay. He says, 'During the great spirit time of marriage in Bombay among almost all the higher classes of Gujarat Hindus, of the Jain as well as of the Brahmanic sects, the supplies sent by the family of the bride to the bridegroom's party during their seven days' sojourn includes a supply of bhang. The name of the father who neglects to send bhang is held in contempt. Again, after the wedding, when the bridegroom and his friends are entertained at the house of the bride, richly-spiced bhang is drunk by the guests.' We see that bhang was in integral part of all religions. Mr. Campbell says, 'The Gujarat Musalman bride before and after marriage drinks a preparation of bhang. Among the Pardeshi or North Indian Hindus of Bombay bhang is given not only at weddings, but the Pardeshi who fails to give his visitor bhang is despised by his caste as mean and miserly.' The significance of cannabis to the Mohammedan is described by Mr. Campbell as, 'To the follower of the later religion of Islam the holy spirit in bhang is not the spirit of the Almighty. It is the spirit of the great prophet Khizr or Elijah. That bhang should be sacred to Khizr is natural. Khizr is the patron saint of water. Still more Khizr means green, the revered colour of the cooling water of bhang. So the Urdu poet sings 'When I quaff fresh bhang I liken its colour to the fresh light down of thy youthful beard.' The prophet Khizr or the Green prophet cries 'May the drink be pleasing to thee.' Nasir, the great North Indian Urdu poet of the beginning of the present century, is loud in the praises of his beloved Sabzi, the Green one. 'Compared with bhang spirits are naught. Leave all things thou fool, drink bhang.' From its quickening the imagination Musalman poets honour bhang with the title Warak al Khiyall, Fancy's Leaf. And the Makhzan or great Arab-Greek drug book records many other fond names for the drug. Bhang is the Joy-giver, the Sky-flier, the Heavenlyguide, the Poor Man's Heaven, the Soother of Grief.'
On the various accounts regarding the origin of the cannabis plant, Mr. Campbell writes, in the Note on the Religion of Hemp, 'According to one account, when nectar was produced from the churning of the ocean, something was wanted to purify the nectar. The deity supplied the want of a nectar-cleanser by creating bhang. This bhang Mahadev made from his own body, and so it is called angaj or body-born. According to another account some nectar dropped to the ground and from the ground the bhang plant sprang. It was because they used this child of nectar or of Mahadev in agreement with religious forms that the seers or Rishis became Siddha or one with the deity.' In both these accounts, the origin of the cannabis plant is the great god, Mahadev, or Siva. How, then, have we now prohibited this divine herb, beloved of all religions and spiritualists?
On the importance of cannabis to the people, Mr. Campbell writes, in his Note on the Religion of Hemp, 'Besides over the demon of Madness bhang is Vijaya or victorious over the demons of hunger and thirst. By the help of bhang ascetics pass days without food or drink. The supporting power of bhang has brought many a Hindu family safe through the miseries of famine. To forbid or even seriously to restrict the use of so holy and gracious a herb as the hemp would cause widespread suffering and annoyance and to the large bands of worshipped ascetics deep-seated anger. It would rob the people of a solace in discomfort, of a cure in sickness, of a guardian whose gracious protection saves them from the attacks of evil influences, and whose mighty power makes the devotee of the Victorious, overcoming the demons of hunger and thirst, of panic fear, of the glamour of Maya or matter, and of madness, able in rest to brood on the Eternal, till the Eternal, possessing him body and soul, frees him from the haunting of self and receives him into the ocean of Being. These beliefs the Musalman devotee shares to the full. Like his Hindu brother the Musalman fakir reveres bhang as the lengthener of life, the freer from the bonds of self. Bhang brings union with the Divine Spirit. 'We drank bhang and the mystery I am He grew plain. So grand a result, so tiny a sin.'
Mr. Purbhuram Jeewanram, Nagar Brahmin, Native Doctor (Vaidya), Bombay, says, 'It would certainly be a very serious privation to all classes of consumers to forego the consumption of the drug they use. In India bhang is essentially necessary, both socially and medically. People have, to their great advantage, used the drug till now, and a certain religious veneration on account of its being offered to the dieties has caused them to regard it as a necessity which they can ill afford to forego. To merchants and jewellers, who are moderate consumers of the best sort of bhang, it would bring great mental trouble nd vexation to forego the use of the drug which they have used for many generations, and which would prevent them from doing their business with ease and confidence. As bhang quickens the imagination somewhat, religious preachers, who use bhang, would not be able to preach as well without it. Scholars and writers, who are in the habit of taking bhang before they set themselves to their work, would find themselves in grave difficulties without it.'
The situation in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency today
The social and economic rise of the upper castes
In the Bombay Presidency, as in the rest of India, the upper-castes of the caste-based religions discriminated against the lower castes and outcastes who smoked cannabis as ganja, rather than consuming it as the beverage bhang which they preferred. The discrimination against the ganja smoking communities would have greatly increased with the advent of the British colonizers. The Muslim rulers who ruled the Bombay Presidency, along with the Hindu rulers, took no serious steps to interfere with the cannabis culture of India. When the British arrived, with their desire to maximize revenue and profits for their businessmen, they found suitable allies in the Indian upper castes who formed the kings, priests and businessmen of Indian society at that time. While it was a fact that predominantly the lower castes, and the outcastes (those outside the caste system) were the major consumers of cannabis - smoked as ganja for intoxication, medicine and entheogen - the upper castes spread the propaganda that ganja smoking was a low-caste activity that went against the rules of caste. They termed ganja-smokers as despicable lowest castes, the dregs of society, criminals and outcasts. Women who smoked ganja were called prostitutes or women with lose morals. They turned ganja smoking into a moral issue when, in fact, most of these upper-castes consumed cannabis, but primarily in liquid form, as bhang. It was not just ganja-smoking, meat eating and sexual liberation that was prohibited, the upper castes came up with other bizarre rules as they went along to further oppress the lower castes and outcastes. Wearing similar clothes or headgear, use of metal utensils, sending lower caste children to upper caste schools, and even the use of ghee was designated as upper-caste prerogatives and those from the lower castes flouting these rules were dealt with severely.
Speaking about the caste-based discrimination that had existed for centuries in the region of the Bombay Presidency, which is at the root of the anti-ganja propaganda, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar says in his book, the Annihilation of Caste, 'The incident at Kavitha in Gujarat happened only last year. The Hindus of Kavitha ordered the Untouchables not to insist upon sending their children to the common village school maintained by the government. What sufferings the Untouchables of Kavitha had to undergo, for daring to exercise a civic right against the wishes of the Hindus, is too well known to need detailed description. Another instance occurred in the village of Zanu, in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat. In November 1935 some Untouchable women of well-to-do families started fetching water in metal pots. The Hindus looked upon the use of metal pots by Untouchables as an affront to their dignity, and assaulted the Untouchable women for their impudence.' He further says, 'A most recent event is reported from the village of Chakwara in Jaipur state. It seems from the reports that have appeared in the newspapers than an Untouchable of Chakwara who had returned from a pilgrimage had arranged to give a dinner to his fellow Untouchables of the village, as an act of religious piety. The host desired to treat the guests to a sumptuous meal, and the items served included ghee (butter) also. But while the assembly of Untouchables were engaged in partaking of the food, the Hindus in their hundreds, armed with lathis. rushed to the scene, despoiled the food, and belaboured the Untouchables who left the food, and ran for their lives. And why was this murderous assault committed on defenceless Untouchables? Ther reason given is that the Untouchable host was impudent enough to serve ghee, and his Untouchable guests were foolish enough to taste it. Ghee is undoubtedly a luxury for the rich. But no one would think that consumption of ghee was a mark of high social status. The Hindus of Chakwara thought otherwise, and in righteous indignation avenged themselves for the wrong done to them by the Untouchables, who insulted them by treating ghee as an item of their food - which they ought to have known could not be theirs - consistently with the dignity of the Hindus. This means that an Untouchable must not use ghee, even if he can afford to buy it, since it is an act of arrogance towards the Hindus. This happened on or about the 1st of April 1936!' Ambedkar says, in his Reply to the Mahatma, 'As a matter of fact, a Hindu does treat all those who are not of his caste as though they were aliens, who could be discriminated against with impunity, and against whom any fraud or trick may be practised without shame. This is to say that there can be a better or a worse Hindu. But a good Hindu there cannot be. This is so not because there is anything wrong with his personal character. In fact, what is wrong is the entire basis of his relationship to his fellows. The best of men cannot be moral if the basis of relationship between them and their fellows is fundamentally a wrong relationship. To a slave, his master may be better or worse. But there cannot be a good master. A good man cannot be a master, and a master cannot be a good man.'
Arundhati Roy, in her essay The Doctor and the Saint, writes, 'According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a crime is committed against a Dalit by a non-Dalit every sixteen minutes; every day, more than four Untouchable women are raped by Touchables; every week, thirteen Dalits are murdered and six Dalits are kidnapped. In 2012 alone, the year of the Delhi gang-rape and murder, 1, 574 Dalit women were raped (the rule of thumb is that only 10 per cent of rapes or other crimes against Dalits are ever reported), and 651 Dalits were murdered. That's just the rape and butchery. Not the stripping and parading naked, the forced shit-eating (literally), the seizing of land, the social boycotts, the restriction of access to drinking-water.' Much of the discrimination against Dalits exists today, at levels similar to that at the time of Ambedkar. Ganja-smoking by the lower castes remains one of the key reasons why both ganja and the lower castes are discriminated against and face disproportionate legal action and intimidation. The ganja-smoking communities, essentially the indigenous Indian races that existed before the advent of the anti-ganja-caste-based-communities, meant an egalitarian culture that had to be suppressed and exploited for the upper-castes to dominate and thrive. Siva, as the ganja-smoking outcast, was naturally not sanctioned by the scriptures, according to the upper castes.
The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have emerged as key regions in modern India where the upper-caste business classes have consolidated their positions, running unsustainable and environmentally-damaging businesses that thrive in the absence of cannabis. The fact that the two richest people in India, Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, come from this region, and decide the policies of the union government at the center, as well as the policies in Gujarat and Maharashta, is an example of this dominance of the business classes since Indian independence. A recent report by the World Inequality Lab stated that the wealth and income gap between the elites and the rest in India was now greater than it had been during colonial times. Regarding the business or Vaishya caste of India, Arundhati Roy wrote in The Doctor and the Saint, 'A recent list of dollar billionaires published by Forbes magazine features fifty-five Indians. The figures, naturally, are based on revealed wealth. Even among these dollar billionaires the distribution of wealth is a steep pyramid in which the cumulative wealth of the top ten outstrips the forty-five below them. Seven out of the top ten are Vaishyas, all of them CEOs of major corporations with business interests all over the world. Between them they own and operate ports, mines, oilfields, gas fields, shipping companies, pharmaceutical companies, telephone networks, petrochemical plants, aluminum plants, cellphone networks, television channels, fresh food outlets, high schools, film production companies, stem cell storage systems, electricity supply networks and Special Economic Zones. They are: Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries Ltd), Lakshmi Mittal (Arcelor Mittal), Dilip Sanghvi (Sun Pharmaceuticals), the Ruia Brothers (Ruia Group), K. M. Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Savitri Devi Jindal (O.P. Jindal Group), Gautam Adani (Adani Group) and Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel). Of the remaining forty-five, nineteen are Vaishyas too. The rest are for the most part Parsis, Bohras and Khattris (all mercantile castes) and Brahmins. There are no Dalits and Adivasis in this list.'
Media, the commercial film industry and anti-ganja propaganda
Fueling the upper-caste narratives and anti-ganja propaganda in India over the last 100 years or so, is the media. This includes print and online news media, besides the entertainment media consisting of film and television.
All India's major mass media companies are owned by the business and priestly castes, many of them belonging to Gujarat and Maharashtra. These communities ensure that the masses are constantly hynotized to believe in a world where the upper-caste narratives hold predominance. Nature, equality, and other such matters figure very low in the priority lists that consist of getting richer and richer at all costs. Regarding the media in India, Arundhati Roy wrote in The Doctor and the Saint, 'In 2006, CSDS did a survey on the social profile of New Delhi's media elite. Of the 315 key decision-makers surveyed from thirty-seven Delhi-based Hindi and English publications and television channels, almost 90 per cent of the decision-makers in the English language print media and 79 per cent in television were found to be 'upper-caste'. Of them, 49 per cent were Brahmins. Not one of the 315 was a Dalit or an Adivasi; only 4 per cent beloned to castes designated as Shudra, and 3 per cent were Muslim (who make up 13.4 per cent of the population).' She wrote that 'Of the four most important English national dailies, three are owned by Vaishyas and one by a Brahmin family concern. The Times Group (Bennett, Coleman Company Ltd), the largest mass media company in India, whose holdings include The Times of India and the 24-hour news channel Times Now, is owned by the Jain family (Banias). The Hindustan Times is owned by the Bhartiyas, who are Marwari Banias; The Indian Express by the Goenkas, also Marwari Banias; The Hindu isowned by a Brahmin family concern; the Dainik Jagran Hindu daily, which is the largest selling newspaper in India with a circulation of fifty-five million, is owned by the Gupta family, Banias from Kanpur. Dainik Bhaskar, among the most influential Hindi dailies with a circulation of 17.5 million, is owned by Agarwals, Banias again. Reliance Industries Ltd (owned by Mukesh Ambani, a Gujarati Bania) has controlling shares in twenty-seven major national and regional TV channels. The Zee TV network, one of the largest national TV news and entertainment networks, is owned by Subhash Chandra, also a Bania.'
The Indian film industry has its main commercial hub in Mumbai, where it is known as Bollywood. Every year hundreds of films are churned out by the film industry here. The commercial Indian film industry can be largely described as infantile when it comes to its approach to ganja. Ganja is still portrayed with all the flavours of reefer madness, despite India being the land of Siva and ganja. The Indian commercial film industry is run by the upper classes and upper castes. The flavors of the typical Indian commercial film include: loud-chest beating nationalism and patriotism; portrayal of Muslims as evil enemies; portrayal of women as objects of pleasure; portrayal of a successful man as one of great wealth irrespective of the means employed to procure this wealth; stressing on the virtues of the caste-system and the caste-based religions; employment of megastars (including many from Muslim backgrounds) who fight against all odds to uphold the current social structure; and so on. Most big budget Indian films as produced by businessmen from the upper classes and castes, or persons with links to the criminal world and politicians. As if this was not bad enough, we have long-running television serials in all possible regional languages that drive home the same messages of upper caste superiority, divisiveness in society, patriarchy and the oppression of women, the gloriousness of caste-based religions, and the path of wealth as the way to success in society. Hundreds of millions of Indian women remain glued to television screens daily throughout the day. With the advent of smartphones, these women spend long hours soaking up the garbage that these TV soaps spew out, even as their spouses and children soak up the rest of the garbage driving home the same messages as TV and film that has become easily accessible for society.
The way that the ruling hierarchy keeps its thoroughbred winning horses from the film industry on a tight leash was on display in India, when Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son was arrested for alleged possession of cannabis during a raid by law enforcement on a private party. One of the senior police officials in Mumbai was arrested for attempted extortion as a result of the widespread media focus on the incident. This appears to me to be an attempt to intimidate the Bollywood superstar , lest he get too big for his boots and bring unnecessary attention to the thriving illegal heroin and cocaine trade that the authorities, film industry and the criminal underworld in Mumbai has been indulging in for decades now. The actor managed to extricate his son out of the sticky situation through assistance from politicians, and was last seen dancing to the tunes of India's petrochemical boss Mukesh Ambani at Ambani's son's obscenely expensive wedding. The average middle class person will end up paying the extortion money in a similar situation and keep quiet. The average upper class person will not even be questioned by the police unless he steps too far out of line, and the average lower class person will sit in jail for a few years for possession of tiny amounts of cannabis, until he is most probably subsequently be recruited into the criminal gangs that operate the black market for drugs.
In India, it is very rare to see someone from the film community come out openly about their cannabis usage and love for cannabis. One of the very few has been Naseeruddin Shah, one of the best actors that India has ever produced. He took the long hard path from theater to cinema, and has been involved in both commercial and independent movies. The Hindu reports 'Naseeruddin Shah is arguably the most vocal advocate of cannabis in Hindi film industry — although a large number of filmmakers and actors use it, few are ready to go on record. Shah, who famously wrote in his autobiography, about how he thinks marijuana has made him “more intelligent”, gave us an exclusive. “Showing cannabis use in Hindi films hasn't changed or increased. I guess a few more youngsters who smoke are making films now. It's just that since so many white skinned people came to India to smoke it, it suddenly became cool and was no longer considered only a "dhobiyon ka nasha". Maybe the discovery that it's also actually present in their own homes has made the tight asses of our industry a little more accepting. Considering the film industry's propensity for the bottle, it's not surprising marijuana wasn't considered classy enough. Also, I guess it's tough writing song after song about how comforting it is to ingest! While a student, I was in fact repeatedly cautioned that I'd get no work in the industry if it was discovered I smoke! In India, where it has been smoked for thousands of years, peddling it is illegal, consuming it isn't. And the much more harmful alcohol is not considered a hard drug!"' The Hindu further reports an incident from Shah's biography where he says '“There was a senior actor, who was not a very good actor, nor was he very well known. He and I discovered a common fondness for marijuana ( laughs)… on a location. We were sitting together one day, and I had just won a national award for Sparsh, and we were shooting this film Hum Paanch in Melkote, near Bangalore. We both got nicely high, with our heads in the clouds, and he says to me: ‘I haven’t seen your work, but I can tell you as an actor, if you can recall your grandmother telling you that look at the moon and there is an old woman sitting in the moon, knitting a sweater for you. If you are a good boy, you will get that sweater. You have to retain the faith she would.’”' Naseeruddin Shah featured in an independent film called The Blueberry Hunt about the troubles faced by a cannabis grower in the high ranges of Kerala. The movie did not make a big impact but it was watched by some from the cannabis community. The Hindu reports that 'The Blueberry Hunt focusses on how the Colonel’s plantation of a high-potency variant of marijuana – Blueberry Skunk – gets ready for harvest, but things go haywire at the last moment.' Reviewing the film The Blueberry Hunt, The Hindu says 'The ‘thriller’ boasts of not a single edge of the seat moment. You wait for things to happen but nothing consequential does. The film comes in the midst of a debate about legalisation of marijuana, for medicinal as well as cultural reasons. This could have been a cracker of a film to take the debate forward. But it prefers to remain hazy and tepid in a pointless world of its own.'
Only in the recent past have younger and newer film makers been bold enough to portray a more realistic picture of ganja, minus the social stigma. Most of these film makers are non-commercial film makers. Some film makers have been taking interesting approaches to redefine the image of ganja in Indian society. There seems to be a fairly good understanding of the cannabis picture among some of the emerging film makers in India. One of the better films that came out of Bollywood was Udta Punjab, highlighting the opium menace in the state of Punjab. The director of the film spoke to the media regarding the drug scene in Bollywood, and India in general, and he seems to know the subject well. The Hindu reports that 'Yes, [the film is] especially anti-heroin and anti-opiate. It’s not so much anti-cocaine if you notice. It’s a party drug that rich kids do it, many great directors like Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone have experimented with cocaine, have binged and come out of it. Many Bollywood stars have done the same. Coke is not a big deal. Marijuana doesn’t even qualify. The name of Alia’s character as Mary Jane, a brilliant idea by Sudip, in fact is an allusion to marijuana. I mean any drug is bad per se but doing drugs is a matter of choice if you are 18 and above. But when it becomes a sociological problem, when somebody like Alia’s character or Balli (Diljit Dosanjh’s brother in the film) doesn’t have a choice in the matter, then you have to take a stand. And you have to go out there and do this. Hence, the film is so viciously anti-drug. There is a lot of MDMA and coke abuse in Lokhandwala, Andheri. But that’s not breakdown of society, that’s just people partying. That’s excess, debauched or decadent. But what is happening in Punjab demanded this of the film.' The Hindu reports on Jugal Mody, 'Since, the characters in Toke are into substance abuse, it was only fair to ask him about the legalisation of marijuana. He answered, “I don’t think it should be a question. In Allahabad there is a government ration shop that sells cannabis.” In some parts of the country it is sold on the streets. After thinking for a while, he added, “I don’t think people talk much about it, that’s why all this drama is happening.” Answering a rapid-fire round he said he would write an erotic fiction if people are ready to read it. He would legalise weed in India. He said that he is a big TV fan.' Hindustan Times reports Uday Chopra as saying '"I feel India should legalize marijuana. Firstly, It's part of our culture. Secondly, I think if legalized and taxed it can be a huge revenue source. Not to mention it will remove the criminal element associated with it. Plus and most importantly it has a lot of medical benefits!" he tweeted on Thursday.' The Hindu reports Agneya Singh who made a film called M Cream (short for the legendary Malana Cream hashish), which had Naseeruddin Shah's son in the lead role, as saying 'Though drugs may be at the centre of the narrative, they are neither glorified nor condemned. “The film doesn’t take a moral position on drugs at all. And yet it reflects the life of a young person,” says Singh. “In the 1950s UN Convention, India had opposed the move to ban marijuana, but bowed down to pressure from the United States.”' Anurag Kashyap appears to be another Indian film maker who handles the subject of cannabis maturely. In most cases however, the few who attempt movies featuring cannabis have not delivered, either due to lack of research or impactful scripts. The Hindu reports, regarding a film that has ganja as a subject, that 'The world has to be saved from a zombie invasion. But in the stoned universe of Toke , it is the sober populace which makes up the numbers for the aforementioned invasion. Anuja noted the construction of an interesting moral order, but Jugal laughed off the attempt at reading any deeper meaning into it.'
In general, the Indian commercial film industry, originating out of Bollywood in Mumbai, churns out potboilers produced by the rich businessmen who benefit from the exploitation of the lower classes and castes by the upper castes and classes. The money to produce these films comes from black marketeering, extortion, real-estate fraud, tax evasion, drug trafficking, and the synthetic industries that destroy the planet. It is quite common to see the top film stars in Bollywood portraying never-say-die patriots who uphold the religions of the upper castes while portraying the Muslim, especially the Pakistani, as the villain. Numerous stories are dished out, some recommended by the Prime Minister himself (who appears to have a liking for C-grade action potboilers with Hindutva as the central theme), that dole out the trope that the Hinduism of India (read as the upper caste Hinduism) must be protected from dark forces across the border that aim to destroy Hinduism. As a part of the narrative, it is quite common to see ganja associated with the evil forces, while the good guys who protect Indian culture quaff western alcohol and tobacco, and occasionally inject some heroin and snort cocaine, so as to not be seen as lagging far behind their Hollywood counterparts.
Legal and illegal opium trade
Not only is India the world's largest producer of legal opium, it is also a regional hub for the movement of illegal opium between Central Asia and the Far East, with significant quantities of the drug flowing into the Indian market. The key transit points for heroin in the country continue to be Gujarat, Mumbai (in Maharashtra), Kashmir and the hill states bordering Myanmar. The Indian government in complicit in this illegal trade of heroin, as can be seen from the efforts spent by it to secure control over the administration of these regions. The ruling party in the central government is also the ruling party or has presidential control over most of these states. Often national security and terrorism are cited as reasons for the center deploying the armed forces to ensure that the heroin trafficking which funds the ruling political party remains undisturbed. Occasionally, a raid is conducted to present a picture of legal action to keep the public fooled. Deccan Herald reported regarding heroin seizure at the Mundra port in Gujarat stating that 'The drug haul is considered to be one of the biggest in the world with the value of the seized heroin estimated to be Rs 21,000 crore in the international markets.' Most ports that serve as transit points for heroin are under the control of the petrochemical and synthetic pharmaceutical industries that have a hand in shipping out precursors as well as finished products. UNODC reported in 2020 that 'The main countries identified in which heroin was trafficked along the southern route to Western and Central Europe over the period 2014– 2018 included India, the Gulf countries (notably Qatar and United Arab Emirates) and a number of Southern and East African countries (notably South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Madagascar). The European countries reporting most trafficking along the southern route over the period 2014–2018 were Belgium (mostly via Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia and the United Republic of Tanzania) and Italy (mostly via Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Oman).'
While legal opium, as opioids, comes out of the pharmaceutical industries in India, illegal opium flows into India, mainly as heroin, from the west originating in Afghanistan, sometimes through Pakistan, into Kashmir and Punjab by land, and Gujarat and Maharashtra by sea. In the east, heroin flows in from Myanmar through Assam, and the northeastern states. The Indian Union government provides arms to the military junta in Myanmar to protect its illegal opium interests and recognizes and supports the militant terrorist group Taliban in Afghanistan to ensure that India gets its share of heroin.
Fentanyl is probably India's opioid of biggest concern, because fentanyl is many times more potent than heroin, and fentanyl overdosing is even more likely than heroin overdosing. Like methamphetamine was created to meet the global demand for cocaine and to overcome the problems of non-availability of the coca plant, fentanyl was created to meet the global demand for heroin and to overcome the problems of non-availability of the opium plant. India is, after China, the world's biggest producer of fentanyl. Like methamphetamine and China, India is able to achieve this, because it has a booming synthetic pharmaceutical industry which means that the pre-cursor chemicals are freely available. Fentanyl did not even figure in India's NDPS Act until countries like the US put pressure on India to bring in some sort of regulation to control the flooding of foreign markets with Indian and Chinese fentanyl. Most Indians are not even aware of the existence in India of fentanyl. Their focus is on ganja. UNODC reported that 'The clandestine manufacture of fentanyls within North America is thus not really a new phenomenon and has the potential to increase in importance following the recent control of fentanyls substances in China. Moreover, the clandestine manufacture of fentanyl has already spread beyond North America to neighbouring subregions, as a clandestine fentanyl laboratory was dismantled in the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic, in 2017. At the same time, there is a risk that other countries with a large and thriving pharmaceutical sector may become involved in the clandestine manufacture of fentanyls. In 2018, for example, authorities of India reported two relatively large seizures of fentanyl destined for North America. Furthermore, according to United States authorities, in September 2018, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of India, in cooperation with DEA of the United States Department of Justice, dismantled the first known illicit fentanyl laboratory in India and seized approximately 11 kg of fentanyl'. CSIS reported that 'Fentanyl exported from China to the United States comes in several different forms: fentanyl, its precursor chemicals, fentanyl variants, and fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription opioids. India exports many controlled and prescription drugs to the United States, including fentanyl. Indian fentanyl exports to the United States are a fraction of those from China, but India does export tramadol, which is a growing issue for the United States. However, unlike China, which has now designated over 100 fentanyl variants and precursors on its list of controlled substances, India has not placed fentanyl, or most other opioids, on its controlled substances list, easing production and export. India only regulates 17 of the 24 basic precursor chemicals for fentanyl (as listed by the UN 1988 Convention against Drugs). In the Middle East and Africa, the less potent opioid tramadol, not fentanyl, is responsible for the opioid crisis. India is the biggest supplier.' India is second to China in the production of fentanyl and its precursors. When China started cracking down on fentanyl production due to the global backlash it faced, India stepped up to fill the gap in supply. NPR reported that 'China does not have a monopoly on fentanyl production, she adds. "Even if tomorrow the United States wouldn't get fentanyl from China, others would step in. Most obviously India, a major source of addictive drugs."'
The US intelligence, in a report appearing in the Deccan Herald on March 27, 2025, have called India and China as 'state actors' in the illegal trade of fentanyl to the US. According the US intelligence, 'state actors' directly or indirectly enable the drug trade by providing the necessary precursors and/or facilities and infrastructure required for the manufacture of fentanyl and other controlled synthetic drugs. This is not a new revelation. The UNODC and other entities like CSIS had reported India as the country only second to China when it came to the manufacture of fentanyl and its precursors for supply to the illegal market in the US and other countries. Following international outcry, China initiated some action by dismantling laboratories and outsourcing the fentanyl manufacture to neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Laos, etc. India still has a largely unregulated fentanyl environment, making it easy for it to enable production of this potent opioid. Plus, as earlier stated, the synthetic pharmaceutical production industries in India make it just as easy to manufacture drugs for the illegal market as for the legal market. What the US intelligence is not saying is that the Indian government is not only involved in providing the facilities and raw materials for the manufacture of fentanyl precursors, but also involved in the distribution of the finished and semi-finished product to the US. Petrochemicals sit very easily with synthetic pharmaceuticals. The petrochemical industry provides many of the synthetic compounds that go into the manufacture of synthetic drugs. It also controls infrastructure such as ports that enable the movement of goods between locations. The Adani Group and the Ambani Group are close friends of the Indian Prime Minister and contribute huge funds to the ruling BJP. Ambani and Adani are two of the richest persons in the world today. Even though Ambani appears to have slightly fallen out of favor with the Modi government, Adani is still Modi's biggest buddy (yeah Trump, not you). Modi flew in on one of Adani's private jets to take oath when sworn in as Prime Minister for the first time. It is quite obvious that the petrochemical industry, synthetic pharmaceutical industry and opioid industry work in a symbiotic fashion with each other and the government of India.
India is also at the forefront of the illegal trade of cheap opioids, especially tramadol, to African nations and other countries in Asia. Expensive opioids find their way into European and North American markets, while what is left over is flooded into poorer nations across the world. UNODC reported in its World Drug Report 2020 that 'The bulk of tramadol seized in the period 2014– 2018 was seized in West and Central Africa (notably in Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and the Niger), followed by North Africa (notably Egypt, Morocco and the Sudan) and the Near and Middle East (notably Jordan and the United Arab Emirates). In some instances, countries in Western and Central Europe (notably Malta and Greece) have been used as transit countries for tramadol destined for North Africa (Egypt and Libya), although some of the tramadol seized in Europe (in particular Sweden) was also intended for the local market. For the first time ever, significant seizures of tramadol were reported in South Asia (India) in 2018, accounting for 21 per cent of the global total that year, which reflects the fact tramadol was put under the control of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of India in April 2018. As the full-scale scheduling of tramadol in India took place in 2018, and India had been the main source for (illegal) tramadol shipments, the decline in seizures outside India in 2018 may have been the result of a disrupted market. By contrast, and probably as a result of the control in India, seizures of tramadol in that country increased greatly in 2018, and thus in South Asia as a whole (more than 1,000-fold compared with a year earlier).' UNODC reported that 'The non-medical use of tramadol among other pharmaceutical drugs is reported by several countries in South Asia: Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In 2017, 130,316 capsules containing tramadol and marketed under the trade name “Spasmo Proxyvon Plus (‘SP+’)” were seized in Bhutan. In Sri Lanka, about 0.2 per cent of the population aged 14 and older are estimated to have misused pharmaceutical drugs in the past year. Among them, the non-medical use of tramadol is the most common, although misuse of morphine, diazepam, flunitrazepam and pregabalin have also been reported in the country. The misuse of more than one pharmaceutical drug (including tramadol) is also a common pattern among heroin users who may use them to potentiate the effects of heroin or compensate for its low level of availability. Recent seizures of tramadol suggest the existence of a market for the drug: in April and September 2018, 200,000 and 1.5 million tablets of tramadol were respectively seized by customs in Sri Lanka.' It is typically the youth in these countries who are most vulnerable. UNODC reported that 'The non-medical use of tramadol is of particular concern among young people in many countries in that subregion. For example, a cross-sectional study among 300 young people in western Ghana found that while the majority (85 per cent) of respondents knew someone who misused tramadol, more than half of the young people interviewed had used tramadol themselves for non-medical purposes, and one third of the users reported misusing 9–10 doses of tramadol per day. Another qualitative study from Ghana reported curiosity, peer pressure and iatrogenic addiction as the three main factors for initiation and continuing non-medical use of tramadol, while perceived euphoria, attentiveness, relief from pain, physical energy and aphrodisiac effects were mentioned as some of the reasons for continuing non-medical use of tramadol.' The cheaper rates for tramadol as compared to heroin make it a much more attractive proposition for the middle and lower classes. UNODC reported that 'The drug use survey in Nigeria reveals tramadol to be a more accessible opioid than heroin, although it is still relatively costly if used frequently. While use of tramadol appears to cost about one third the price of heroin ($3.60 versus $10 per day of use in the past 30 days), in a country where the minimum wage of a full-time worker is around $57 per month, regular tramadol use still poses a considerable financial burden on users and their families. There is no information on the prevalence of drug use in other West African countries, but treatment data reveal tramadol to be the main drug of concern for people with drug use disorders. Tramadol ranks highly among the substances for which people were treated in West Africa in the period 2014–2017. This was particularly the case in Benin, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo.'
According to the UNODC, most tramadol seized worldwide over the period 2013–2017 seems to have originated in India. In 2017, only India was reported to have been a country of origin of internationally trafficked tramadol. Most of the tramadol seizures in India in 2017 and 2018 were reported in the western part of the country, in particular in three locations: the State of Gujarat, India, which accounts for a third of the total turnover of that country’s pharmaceutical sector; in locations near the coast and in the city of Mumbai (suggesting substantial trafficking in tramadol by sea); and in New Delhi, in particular at its airport. Based on recent seizure data, the main destinations of illegal tramadol shipments are countries in West and Central Africa (including Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, the Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and the Sudan) and Northern Africa (mostly Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Libya), from which some tramadol is further smuggled to countries in the Near and Middle East (including Jordan and Leba-non).(including in parts of Libya, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as in the Sahel). In 2017, Nigeria intercepted the largest quantity worldwide (96 tons), followed by Egypt (12 tons in weight equivalents) and the United Arab Emirates (9 tons in weight equivalents). Malta reported million tramadol tablets seized in three seizure cases in 2016, all originating in India and destined for Libya, as well as a further 117 million tablets seized in four seizure cases in 2017. Another major seizure of tramadol tablets took place in Genoa, Italy, in May 2017 The seizure consisted of 37 million tablets, which had originated in India and been sold to an importer based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A cluster of tramadol seizures occurred in the Middle East in various countries in the Gulf region, from Kuwait to Oman, most notably along the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Malta reported million tramadol tablets seized in three seizure cases in 2016, all originating in India and destined for Libya, as well as a further 117 million tablets seized in four seizure cases in 2017.
Today, India is seeing an opioid crisis that is rarely spoken about since the crisis is fueled by the medical industry and pharmaceutical industry who project opioids as essential critical medicine rather than the highly addictive dangerous drug that it is. While Canada, Germany, South Africa and many states in the US legalized cannabis for recreational use to counter the opioid crisis, India continues to peddle its opium to unsuspecting citizens within the country and other nations, while firmly opposing cannabis legalization. UNODC reported that 'The 2019 drug use survey in India estimated that nearly 1 per cent of the population aged 10–75 had misused pharmaceutical opioids in the past year and that an estimated 0.2 per cent of the population (2.5 million people) were suffering from drug use disorders related to pharmaceutical opioids. Although the breakdown by type of pharmaceutical opioids misused in India is not available, buprenorphine, morphine, pentazocine and tramadol are the most common opioids misused in the country.' The Indian upper castes, much like the upper classes around the world, do not consider opium as the lethal, addictive drug that it is. This is because it is prescribed to them by their upper-caste physicians and comes to them as pills in blister packs or as liquids in vials that can be injected. For these ignorant upper castes, this is medicine, unlike the safe, non-addictive ganja and charas that the lower castes use for the same benefits that the upper castes use opium. This is also the reason why synthetic pharmaceutical drugs are considered medicine despite the harm and addiction that they cause in society. UNODC reported in its World Drug Report 2020 that 'A major drug use survey carried out recently in India found that in 2018, 2.1 per cent of the population aged 10–75, a total of 23 million people, had used opioids in the past year. Among opioids, heroin is the most prevalent substance, with a past-year prevalence of 1.1 per cent among the population aged 10–75; this is followed by the non-medical use of pharmaceutical opioids, with a past-year prevalence of almost 1 per cent, and by opium at almost 0.5 per cent. In general, the past-year use of opioids is much higher among men (4 per cent of the male population) than women (0.2 per cent of the female population). Moreover, 1.8 per cent of adolescents aged 10–17 are estimated to be past-year opioid users. Of the 23 million past-year opioid users, roughly one third, or 7.7 million people, suffer from opioid use disorders. Compared with earlier estimates from a survey carried out in 2004, overall opioid use in India is estimated to have increased fivefold.' CSIS reported that 'One potential reason India does not regulate tramadol, or other opioids, is the lack of domestic concern about addiction. However, India does have addiction problems, and India’s Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh specifically acknowledged that tramadol addiction is a growing problem. Yet, the government acknowledgement has not been sufficient; government corruption plays a role with the pharmaceutical corporations, wholesale exporters, and internet companies responsible for the illicit flow of opioids out of India. In their 2017 report on corruption, Transparency International found that India had the highest bribery rates across the Asia Pacific region.' The Indian upper castes and classes consider all this as medicine and abuse opioids at high rates. In homes, children merely follow in their parents' footsteps when they start abusing opioids, having been, in most cases, introduced to the drug by the parents themselves who see nothing wrong in this. Of course, India's local market gets the lower end opioids like tramadol and codeine whereas the high end opioids like heroin and morphine end up in the hands of India's wealthy elites and the elites across the world. The International Narcotics Control Bureau (INCB) reported in 2019 that 'According to the data reported for 2018, codeine was consumed mainly in India (46.1 tons, or 20.2 per cent of global consumption), the Islamic Republic of Iran (22.2 tons, or 9.8 per cent), France (20.6 tons, or 9.1 per cent), the United States (20.1 tons, or 8.8 per cent), Germany (15 tons, or 6.6 per cent), the United Kingdom (12.4 tons, or 5.5 per cent) and Canada (11.1 tons, or 4.9 per cent).' It also reported that 'The 10 main countries importing codeine in 2018 were India (35.9 tons), Germany (19.1 tons), Canada (11.7 tons), the United Kingdom (9.5 tons), Brazil (9.2 tons), Italy (8.8 tons), Hungary (7.0 tons), Viet Nam (6.7 tons), Switzerland (4.9 tons) and Oman (4.4 tons).' This is strange that India has to import codeine, considering that it is the world's leading producer of legal opium. All this suggests round-tripping by legal and illegal pharmaceutical companies.
The synthetic pharmaceutical industry in Maharashtra and Gujarat
In the 20th century, the increasing manufacture of synthetic pharmaceuticals, using many of the by-products of the petrochemical industry, resulted in large pharmaceutical companies that spent massive amounts of money on setting up research departments that invented molecular compounds in laboratories that they patented and sold to the world. The money amassed by these synthetic pharmaceutical companies enabled them to fund medical education and turn the narrative among the modern physicians completely against natural medicine and cannabis. Today, the word medicine means only synthetic pharmaceutical medicines, with pharma companies taking great pains to ensure that cannabis as medicine does not enter the public domain.
The former Bombay Presidency's ruling upper classes and castes embraced not only opium and petrochemicals, but also synthetic pharmaceuticals and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The west saw great benefit in outsourcing all four to India as it enabled them to create products cheaply at massive scales for distribution in India and across the world, and keep their own hands off the toxicity of the manufacturing process. Today, India is, along with China, one of the global powerhouses of synthetic pharmaceutical medicines. The close collaboration between the opium industry, petrochemicals and synthetic pharmaceutical industry mean that all the ingredients required to create the synthetic chemical concoctions that go by the name of pharmaceutical medicines are available in abundance in India. In addition to this, India imports massive amounts of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from China to further fuel the synthetic pharmaceutical industry. Gujarat and Maharastra are key hubs of synthetic pharmaceutical manufacture in India.
The manufacture, use and disposal of synthetic pharmaceuticals causes great damage to the environment and life in India. The fact that once a person is put on a regimen of synthetic pharmaceuticals by a physician, it becomes a lifelong trap, is great incentive for the pharma industry. The prolonged use of synthetic pharmaceuticals develops addiction and dependency, so that ceasing its use even for one day can prove fatal. Besides, the difference between a safe dose and a lethal dose of synthetic pharmaceuticals is so narrow that innumerable people have died because of it. These deaths are however attributed to secondary causes such as liver or kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cancer.
Nowhere was the ruthlessness and unscrupulousness of the synthetic pharma industry more evident than during the fake pandemic Covid. The biggest gainers from Covid were the synthetic pharma industries, the petrochemical industries and the authoritarian rulers who all joined hands to create this scam and loot the people of the world. India was at the forefront of the scam, with its authoritarian leader Narendra Modi using it to suppress all dissent against his government and party, much like what Trump, Xi, Putin, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro and others did across the world. The Indian upper castes and classes showed their undiminished loyalty to their former British colonial masters, and repaid their former masters for transferring power to them, by setting up a vaccine manufacturing unit in India that manufactured British patented 'vaccines'. India also created its own home-grown 'vaccine' so that discontent in the Indian pharmaceutical industry remained manageable. Prior to the invention of these dubious vaccines, the Indian synthetic pharmaceutical industry used all the fear and panic created among the people to pump them with all the available stock of synthetic pharmaceuticals, irrespective of the health condition or the nature of the pharma drug. We had whole categories of medicines - antivirals, antibiotics, steroids, analgesics, histamines, anti-inflammatory drugs, even anti-malarial drugs administered in deadly cocktails to individuals who were imbecile enough and rich enough to afford these poisons. In June 2021, Deccan Herald reported that "A typical prescription for Covid-19 in India includes azithromycin, doxycyline, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, acetylcysteine, and inhaled budesonide, or dexamethasone. The antiviral favipiravir became the top-selling drug in India in April 2021, despite not being recommended for Covid-9 by any major guidelines," researchers from the George Institute of Medical Sciences wrote recently in a commentary in the Lancet.' Large numbers of people from India's upper castes and upper classes perished through the toxic effects of these drugs by the time the so-called vaccines were rolled out. Once these 'vaccines' were ready, the Indian upper classes and castes queued up to dose themselves with these poisons and market them, with the government, health officials, municipal authorities, celebrities and so-called medical experts urging the people to take the miracle vaccines. Hundreds of millions of the working classes - ranging from corporate executives to housemaids - were threatened with losing their jobs and quarantine if they did not play ball. Students were threatened with dismissal from educational institutions if they did not inject themselves with these poisons. The government put out roadshows in which civic workers, army and police personnel and medical personnel were felicitated and showered with flowers from helicopters as 'Covid warriors' for unquestioningly following the bidding of the upper classes and castes. By the time the fiasco petered out, largely due to the fact that it became a question of whether to continue with the charade or to survive, the damage had been done. Millions of Indians died from this direct assault by the synthetic pharma industry, while probably ten times more died due to the oppression of the lockdown that denied the large majority of India's poor access to food, shelter and jobs, besides the mental trauma and stress of social isolation. In the space of two years, India's synthetic pharmaceutical industry and petrochemical industry doubled their wealth. Nature reported that 'More than 120 million doses have been administered, mostly of an Indian-produced version of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine called Covishield. But that’s less than 10% of India’s population, so there is still a long way to go. In particular, India needs to ramp up vaccinations in the hardest-hit regions, says Kang. Some people might have become infected while getting vaccines, says Udwadia, because crowds often share clinic waiting areas with ill people who are waiting to be seen.' The Guardian reported that 'Anyway, what about the vaccines? Surely they’ll save us? Isn’t India a vaccine powerhouse? In fact, the Indian government is entirely dependent on two manufacturers, the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech. Both are being allowed to roll out two of the most expensive vaccines in the world, to the poorest people in the world. This week they announced that they will sell to private hospitals at a slightly elevated price, and to state governments at a somewhat lower price. Back-of-the-envelope calculations show the vaccine companies are likely to make obscene profits.' It was not just the vaccines, but all the other synthetic pharmaceutical drugs, opioids, petrochemical-based products like masks, sanitizers, test kits, PPEs and other medical equipment that also made obscene profits during this period as the government played upon the fears of the people. When asked for data regarding the pandemic, the government cited lack of information, as it standardly does in matters that can portray it in a bad light. Showing its typical hypocritical behavior when it comes to internal versus external behavior, India ensured that the locally made vaccine Covaxin reaped maximum revenue, even as it batted for global concessions on international vaccines to aid economically vulnerable populations to access them. BBC reported that 'While India has supported waiving the patents on foreign-made vaccines, it has made no move to suspend it for Covaxin. Contrary to its international position, it has opposed suggestions from opposition leaders to invoke compulsory licensing and allow other pharma companies to manufacture the approved vaccines, saying these measures would prove "counterproductive".'
The thriving synthetic pharmaceutical industry in Maharashtra and Gujarat also ensures that the illegal trade of novel psychotropic substances (NPS) flourishes. The United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) reported in its World Drug Report 2020 that 'After marked increases over the 2009-2012 period, the overall quantities of synthetic NPS seized have shown a downward trend since 2012, most notably when they fell from 44 tons in 2017 to 10 tons in 2018. This may partly reflect the fact that some of the most widely used and most harmful NPS have been put under national and international control in recent years and therefore, according to the current definition, no longer belong to the NPS category. Moreover, a number of countries in North America, Europe and Oceania, where major markets for NPS are located, have introduced various controls on NPS trade in recent years. In parallel, China, which is frequently mentioned as the main country of origin or departure for various synthetic NPS (with 27 per cent of all such mentions over the 2014–2018 period, ahead of India with 10 per cent), has introduced controls in various waves on the manufacture of and trade in such substances. This and other developments appear to have had an impact on the proliferation of NPS at the global level, reducing the quantities of those substances on key markets.'
In October 2022, I wrote, 'Ever wondered why the Department of Pharmaceuticals comes under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers that also administers the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, and the Department of Fertilizers? One would think that the Department of Pharmaceuticals would come under the Ministry of Health, just as the Department of Fertilizers would come under the Ministry of Agriculture. That is, of course, if the Health Ministry was looking at holistic health that involved other options, besides synthetic pharmaceuticals, such as natural medicine. Strangely, there is a separate orphan ministry called Ministry of Ayush supposedly responsible for the research and propagation of natural medicine. Similarly, if the Agriculture Ministry was looking at holistic use of fertilizers, especially natural fertilizers and organic farming, then the Department of Fertilizers would be under it. The current organization, however, works best for the synthetic petrochemical, synthetic pharmaceutical and chemical fertilizer industries...A significant chunk of India's budget, money sucked out of its people, goes into buying petrochemicals, chemical fertilizers and active pharmaceutical ingredients, the national, and global, use of the very products that wreck havoc with the planet and public health. Along with China and Russia, two of the biggest opponents of cannabis, India forms a cartel that trades in these goods, while putting up a show of integrity, commitment to global peace, environmental sustainability and equality. Recently, the three - India, Russia and China, along with the other two champions of cannabis prohibition, the US and Britain, even went to the extent of inflicting upon the world a bio-chemical weapon, called Covid, to boost these industries, to amass wealth for their bosses who own these industries, and to fund their individual political parties. When the path of cannabis for universal healthcare, sustainable agriculture and bio-degradable industry offers solutions on a global scale for humanity and the planet, these addicts of money and power work in the opposite direction, consolidating their own positions by inflicting increasing suffering on the world's majority - its poor and working classes. In this, they are fully supported by the world's rich upper classes...They delude the masses, projecting themselves as upholders of traditional values, nationality and prosperity for all...but what they all pursue is one religion - money, one ruling party - the rich, and one language - doublespeak...'
Today, the Indian synthetic pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest and most powerful opponents of ganja and charas legalization because it will completely devastate this harmful industry, replacing vast arrays of synthetic pharmaceutical drugs including whole categories, rendering universal healthcare a reality for the poorest persons in India. Even the rich upper classes and castes will switch over to cannabis as medicine, rejecting synthetic pharmaceutical medicines, as is clearly evident from the nations embracing medical cannabis such as Canada, the US, Germany, etc.
The petrochemical industry
The petrochemical industry in India is the source of many of the industries that have devastated India, making it the third largest source of carbon emissions in the world. Besides the direct use of petrochemicals for industry and transport, the industry spawns a myriad of byproducts that are the pillars of the unsustainable development. Non-biodegradable plastics, synthetic fabrics and textiles, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, synthetic pharmaceutical medicines, the illegal synthetic drug industry, all rely on the petrochemical industry to provide the raw materials for their products. The introduction of cannabis in industry will make all these downstream industries sustainable. It will also develop the biofuel industry as a renewable sustainable alternative to petrochemicals for transport. The use of industrial cannabis to develop the bodies of transportation vehicles will make the transportation industry more sustainable.
The petrochemical industry leaders are the richest men in India today, and among the richest in the world. They directly fund the prime minister and his political party, and all decisions made by the ruling politicians are done keeping the interests of the petrochemical industry at the forefront.
The fake pandemic Covid was a great boost to the petrochemical industry as the entire nation was exhorted and forced to use the products of the petrochemical industry - the face masks, sanitizers, disinfectants, PPE kits, gloves, etc., - in the name of public health. The petrochemical industry is, obviously, ruled by the Indian upper castes, especially the business class from Gujarat, the home state of India's leading politicians and members of the ruling party. The money gained from the fake pandemic funded subsequent national elections and enabled the ruling party to win for a third successive term. In February 2021, I heard a government Covid jingle on All India Radio - "Covid ko hum rokhenge...mask nahin tho tokkenge..." which basically translates to "We will stop Covid...If you don't wear a mask, we will shoot you."
As if the near complete switch to cotton as the input for the textile industry was not bad enough, today we have petrochemicals providing the raw material for synthetic fabrics. These synthetic fabrics, like petrochemical-based-nonbiodegradable plastics, are cheap to produce and impossible to dispose. Thus, we see today that the poorest people in India do not have food to eat but they have more clothes than they will ever need. The low cost of synthetic fabrics has meant that there is a consumer culture of buying and throwing away clothes that are scarcely worn. These discarded synthetic fabrics end up in landfills and remain in the environment practically forever. Gandhi's successor Narendra Modi is working for the petrochemical industry bosses today to enable the mass production of synthetic fabrics, much like Gandhi worked with the mill owners for the mass production of cotton fabrics.
Globally, we see increasing awareness among leading manufacturers of apparels, including brands like Levi's, as they re-incorporate hemp-based fabrics into their industry. These fabrics are not only healing for the skin of the wearer, they are more durable and strong, and can be disposed sustainably. Due to the scarcity of hemp fabrics, it currently is a niche product that only the upper classes and castes can afford. If India takes up hemp cultivation for textiles and fabrics in a big way, it can replace cotton and synthetic fabrics, bringing sustainability across the manufacturing chain for textiles right from cultivation of crop to the disposal of used fabrics. China has embraced cannabis for textiles in a big way for the last five years, but in India it is only a handful of small startups that are looking at cannabis for textiles.
The religious orthodoxy and its role in politics
Regarding the priest or Brahmin caste, Arundhati Roy wrote in The Doctor and the Saint, 'According to Ambedkar, Brahmins, who were 3 per cent of the population in the Madras Presidency in 1948, held 37 per cent of the gazetted posts and 43 per cent of the non-gazetted post in government jobs.' Khushwant Singh wrote in 1990, in Brahmin Power, 'Brahmins form no more than 3.5 per cent of the population of our country...today they hold as much as 70 per cent of government jobs. I presume the figure refers only to gazetted posts. In the senior echelons of the civil service from the rank of deputy secretaries upward, out of 500 there are 310 Brahmins, i.e. 63 per cent, of the 26 state chief secretaries, 19 are Brahmins; of the 27 Governors and Lt. Governors, 13 are Brahmins; of the 16 Supreme Court Judges, 9 are Brahmins; of the 330 judges of the High Courts, 166 are Brahmins; of 140 ambassadors, 58 are Brahmins; of the total 3,300 IAS officers, 2,376 are Brahmins. They do equally well in electoral posts; of the 508 Lok Sabha members, 190 were Brahmins, of 244 in the Rajya Sabha, 89 were Brahmins. These statistics clearly prove that the 3.5 per cent of Brahmin community of India holds between 36 per cent to 63 per cent of all plum jobs available in the country. How this has come about I do not know. But I can scarcely believe that it is entirely due to the Brahmin's higher IQ.' Regarding the judiciary in India, Arundhati Roy wrote in The Doctor and the Saint, 'According to the CSDS study, 47 per cent of all Supreme Court Chief Justices between 1950 and 2000 were Brahmins. During this period, 40 per cent of the Associate Justices of the High Court and lower courts were Brahmin. The Backward Classes Commission, in a 2007 report, said that 37.17 per cent of the Indian bureaucracy was made up of Brahmins. Most of them occupied the top posts.'
The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have witnessed some of the most horrific instances of communal violence since independence. In both states, the right-wing upper-caste Hindutva political outfits have successfully managed to turn anti-Muslim hatred into a potent political weapon, dominating politics in these states for decades now. The vast wealth donated by the business classes to the religious orthodoxy and the political parties that support it have ensured that the upper castes continue to oppress the majority of society and exploit it. Ganja-smoking is considered one of the actions that can excommunicate a person from his caste, and the caste-based religions and their leaders continue to oppose ganja-smoking while they surreptitiously engage in drinking cannabis as a beverage.
Ambedkar writes about the way the religious orthodoxy and its scriptures have come in the way of caste becoming an unsurmountable barrier for the existence of the ideal Indian society. By stating that caste has religious sanction, because the upper caste Brahmin priests wrote and interpreted the scriptures, each caste was made an air-tight compartment. Ambedkar writes, 'Religion compels Hindus to treat isolation and segregation of castes as a virtue. Religion does not compel the non-Hindus to take the same attitude towards caste. If Hindus wish to break caste, their religion will come in their way. But it will not be so in the case of non-Hindus. It is, therefore, a dangerous delusion to take comfort in the mere existence of caste among non-Hindus, without caring to know what place caste occupies in their life and whether there are other "organic filaments" which subordinate the feeling of caste to the feeling of community. The sooner the Hindus are cured of this delusion, the better.' He says, 'Caste may be bad. Caste may lead to conduct so gross as to be called man's inhumanity to man. All the same, it must be recognised that the Hindus observe caste not because they are inhuman or wrong-headed. They observe caste because they are deeplu religious. People are not wrong in observing caste. In my view, what is wrong is their religion, which has inculcated the notion of caste. If this is correct, then obviously the enemy you must grapple with is not the people who observe caste, but the shastras which teach them this religion of caste. Criticising and ridiculing people for not inter-dining of intermarrying, or occasionally holding inter-caste dinners and celebrating inter-caste marriages, is a futile method for achieving the desired end. The real remedy is to destroy the belief in the sanctity of the shastras...The Hindus hold to the sacredness of the social order. Caste has a divine basis. You must therefore destroy the sacredness and divinity with which caste has become invested. In the last analysis, this means you must destroy the authority of the shastras and the Vedas.'
One of the most fundamental rules of society is that religion and politics should not mix because if their aims are not aligned then one comes in the way of the other. Gandhi is a classic example of the problem of mixing religion with politics. His constant attempt to play two roles that were anti-thetical to each other resulted in the confusion that was created post-independence. Ambedkar says, 'Some may not understand what I mean by destruction of religion, some may find the idea revolting to them, and some may find it revolutionary. Let me therefore explain my position. I do not know whether you draw a distinction between principles and rules. But I do. Not only do I make a distinction, but I say that this distinction is real and important. Rules are practical; they are habitual ways of doing things according to prescription. But principles are intellectual; they are useful methods of judging things. Rules seek to tell an agent just what course of action to pursue. Principles do not prescribe a specific course of action. Rules, like cooking recipes, do tell just what to do and how to do it. A principle, such as that of justice, supplies a main heading by reference to which he is to consider the bearings of his desires and purposes; it guides him in his thinking by suggesting to him the important consideration which he should bear in mind...The difference between rules and principles makes the acts done in pursuit of them different in quality and in content. Doing what is said to be good by virtue of a rule and doing what is good in the light of a principle are two different things. The principle may be wrong, but the act is conscious and responsible. The rule may be right, but the act is mechanical. A religious act may be a correct act, but must be at least a responsible act. To permit of this responsibility, religion must mainly be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules. The moment it degenrates into rules, it ceases to be religion, as it kills the responsibility which is the essence of a truly religious act...What is this Hindu religion? Is it a set of principles, or is it a code of rules? Now the Hindu religion, as contained in the Vedas and the smritis, is nothing but a mass of sacrificial, social, political, and sanitary rules and regulations, all mixed up. What is called religion by the Hindues is nothing but a multitude of commands and prohibitions. Religion, in the sense of spiritual principles, truly universal, applicable to all races, to all countries, to all times, is not to be found in them, and if it is, it does not form a governing part of a Hindu's life. That for a Hindu dharma means commands and prohibitions is clear from the way the word dharma is used in the Vedas and the smritis and understood by the commentators. The word dharma as used in the Vedas in most cases means religious ordinances or rites. Even Jaimini in his 'Purva Mimamsa' defines dharma as "a desirable goal or reult that is indicated by injunctive (Vedic) passages."...To put it in plain language, what the Hindus call religion is really law, or at best legalised class-ethics. Frankly, I refuse to call this code of ordinances as religion. The first evil of such a code of ordinances, misrepresented to the people as religion, is that it tends to deprive moral life of freedom and spontaneity, and to reduce it (for the conscientious, at any rate) to a more or less anxious and servile conformity to externally imposed rules. Under it, there is no loyalty to ideals; there is only conformity to commands...But the worst evil of this code of ordinances is that the laws it contains must be the same yesterday, today and forever. They are iniquitous in that they are not the same for one class as for another. But this iniquity is made perpetual in that they are prescribed to be the same for all generations. The objectionable part of such a scheme is not that they are made by certain persons called prophets or law-givers. The objectionable part is that this code has been invested with the character of finality and fixity. Happiness notoriously varies with the conditions and circumstances of a person, as well as with the conditions of different people and epochs. That being the case, how can humanity endure this code of eternal laws, without being cramped and without being crippled?...I have, therefore, no hesitation in saying that such a religion must be destroyed, and I say there is nothing irreligious in working for the destruction of such a religion. Indeed I hold that it is your bounden duty to tear off the mask, to remove the misrepresentation caused by misnaming this law as religion. This is an essential step for you. Once you clear the minds of the people of this misconception and enable them to realise that what they are told is religion is not religion, but that it is really law, you will be in a position to urge its amendment or abolition...So long as people look upon it as religion they will not be ready for a change, because the idea of religion is generally speaking not associated with the idea of change. But the idea of law is associated with the idea of change, and when people come to know that what is called religion is really law, old and archaic, they will be ready for a change, for people know and accept that law can be changed.'
Ambedkar felt that religious reform is the way to address the menace of the caste-based religions and the mixing of politics with religion. He suggested a few religious reforms to take the power away from the caste-based religions. He says, 'Indeed, I am so convinced of the necessity of religion that I feel I ought to tell you in outline what I regard as necessary items in this religious reform. The following, in my opinion, should be the cardinal items in this reform: 1. There should be one and only one standard book of Hindu religion, acceptable to all Hindus and recognised by all Hindus. This of course means that all other books of Hindu religion such as Vedas, shastras, and puranas, which are treated as sacred and authoritative, must by law cease to be so, and the preaching of any doctrine, religious or social, contained in these books should be penalised; 2. It would be better if priesthood among Hindus were abolished. But as this seems to be impossible, the priesthood must at least cease to be heriditary. Every person who professes to be a Hindu must be eligible for being a priest. It should be provided by law that no Hindu shall be entitled to be a priest unless he has passed an examination prescribed by the state, and holds a 'sanad' from the state permitting him to practise; 3. No ceremony performed by a priest who does not hold a sanad shall be deemed to be valid in law, and it should be made penal for a person who has no sanad to officiate as a priest; 4. A priest should be a servant of the state, and should be subject to the disciplinary action of the state in the matter of his morals, beliefs, and worship, in addition to his being subject along with other citizens to the ordinary law of the land; 5. The number of priests should be limited by law according to the requirements of the state, as is done in the case if the ICS [Indian Civil Service].' On the separation of religion from politics, he says, 'Morality and religion, therefore, are not mere matters of likes and dislikes. You may dislike exceedingly a scheme of morality which, if universally practiced within a nation, would make that nation the strongest nation on the face of the earth. Yet in spite of your dislike, such a nation will become strong. You may like exceedingly a scheme of morality and an ideal of justice which, if universally practiced within a nation, would make it unable to hold its own in the struggle with other nations. Yet in spite of your admiration, this nation will eventually disappear. The Hindus must, therefore, examine their religion and their morality in terms of their survival value...The principle, which makes little of the present act of living and growing, naturally looks upon the present as empty and upon the future as remote. Such a principle is inimical to progress and a hindrance to a strong and a steady current of life.'
Rise of cannabis startups
One of the vibrant aspects of India's otherwise pathetic current cannabis landscape is the number of startups that are entering the field for cannabis as medicine, wellness, fabrics, construction, etc. Most of these startups are headed by a younger generation that has been able to look beyond the anti-cannabis myths at the latest scientific findings and business opportunities in the cannabis world. The rise of the cannabis-based start-ups is largely due to the partial legalization by states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kashmir that enables the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes, thus providing the valuable crop for use by these startups. Bengaluru saw the establishment of a cannabis retail outlet by the Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO), probably the first of its kind in India. Medical cannabis can be procured here on consultation with the physician. BOHECO also uses cannabis for products in wellness, textiles, etc. Since the opening of its first retail outlet, BOHECO has expanded retail operations further in Bengaluru, Delhi, etc. BOHECO is probably India's pioneering startup when it comes to exploring the uses of cannabis for medicine and industry and working to change the anti-cannabis mindset in Indian society. Constantly battling the stigma associated with cannabis, and working to separate the facts from the myths that have maligned cannabis till date, BOHECO has possibly inspired a number of cannabis entrepreneurs and startups to embrace the healing potential of the herb for humans and nature. With its focus on brick-and-mortar stores that enable direct customer interaction, the company seeks to bring to Indian society experiences that have been the norm in many places that have long-legalized the cannabis culture that India boasts as its deepest legacy, even as it shuns it through ignorance and greed. BOHECO is an example of the direction that Indian industry needs to take to ensure the survival of not just humans, but nature itself. In general, however, Indian cannabis startups face numerous hurdles from an administration that still believes the outdated anti-ganja myths and propaganda, and which supports industries that do not want cannabis legalized, industries that fund Indian policy making.
In conclusion
Mumbai is where the reality of ganja meets the plastic dream of an India that has lost touch with nature and the divine herb of Siva. The hundreds of millions of the working and labouring classes, the indigenous communities, minorities, spiritual mendicants and poor of Mumbai suffer the prohibition of ganja, even as they see around them the decadence of Mumbai's rich and powerful who destroy themselves and the rest of society in their pursuit of synthetic pleasures. If India has to transform into a sustainable, vibrant, healthy society, the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra must shed the hypocrisy surrounding cannabis and fully embrace the herb - socially, economically, medically and spiritually. The damage done to Indian society by the businessmen who traded India's past for wealth and power needs to be corrected the most in these places that formed the Bombay Presidency of 19th century India. The liberation of the Indian masses, and the progress of Indian society to an economically sustainable, just, equitable, and vibrant one hinges on the correction of past wrongs, recognition of the causes behind it, and the ensuring that such mistakes do not destroy Indian society again. Ganja is central to this. The fraternity that Ambedkar spoke about between all the communities of India, which is essential for making a cohesive society had, in the past, ganja as one of the most important binding forces, bringing together people of all religions, classes, castes, communities and cultures, rejuvenating them physically and spiritually. It is important for the people of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency to recognize how far they have strayed from the path of nature, and Siva, and to make the journey back to healing before it is too late...
In the following sections, I have documented, with regard to the Bombay Presidency:
- The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings
- The Bombay Presidency Memorandum submitted to the Commission by The Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium and Abkari
- Notes from experts
- Reports from the lunatic asylums of the Bombay Presidency for the year 1892
- List of Bombay Presidency witnesses who deposed before the Hemp Commission
- Individual witness statements of the witnesses from the Bombay Presidency.
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings
THE EXISTENCE, PREVALENCE, AND CHARACTER OF THE SPONTANEOUS GROWTH
EXTENT OF CULTIVATION, AND ITS TENDENCY TO INCREASE OR DECREASE.
Extent of regular cultivation
125. The districts in which the regular cultivation of hemp is now principally carried on are Ahmednagar and Satara, and their acreage for the last eight years is as follows:—
In the following districts also there is a small extent of regular cultivation:—
These figures are taken from the table submitted by witness 49, Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner and Director of Land Records and Agriculture, because it is more complete than the statistics furnished by the Commissioner of Abkari, and probably more correct. In the year 1885-86 Khandesh grew as much as 311 acres, but the area has now fallen to 9 and 10 acres in the last two years. The district adjoins the Central Provinces district of Nimar, and its hemp cultivation has probably been checked by the excise system of the latter province, which underwent important changes about the year mentioned above.
126. The total cultivation of the Presidency [in acres], excluding Sind, for the last eight years is as follows:
One or two witnesses hint rather than indicate specifically the existence of cultivation in the Ahmedabad and Kaira districts of the Guzerat Division and in Thana in the Konkan. But there is certainly no regular field cultivation in these districts. Except about twelve acres in Surat and Broach for the production of what is called bhang, the whole cultivation is practically confined to the Deccan or Central Division. It has been suggested that the excise system of the Central Provinces is to account for the fall of the cultivation in Khandesh from the high acreage of 1885-86, and it may have affected districts at a greater distance from the frontier. But it can hardly be accepted as the explanation of the extraordinarily low figure of 1888-89. The reduction in this year was shared by the four contiguous districts in the southern part of the Central Division and not by the districts of Nasik and Khandesh in the northern part, and was probably due to an unfavourable season. There is no official explanation of it. In the succeeding year cultivation recovered, but has since shown a steady decrease. Witnesses state that the irksome conditions imposed by the excise system render the cultivation unpopular, though it is not burdened with any direct tax or license. This may well be the cause of the decrease.
127. Regarding homestead cultivation, the Collector of Thana writes: "The plant is not cultivated in the Konkan as a field crop, nor even as a market crop in gardens, but it occurs in small numbers in many private gardens, and I have seen specimens that seemed to me to be self-sown, and afterwards taken care of by the gardeners." This is the only positive evidence of the existence of such cultivation in British territory in the Bombay Presidency, though there are to be found hints that it is carried on to a very small extent in the Ahmednagar and Dharwar districts in the present day, and some definite information that it was formerly practised more widely. It seems certain that the extent of it in British territory is now absolutely insignificant.
METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH
196. The cultivation, it has been seen, is almost wholly confined to the Central Division of the Bombay Presidency, and a few small Native States in the Deccan and Southern Maratha Country. The method of cultivation in this region has been described by many witnesses, and it proceeds on one system throughout. There is some discrepancy as to the nature of the soil which is most favourable to the crop. The preponderance of evidence is in favour of the lighter mixed soils, and not of the richest and heaviest black soil. Mr. Ebden, Collector of Ahmednagar, gives the following description of it: "When grown for ganja the plant requires a rich friable soil, and land near a village site is often selected on account of the manure with which native habits supply it. Irrigation being necessary in case of insufficient rain, bagait land is preferred. When the plant is grown for seed or for the manufacture of bhang only irrigation is not essential, and in ordinary seasons any good jirait land will do." It is principally in Satara that the richest lands are said to be preferred, but in the ganja-growing tract of that district they are probably not the adhesive clay which is the consistency of the best black soils in the Deccan. Rotation is necessary; good crops of hemp cannot be got off the same land in successive years. The field is thoroughly worked up for some month or two before the south-west monsoon, and is heavily manured, sometimes by folding sheep upon it. In Khandesh the seed is sown in the very commencement of the rainy season, i.e., early in June, the munga nakshatra. Further south it is put in later, viz., in the Punarvasa and Pushya nakshatras, which correspond with July-August. The seed generally preferred is that from Ahmednagar.
197. The agricultural processes are the same everywhere. The seed is sown with a single drill, the other pipes of the ordinary triple drill being closed if that implement is used. The lines are from one-and-a-half to two feet apart. The seed springs up within a week, and the plants are allowed to grow till they are about one foot high, the field being kept scrupulously clean meanwhile by the cattle hoe and hand weeding. The rows are now thinned out where they are too crowded, and the lower branches are removed to force up the growth of the tops of the plants. The weeding with the cattle hoe earths up the rows in some degree. In about six weeks from the sowing the plants have reached a height of two feet. The parakhai or parakadar is then called in. Witness (47), Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner, and Director of Land Record and Agriculture, says that the ganja cultivators of the Poona district are skilled in distinguishing the male plants. Everywhere else the parakhai, or examination for male plant, is done by an expert, who is paid at the rate of Rs. 8 to Rs. 10, or even more, a month. The plants are at the same time thinned out where necessary to allow of lateral growth. The witness just quoted also states that the female plants are bruised by giving them a half twist a few inches above the root to induce this lateral growth. This process is not described by any other witness. Mr. Ebden, however, furnishes the interesting information that it is part of the parakhai's business to search the country round if he finds symptoms of mischief caused by "pernicious plants." He also says that in the seed field the parakhai is not required. But this may be doubted, for Mr. Kennedy (54), Superintendent of Police, has learnt that the female (sic) plant is eliminated from the seed field, from which it would appear that some extermination of plants is practised here also. Probably attention is directed, as in the seed field of Khandwa, to the eradication of the bi-sexual plants of all kinds.
198. The educated witnesses who have supplied the information before the Commission understand clearly enough the broad distinction between the male and female plants and their functions, but the cultivators seem to be very hazy on the subject (Mr. Ebden). In spite of the fact that one or two of the names applied to the various undesirable plants which the parakhai casts out show a correct understanding of the reason why they are mischievous, these names without distinction are given by two witnesses as names of diseases, and it is probable that the plants indicated are popularly regarded as diseased plants. Yet it is difficult to believe that there should be so wide a gulf between this ignorance and the intelligence found in the Central Provinces among people of the same race and occupation, and not separated from the Bombay cultivators by any great distance as distances go in India. The forms of the plant, noxious from the point of view of the ganja grower, which have received special names, are given below, with the explanations of the witnesses regarding them in brief. These explanations are evidently gathered from informants, and are not based on the witnesses' own observations, except in the case of Mr. Ebden. Andya (36), Andia (30).—Indicated by the "pin-like white flowers" (36); by organic molecules formed in the top of the plants; affects plants in the beginning of their growth, and lasts about a month (30). Remark.—Apparently the simple male. Bhangira (48), Dhatura (5).—Plant examined by Mr. Ebden, who says: "Latter name identical with that of the common poisonous plant," and pronounced male. Remark.—The simple male. Shevarya (36), Sheora (30), Shewara (5).—One of the branches grows higher, and bends down with a flower like jawari grain at the end of it (36). White flowers grow on the flower top (30). Mr. Ebden has not seen specimen. Remark.—A form of the male plant known by the same name at Khandwa. Haldya (36), Haldia (30).—Recognised by a yellow shoot at one of the knots of the plant (36). Affects the plant by producing a yellow colour in the tops, and lasts till the full growth of the plant (30). Remark.—The yellow colour may be caused by deposit of pollen. Kapshia (36), Kapsha (30).—Recognised by a jawari like grain which gets transformed into a white or yellow flower (36). Whitens the plant (30). Remark.—Witness (36) describes a male blossom; witness (30) some sort of disease or the deposit of pollen. Bundia (36), Bunda (30).—Same description as that of Kapsha (36). The seed is formed in the flower head, which afterwards produces flower (30). Remark.—A bi-sexual form probably. Mora (36), (30), Morai (5).—Recognised by the yellow flower on the top branch, which makes its appearance sometimes fifteen days before reaping of the crop, and has the effect of destroying the better quality of the ganja (36). Appears late, and causes breach (sic) of the flower spike (30). Female partly gone to seed; is not exterminated; is regarded with regret, its meaning being that the male has somehow got access and partly spoiled the crop. Examined (5). Remark.-Probably the same as the moria of Khandwa, and the female with abnormal male blossom of Dr. Prain. Charkha (30).—Makes the flower yellow, and lasts to the end (30). Remark.-Much the same as Kapsha. Aradnar (30), Ardhanar (5).-From the stock to the top of the plants small buds are formed which give rise to white flowers (30). Not examined; but must be, as its name implies, the bi-sexual plant (5). Remark.—The same name, adnaria, is used in Khandwa for the ordinary male plant with some female blossoms. Tik (5).—Examined and pronounced bi-sexual; the ardhanar, which Mr. Ebden did not examine, was probably the same (5). Remark.—Sounds like a short name for the rather clumsy one which goes before. Ropda (5).—Mentioned, but not seen by Mr. Ebden.
The fact that the plant in its sexual arrangements takes so many forms will probably be interesting to scientific readers, and the complete list is therefore given. And it is supplemented with such remarks as the information gathered in the course of the Commission's inquiry seems to justify. The Commission do not claim to have made any exact study of the subject, and have not even had an opportunity of personally examining the plant and its cultivation in the Bombay Presidency. As far as the cultivation is concerned, the enumeration of these forms of the plant is of interest as illustrating the fact that the extermination of the male requires considerable practical skill, and that the existence of the moria form, which develops its male blossoms with such delay and caution, is a special difficulty in the way of the complete seclusion of the female, and the production of the finest form of the drug.
The crop matures in about five months, and is therefore gathered in November or December in different localities according to the date of sowing. In Bijapur the cultivation is carried on by the ganja farmer, and the parakhai seems to supervise it up to harvest; and it would appear that elsewhere his services are required for a longer period than they are in Bengal, and that he exercises a wider control over the cultivation generally. As a rule irrigation is only resorted to if the rainfall is insufficient or untimely; but the crop is nearly always raised under the protection of a well. After the flower spikes are formed on the ganja plants rain does damage. The crop does not ripen till a month or two after the south-west monsoon has ceased, and during this period irrigation must often be required. Witness (27) describes what must be the simple garden cultivation, which, if it exists at all at the present day, is quite unimportant in this Presidency. The evidence shows a striking unanimity on the point that the heavy rainfall of the belt lying immediately to the east of the crest of the Western Ghâts renders that part of the country unsuitable for the cultivation of hemp. There is a strong body of evidence that rich but light soil and only a moderate amount of rain are required. This has an important bearing on the subject of the spontaneous growth.
199. About the cultivation in Gujarat the information is that loamy or sandy soils are suitable, and that black soil is not; that the crop takes six or seven months to mature; that it can be raised either as a monsoon crop or as a cold-weather crop; that the former yields the stronger narcotic; that the males are extirpated; and that irrigation is not required. There is no information about the employment of the parakhai, and it is probable that in this cultivation for bhang the moderate skill possessed by the cultivators themselves answers all purposes. Both in the Deccan and Gujarat the cultivators are of the ordinary class; the industry is not confined to any caste or grade among them. The cultivators in Ahmednagar are sometimes Brahmins.
200. The description of the cultivation given above applies to the Southern Maratha Country Agency and all the States in the Southern and Central Divisions where they have any cultivation at all. The following agencies have not any regular cultivation: Kathiawar, Cutch, Palanpur, Mahi Kantha, and Rewa Kantha. Such cultivation as there is consists in the rearing of a few plants which have often sprung up by accident by water-courses in gardens and in fields, generally irrigated fields, such as those where sugarcane is grown. There is no information as to whether the male plants are eradicated, or of any peculiar methods employed in the cultivation. The cultivators are either consumers, often fakirs and bairagis, or, if not, ordinary husbandmen who nurse a few plants to provide themselves with an article that will be an acceptable present to such people. The drugs appear to be very rarely sold.
PREPARATION OF THE RAW DRUGS FROM THE CULTIVATED AND WILD PLANT
255. The preparation of ganja in Bombay is described by several witnesses. Mr. Ebden's (5) description, as coming from the district of largest cultivation in the Presidency, and being the most complete, may be quoted:—
"(a) Ganja.—Harvesting methods differ somewhat. In some cases the tops are pulled off by hand; in some they are cut. In some the central largest tops are collected and treated separately as first sort ganja; the central tops of side branches form second sort, and other smaller tops arc third sort, and are called chur. The further process is much the same in all cases. The tops are heaped according to taste in narrow rows or in large squares about six inches thick, the different qualities when separately collected being separately heaped. The heaps are then trodden under foot. Some manufacturers tread the fresh tops at once; some let them dry first for various periods. After treading, it is turned over by hand and again trodden. The process of turning and treading is repeated at intervals of three or four days, with local variations of treatment in the intervals. In some places it is heaped in round heaps called chakis, and weighted at top till midnight, and then opened up and scattered and ventilated till dawn, when it is again laid out and trodden; and so on till it is judged to be ready, when it is packed in bags, and as a rule it is speedily removed by the wholesale purchaser.
"The treading-floor is sometimes prepared like an ordinary threshing-floor with clay and cowdung. I have lately witnessed the operation of treading, and in that case the floor was simple moorum soil on a nalla bank, and had undergone no preparation beyond cleaning and sweeping. The ganja was spread in squares of fifteen or twenty feet wide and about six inches thick. A line of eight or ten men danced on it to the music of a tomtom. Treading began in the outer edge of the heap, and was continued in a spiral until the centre was approached, when the men fell out one by one as the space grew smaller. They followed close on one another, dancing sideways in the leader's footsteps. The tomtom appeared to be highly necessary, and kept them at it.
"(b) Charas.—This is locally a bye-product which is not brought into account, but appears to be the harvesters' perquisite, who probably part with it to friends who smoke, if they don't want it themselves. It is the resinous substance that sticks to the hands or collects on the sickle when cutting or plucking the tops. The hands are now and then rubbed together, and the charas is collected in the shape of a pill, which is naturally half dirt and sweat and half charas. A piece about the size of a marble may perhaps be the reward of a day's work.
"(c) Bhang.—This name is given indifferently to the refuse of the treading-floor where ganja is prepared, and to the produce of the seeded plants and of male plants when the crop has been grown for seed. In the latter case the tops are laid on a floor, and the seed is beaten out with sticks or trodden out by foot. The seeds are separated from the mass by means of a sieve, and the balance of broken leaves, etc., is called bhang."
The bhang crop in Gujarat is turned into drug by drying the plants and shaking or beating them so as to detach the leaves, flower, and fruit. The character of the bhang of the Bombay Presidency must be noted. When it comes from the ganja crop, it consists very largely of pieces of the female flower head, and is in fact, as many witnesses have described it, largely composed of what is known in Bengal as chur. If the customer asked for chur, the shopkeeper would produce what he calls bhang. The preparation of the drugs is generally carried out by the cultivators themselves, sometimes by contractors.
256. The States in the Deccan which cultivate ganja prepare the drugs in the manner already described. In the Northern Agencies there is but little cultivation, and that of scattered plants only. There is no evidence that the flower heads undergo any preparation besides simple drying.
TRADE AND MOVEMENT OF THE HEMP DRUGS
310. The Collector of Ahmednagar states that the outturn of ganja cultivation is 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 maunds per acre according to soil and season. Of two Satara witnesses, one puts the outturn at 6 1/2 maunds, and the other at 8 maunds. A fair average of these figures is 6 1/2 maunds. On the average of the last five years, the cultivation of the Deccan and Southern Maratha Country, including the Native States, is about 1,100 acres, which at the above rate would yield 7,150 maunds of ganja. The cultivation in the other parts of the Presidency proper is insignificant, and yields only bhang. The whole of the Presidency, including Cutch, Kathiawar, and the other Political Agencies, draws its ganja supply from the Deccan. Baroda also comes to the same market, and so do Sind and Aden.
311. The registered retail sale of the British districts (excluding Sind) is on the five years average 2,120 maunds. This ought to be near the amount of actual consumption, for imports of ganja are compared with the passes on arrival of consignments at the district head-quarters, the taluka, or the village, and the accounts of the retail vendors and their stocks are inspected from time to time by the District and Abkari Officers (Excise Memorandum, paragraph 8). The Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari states also (paragraph 14, Excise Memorandum) that the reports from all districts are unanimous that smuggling of these drugs is to all intents and purposes unknown, and he explains why it should not be worth the people's while to engage in illicit practices. But unfortunately it is found on examining the district figures that the provincial total is got simply by adding them up, and that in no less than nine districts there is no registered sale whatever in the year 1892-93. Large districts like Dharwar and Satara are thus imperfectly represented, and the average is falsified by the fact that in other districts the figures for the full quinquennium are not brought into the account. The actual average consumption is evidently very much in excess of 2,120 maunds. Another large addition must be made to the recorded sale on account of the waste which accompanies the handling and distribution of the less highly manufactured ganja found outside Bengal. With these corrections the consumption of British districts alone will account for not less than 3,000 maunds of the total production.
312. A few States and some of the Agencies have sent figures of imports and consumption which exceed a total of 1,000 maunds. Only one State of Kathiawar is represented in this list—Junagadh. The important State of Kolhapur has no statistics to give. Baroda also would appear to import Deccan ganja to the amount of about 400 maunds. The consumption of all the Native States which import Bombay ganja cannot be much less than double the amount which has been reported.
313. In British territory the district contractors, and sometimes the holders of smaller farms (Excise Memoramdum, paragraph 8), import on their own account from the places of production. These are all retail vendors. There is only one merchant in the Kolaba district who engages on the wholesale business, and probably the supplies for Sind and other places on the sea board pass through his hands. The farmer for the Bombay district appears to import for himself. It would appear from the Excise memorandum that some ganja is imported from the Central Provinces. It seems to be brought into Khandesh, but there is no evidence that it goes beyond that district. Some may possibly go as far as Nasik. But both in Khandesh and Nasik the cultivation is almost sufficient to supply the demand of those districts. The import from the Central Provinces cannot be large.
314. It will be seen from the following statement that there is a considerable export of ganja by sea. Something less than one-half of the whole goes to British Indian ports, several of which are probably in the Bombay Presidency. A little more than a quarter finds its way to foreign Indian ports, which would include those of Cutch and Kathiawar. There is not, however, any definite information of the Indian ports, British and foreign, to which the drug is carried. As much of the drug as is imported into the Presidency and its Native States has, of course, been included in the above survey of import and consumption. About 28 per cent. goes to Aden, Arabia, Africa, and Europe. The export to London is very considerable. There is no reason to suppose that any of the sea export consists of other than Bombay ganja.
315. The result of this survey of the distribution of the ganja produced in the Bombay Presidency is as follows:—
316. Bhang occupies such a position in relation to ganja in the Bombay Presidency that it is hardly possible to examine the traffic in it separately. In the Northern Division the cultivation may yield 150 maunds, which would not be more than sufficient to supply the local demand. The bhang produced in Baroda, a very small amount, is not exported. The bhang which generally passes by that name consists of the fragments of leaves and flower head which come away in the manufacture of ganja. If figures had been complete and trustworthy, ganja and bhang might have been put together, and treated as one article of trade. It did not appear advisable to deal thus with a total consumption of only 44 maunds in the year 1892-93, a figure which a comparison with previous years shows to be incorrect. It does not appear that the sale of bhang as a distinct article from ganja exceeds 150 maunds a year in the whole Presidency, excluding Sind. The sale is only registered in the Northern Division and in Khandesh. Mr. Almon states that some of the Surat bhang finds its way to Bombay, and Mr. Campbell mentions import from Palanpur.
317. Charas is only used in Bombay City to the extent of 7 or 8 maunds a year. Seven sérs only were sold in Poona for the first time in 1892-93. The drug is imported from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur.
318. The information is not complete enough to make it worth while to examine the individual trade of the Native States. The above general survey of the Presidency supplies the broad fact that all the States get their supply of ganja from the Bombay cultivation. The States in the extreme north of the Presidency, especially Palanpur, grow a little bhang for themselves, and this State may export some of its own growth to Bombay; but it cannot be much. Some of the southern States probably export part of the produce of the cultivation mentioned in Chapter IV.
EXTENT OF USE AND THE MANNER AND FORMS IN WHICH THE HEMP DRUGS ARE CONSUMED
388. Ganja is used in all parts of the Bombay Presidency, a large share of the consumption of it being in the form of sweetmeats and drink. Bhang is used in the Bombay City and the Northern Division. Charas is smoked in the City of Bombay only, and that in very small quantity.
389. The figures of retail sale of ganja are wanting in some districts and irregular in others, so that it may be doubted if they can lay claim to accuracy even in the districts where they appear to be complete. Such as they are, they make the various districts take approximately the following order as regards their consumption of ganja: Dharwar, Bombay, Kanara, Bijapur, Nasik, Satara, Poona, Ahmedabad, Surat, Ahmednagar, Belgaum, Broach, Sholapur, Khandesh, Panch Mahals, Kaira, and Ratnagiri.
390. There are no figures for Thana and Kolaba. The total of the district figures of retail sale taken out as far as practicable by five years' averages, with an allowance made for Thana and Kolaba, comes to about 3,800 maunds. The total consumption has been estimated in a previous chapter at maunds 3,000, and it was thought that this was a liberal calculation.
391. Mr. Almon, Assistant Collector of Abkari in Bombay, maintains that the moderate consumer of ganja spends two annas a day on his indulgence, and consumes one tola of the drug. This represents an annual consumption of over four sérs and an expenditure of Rs. 45, and only admits of ten consumers being supplied by each maund of the drug. The average sale of 258 maunds, with allowance for waste, only suffices therefore for 2,000 or 2,500 consumers. Some witnesses, but they are few, state that the daily allowance of a moderate consumer is above one tola. The majority of witnesses put it at less. The lowest limit is reached by the Collector of Ratnagiri, who gives one-sixteenth of a tola as the average daily allowance, and reports 8,000 consumers in the district, of which the average retail sales amount to 74 maunds — i.e., more than 100 consumers per maund. The Collector of Ahmednagar has arrived at a mean of the above extremes. He caused "a hasty census to be taken throughout the district," with the result that the number of consumers in a population of 888,755 was found to be 6,134, or .69 per cent. The Ratnagiri inquiries gave a percentage not very much higher than the above, but by means of a much lower individual allowance. In Ahmednagar the allowance of 6,134 consumers on a total retail sale of 154 maunds comes to about 40 consumers to the maund, or one sér per head per annum, or somewhat less than a quarter of a tola per diem. The weight of evidence would fix the daily allowance nearer to one-half than one-quarter tola. Mr. Ebden's enumeration probably therefore included occasional consumers, and possibly counted the same people more than once. The price of ganja outside Bombay ranges from three annas a pound in Satara to one anna a tola in Khandesh. One sér of ganja can never therefore cost more than Rs. 5, and the average price will be within the reach of all classes of consumers.
392. Making allowance for a considerable share of the drug being used in the making of drinks, sweetmeats, and other preparations, which are for the most part consumed only occasionally, and for waste, the number of regular consumers in British territory alone cannot be less than 2,500 x 30, or 75,000, giving a percentage on the population of .46. Besides these, there are the small body of regular drinkers of the hemp drugs and the occasional consumers of other preparations of the drug whose numbers cannot be estimated. The number of regular consumers in the Bombay City can hardly be less than 6,000. Figures of retail sale not generally reliable as index of consumption.
393. Little reliance can be placed on the figures of retail sale, and in the present discussion they have only been utilised to range the districts in the order of their relative rate of consumption, and relied upon in the case of Ahmednagar because they were in fair accordance with the Collector's census of consumers and the experience gained in other provinces. The figures of retail sale in the Dharwar district are extraordinary. They show steady increase for years past, and have now reached a point which by the reasonable standard of individual consumption above adopted gives a percentage of over four of regular consumers on the population. This is impossible; there is no such consumption as this in any rural tract in the whole of India. The witnesses who speak with special knowledge of the district do not give anything like this percentage, and they do not confirm the evidence of the figures that there has been a remarkable increase of consumption in the last fourteen years. The Collector of Dharwar, has endeavoured to ascertain the causes of this increase, and whether it is connected with the decline in the consumption of liquor and toddy. He reports that he can trace no connection between the two phenomena; that there has been a large increase in the consumption of ganja, which is to be attributed to the introduction of the railway bringing with it scores of ganja smokers and eaters; that there is no reason to suppose that the people of the district have generally taken to the use of the drug, though a number of individuals may have contracted the habit from foreigners; and that there is no export of the drug. He attaches a statement showing that the retail sales of 1892-93 amounted to 1,345 maunds, an increase of more than 200 maunds over the figures of 1891-92. It is impossible to suppose that this huge amount can have been consumed in the district. It is larger than the whole consumption of the Central Provinces with its Feudatory States and zamindaris. The only reasonable explanation is that the greater part of it leaves the district, and enters the surrounding foreign territory, Hyderabad, Mysore, and Goa. The Kanara district also may possibly get its supply from the Dharwar shops. The Dharwari ganja is not unknown, as the Commission found, in Mysore. This exaggeration in the Dharwar figures furnishes one more reason for distrusting those of other districts as an index of the local consumption.
394. On the point of general increase or decrease in the use of ganja, the responsible official witnesses, excepting the Collector of Bijapur, take the view that there is no perceptible change. On the other hand, there are witnesses of other classes who observe increase, and attribute it to the same economic and social causes as have been noticed in other provinces. But it may be noted that the high price of liquor does not take a prominent place among them, and many statements will be found to the effect that the hemp drugs are giving way to liquor. It cannot be said that there is a preponderance of the evidence either way or that there is any satisfactory basis for forming an opinion. The only causes of increase which can be assumed to have operated in the direction of increase are the increase of population and development of railways. The social causes would seem to tell both ways, education, however, being rather favourable to decrease of the habit than the reverse. The fact that the lower orders are addicted to liquor in the Bombay Presidency, and that their earnings are comparatively high and enable them to indulge this predilection, is a factor operating against increase of the hemp habit. Regarding bhang and charas, the tendency of the evidence is to show that the former is giving way to liquor; the use of the latter, practically confined to the City of Bombay and insignificant in extent, shows no sign of increase.
395. The extent of use described in the Presidency may be accepted as applicable to the Native States under the supervision of the Bombay Government. There are no materials to enable a more exact estimate to be formed. In the Deccan and Southern Maratha Country ganja must be the favourite form of the drug, and in the Gujarat States, Kathiawar, and Cutch it is to a great extent superseded by bhang.
418. Ganja also is sometimes smoked in the huka, and other implements and means of smoking are mentioned. Thus in Bombay and the Central Provinces epicures occasionally use a pipe made of sugarcane in preference to the chillum. There are also certain rude expedients in vogue amongst jungle people for the smoking of tobacco, which are no doubt resorted to in connection with the hemp drug, and some of which appear in the evidence. The pipe bowl may be constructed in the ground, and a reed used to communicate with the mouth. A pipe or cigarette may be made with leaves.
421. As with smoking, so in the case of drinking, there is a common and simple form, and also various compounds more or less elaborate. The simple form is merely to pound the drug very fine with a little black pepper, add water according to the strength of the drink desired, and filter the decoction through a cloth. This beverage is sometimes made with the bhang composed almost entirely of the leaves of the plant, and sometimes, most commonly outside Bengal, the North-Western Provinces, and the Punjab, of the flower heads or mixture of flower and leaves that has come away in the course of the manufacture of ganja. It goes by different names in various parts of India. In Bengal it is commonly called bhang or siddhi; in the North-Western Provinces bhang, siddhi, or thandai; in the Punjab, Bombay, and Central Provinces bhang or ghota; and in Sind ghota and panga according to its strength...
426. There is a liquid preparation of ganja in use in the Sholapur district of the Bombay Presidency which seems to be little known elsewhere. It is called boja, and its preparation is described by Bombay witnesses 25 and 47. The consumption is considerable, amounting in the year 1891-92 to 138,100 sérs. It appears to consist principally of a gruel made from jawari, and to contain a comparatively small proportion of hemp and a little nux vomica. After brewing, it has to be kept a day, when water is added, and it is drunk.
428. Ganja and bhang are eaten as well as drunk. Charas, if medicinal uses be excepted, is very rarely consumed in any other way but in the form of smoke. The simplest form of eating ganja and bhang is to pound them up with such spices as were mentioned in the preparation of bhang, and to swallow the paste in the form of a bolus. The mass is sometimes compounded with molasses or gur. The leaves of the green plants are even chewed on occasion. It does not, however, appear to be a regular practice with any people in any part of India to consume the drugs in this manner. The habitual bhang drinker will do it when he has difficulty in preparing his drink. It is done on a journey. It would seem to be more common to eat the paste in the cold weather than the hot. A mass will sometimes be prepared and kept for use day by day. This paste is known in the Punjab, Berar, and Bombay as fakki or fanki, and it seems to be used by the poor not uncommonly.
429. There is, however, a very considerable consumption of sweetmeats made with ganja or bhang, or even sometimes charas. They are all prepared in very much the same way, their various names and properties depending on the proportion of the hemp drugs and other ingredients that they contain. Their basis is sugar and milk, and the essence of the hemp drug is extracted by the aid of heat, and compounded with them with other drugs and spices or perfumes. The most common of them is majum, and the preparation is known by that name from one end of India to the other. It is largely used at certain Hindu feasts. It is evidently credited with aphrodisiacal qualities. Many people consume it habitually, either throughout the year or in the cold season, abandoning it in the hot in favour of the liquid preparations. The names of other similar preparations are yakuti (in general use from the Deccan northwards), purnathi (Madras), gulkhand (Bombay), shrikhand (Bombay), halwa (in general use), and many others. These preparations are all considered to be aphrodisiacal, some to such a degree that they should perhaps be regarded as medicinal forms rather than articles of ordinary consumption. It is stated that in preparing these mixtures copper vessels are sometimes used or copper coins immersed in the process, and doubtless the toxic and tonic drugs mentioned in connection with the preparation of drinks sometimes enter into them.
430. Hemp is sometimes compounded into cakes made of gram flour. It is used as a seasoning in the cooking of various dishes, those composed of meat as well as others. More than one witness in more than one province mentions this use at parties to make fun of the guests. A witness from the Punjab describes how powdered bhang is sometimes wrapped in dhatura leaves, the whole enclosed in a covering of clay and baked. It is not clear whether the cooked substance is eaten or drunk. It might be either. Witnesses, speaking of the northern part of the Bombay Presidency, state that gram and dates are sometimes charged with hemp. And in Calcutta the drug is occasionally used to flavour ice-cream.
SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
443. An interesting note, entitled " The Religion of Hemp," by Mr. J. M. Campbell, C.I.E., will be found in Vol. III Appendices. In the Bombay Presidency the use of hemp in, connection with the worship of Siva, Mahadev or Shankar appears to be very common. It is referred to by many witnesses. The following description of this custom as prevailing in part of Gujarat, Kaira, and probably Ahmedabad has been furnished to the Excise Commissioner by Mr. B. E. Modi, Deputy Collector:—
" On the Shivratri day (the last day but one of the month of Magh), sacred to the god Mahadev or Shankar, bhang water is freely poured over the lingam. Mahadev is an ascetic, and is fond of bhang, and on this day it is considered a religious duty to offer him his favourite drink. From this day to the nth day of Ashad, on which day gods go to sleep, water is kept constantly dripping upon the lingam of Mahadev from an earthen pot kept above it."
Somewhat similar accounts varying in detail are given by many witnesses coming from different parts of the province, of whom some also refer to the habit which ganja smokers have of invoking the deity before placing the pipe to their lips. Others also refer to hemp as required in the worship of Baldeo and to its use at the Shimga or Holi festival. The Marwaris and some other classes appear to use bhang at marriages and other festivities. Mr. Charles, Collector of Belgaum, says that among Musalmans and Marathas the ganja plant is offered to dead relatives who used it in their lifetime at the time of the anniversary ceremonies of their death. There appears to be no special custom of worshipping the hemp plant itself. R. K. Kothavale, of Satara district, says the hemp plant is worshipped by one sect only, namely, by people from Northern India and Nepal, while Mr. Lamb, Collector of Alibag, remarks that some of the Kunbis who make offerings to the local divinities of their fields at the harvest season include a small quantity of ganja in the offerings.
EFFECTS - PHYSICAL
506. Thirteen commissioned medical officers were examined in Bombay, of whom three were examined only regarding asylum procedure in relation to insanity. Of the remaining ten, Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel McConaghy (witness No. 69) is an officer of nearly 25 years' service, fifteen of which have been passed in the Civil Department. He stated that the moderate use of bhang or ganja does not impair the constitution in any way. Surgeon-Major Kirtikar (witness No. 73) has served over sixteen years, eleven of which have been in civil employ. He stated: "I have not seen nor have I heard from any reliable source of dysentery, asthma, or bronchitis being traced to the use of hemp in moderation. European physicians use it for the cure of dysentery." Surgeon-Major Boyd (witness No. 67), of about seventeen years' service, of which three-anda-half years have been in military employ, stated: "Neither have I known any cases where it caused dysentery, bronchitis, and asthma." Surgeon-Major Parakh (witness No. 66) does not refer to specific diseases being induced. In his paper he refers to "homicidal insanity" being due to the moderate use, but in his oral examination he stated that probably he had in mind cases due to excessive use, and his reply should be taken as referring to the excessive use. Surgeon-LieutenantColonel Bartholomeusz (witness No. 68), of over twenty years' service, stated: "I have not seen a sufficient number of cases to enable me to give a definite opinion;" and he does not deal with excessive use. Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel J. Arnott (witness No. 65), of about twenty-five years' service, replies to the question dealing with effects of moderate use by entering the word "yes" four times without explanation; and he does not answer the question which treats of excessive use. Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel G. A. Maconachie (witness No. 64), of about twenty-five years' service, stated that he knows nothing about the subject. SurgeonColonel D. Hughes (witness No. 74), of twenty-seven years' service, of which fourteen were in military employ, is Principal Medical Officer in Bombay, Deesa and Aden districts. He stated: "I think the smoking of charas causes asthma and bronchitis, as I well remember cases of these diseases in the 24th Bombay Infantry which were ascribed by the hospital assistant and the men's comrades to charas smoking, and which recovered in hospital quicker than cases due to ordinary causes." On crossexamination the witness said: "I remember that when the yearly inspection for pension took place...... a number of men, of service only just long enough to earn pension, came up suffering from bronchitis and asthma. They were generally weak and broken down in appearance, but this may have been caused by voluntary starvation...... It was explained to me that they owed this illness to charas smoking. I did not certify in any case that the illness of a man who was granted pension was due to charas. I am bound to state that an applicant's disease was not aggravated by vice or intemperance, but I took no notice of the use of the drug in any of these cases, because I did not attach sufficient importance to the statements made to me, and was not sure that they were correct." This evidence, rejected at the time, is the only basis of the opinion now expressed. Surgeon-MajorGeneral Turnbull (witness No. 63), of 33 years' service, Surgeon-General with the Government of Bombay, stated: "I have no personal experience of the effects of the hemp drugs on the people." Surgeon-Major D. C. Davidson (witness No. 71) stated: "So far as I can learn, the moderate use of ganja in smoking does not appear to be either physically or mentally injurious, generally speaking."
Eleven officers belonging to the assistant surgeon and qualified private practitioner class were examined. Witness No. 76 stated: "I think it does not cause dysentery, bronchitis, or asthma." Witness No. 90 stated: "It does produce dry cough eventuating in bronchitis or asthma, but it does not seem to produce dysentery, so far as my experience goes." Witness No. 91 gives a negative reply to ill effects being caused by moderate use. Witness No. 79 stated: "I have not noticed any other disease to result from occasional or moderate use of ganja or bhang in any form." The disease referred to was general atrophy, and death from the use of majum. Witness No. 77 stated that no ill effects are produced. Witness No. 78 stated that he has had no opportunity for observing effects. Witness No. 82 stated that injurious effects are produced. "It is a popular belief amongst the ganja smokers that a long-continued habit produces diarrhœa and dysentery, unless these evils are counteracted by an abundant supply of wholesome food, with especially a liberal allowance of ghee and other oleaginous materials. My experience supports the above made statement." Witness No. 80 stated that no ill effects are produced. Witness No. 81 stated that the use does not cause bronchitis or dysentery. Witness No. 97 stated: "It causes dysentery and other derangements of the bowels;" but the witness fails to discriminate between the effects of the moderate and excessive use. Ismail Jan Mahomed, L.M.S., (witness No. 96), stated: "Many cases of chronic diarrhœa and dysentery, as well as chronic bronchitis and asthma, are seen in those who use ganja." The witness, however, does not answer the question dealing with results of excessive use, and does not discriminate between the two uses of the drug.
Seven witnesses of the hospital assistant class were examined. Witness No. 83, of nearly 30 years' standing, stated: "I have not sufficient information to answer this question." Witness No. 84 does not discriminate between the moderate and excessive use of the drugs. Witness No. 85 stated: "I do not think that habitual moderate use of any of these drugs produces any noxious effects." Hospital Assistant Sudashio Waman (No. 86), of twelve years' service, stated that the habitual moderate use of the drug in certain constitutions produces noxious effects, causes bronchitis and asthma, but not dysentery. On cross-examination the witness stated: "The constitutions affected injuriously by the moderate use of hemp drugs are nervous and weak constitutions. In small quantities the drugs would do no harm to a healthy person." Witness No. 87 stated that ganja causes bronchitis and occasionally asthma. Witness No. 88 stated that no ill effects are caused. Hospital Assistant Purson Singh (witness No. 89) has had nearly 25 years' service in the Medical Department. He stated: "It causes chronic bronchitis and asthma, but cures dysentery."
Eight witnesses of the unqualified native practitioner class were examined. Witness No. 111 is a druggist and chemist, and stated that no ill effects are produced. Witnesses Nos. 98 and 99, vaidyas, gave similar evidence to the last witness. Witness No. 100, also a vaidya, stated no ill effects are caused by the moderate use of bhang; but he does not express any opinion on the effects caused by moderate use of ganja. Witness No. 92 is described as a medical practitioner of 27 years' experience, and does not think that noxious effects are produced. Witness No. 93, also a medical practitioner, stated: "They do not cause dysentery, bronchitis, or asthma, but, on the contrary, do good to these diseases." Witness No. 94 does not reply. Witness No. 95, also a medical practitioner, stated: "I have not met with any cases in which the habitual moderate use of bhang has produced any noxious effects, ..................... but I believe the habitual moderate use of ganja and charas does produce some noxious effect physically, mentally, and morally."
THE POLICY OF HEMP DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Opinions in favour of prohibition of ganja.
582. For the prohibition of ganja or charas in Bombay and Sind, we have the following advocates: in Bombay two mamlatdars, a hospital assistant, and a medical practitioner; and in Sind a health officer, two hospital assistants, and a banker. There is not much that need be quoted from the evidence of these witnesses. It may be noted that the Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc. (1), holds that the policy of Government in relation to the hemp drugs should be one of restriction, as far as restriction is possible, and that, if absolute prohibition were possible, he thinks it would be a good thing. Owing, however, to the fact that the territories of the Bombay Presidency interlace so extensively with foreign territory, and to the feeling which would be aroused among the consumers and those who sympathize with them, it would in his opinion be impossible or undesirable. The Secretary to the Arya Samaj in Bombay (109) states that while fully sympathising with the objects of the Commission, which are apparently understood to be the restriction or prohibition of the drugs, the Arya Samaj "is of opinion that any Governmental action in the direction of further restricting the preparation and sale of the drug will be productive of very little good. The Samaj believes that education of the masses is the only proper and effective remedy for correcting such baneful habits, and fears that any compulsion in this matter is likely to drive the consumers of these comparatively innocuous drugs to the use of more injurious intoxicants that are plentifully supplied to the people like the various preparations containing alcohol." The Samaj prays that the Government will devise measures for the restriction of the sale of European liquor in India, and leave the hemp drugs to themselves. The only thorough advocate of prohibition whose opinion is worth specifying is Rao Sahib Shesho Krisna Madkavi (41), who considers such prohibition very necessary, and holds that, although there would be temporary discontent among the consumers, such discontent would not amount to a political danger, "the people in this part of the country being loyal and of mild nature, and the proportion of the persons using bhang and ganja to the general population being too small to be taken into consideration."
583. On the other hand, the opinions against prohibition are weighty. The following may be specially quoted :—
(1) Prohibition impossible or unnecessary, or could not be enforced without a large preventive establishment.
(1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc.
(3) Mr. Vidal, Chief Secretary to Government.
(10) Mr. Monteath, Collector.
(12) Mr. Cumine, Acting Collector.
(53) Mr. Vincent, C.I.E., Officiating Commissioner of Police.
(110) Rai Bahadur Vishvanath Keshava Joglekar, Merchant.
(2) Prohibition would be strongly resented by religious mendicants, or would be regarded as an interference with religion, or would be likely to become a political danger.
(1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc.
(2) Mr. Reid, Commissioner. (10) Mr. Monteath, Collector.
(8) Mr. Lely, Collector.
(59) Mr. Foard, Superintendent of Police.
(57) Mr. Austin, District Superintendent of Police.
(54) Mr. Kennedy, District Superintendent of Police.
(26) Khan Bahadur Dadabhai Dinshaji, Deputy Collector.
(38) Mr. Almon, Assistant Collector of Abkari.
(49) Yashvantrao Nilkanth, Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner.
(104) Desaibhai Kalidas, Pleader.
(46) Balkrishna Narayan Vaidija, State Karbhari.
(39) Rai Sahib Ganesh Pandurang Thakur, Mamlatdar.
(110) Rai Bahadur Vishvanath Keshava Joglekar, Merchant.
(100) Parbhuram Jeewanram, Vaidya.
(115) Nanu Mian B. Shekh, Municipal Secretary, Surat.
(3) Prohibition might lead to use of dhatura or other intoxicants worse than ganja.
(1) Hon'ble T. D. Mackenzie, Commissioner of Abkari, etc.
(6) Mr. Sinclair, Collector.
(53) Mr. Vincent, C.I.E., Officiating Commissioner of Police.
(49) Yashvantrao Nilkanth, Superintendent, Office of Survey Commissioner.
(62) Rao Sahib Pranshankar, Inspector of Police.
(102) Ramchandra Krishna Kothavale, Inamdar.
(109) Secretary, Arya Samaj, Bombay.
EXISTING SYSTEMS DESCRIBED.
Law in force.
625. The system of administration is based upon the Bombay Act V of 1878, and rules and notifications thereunder. The principal provisions are as follows:—
Export is prohibited save under the same conditions. This provision does not apply to drugs imported by sea, the export of which is permitted on payment of any fee or duty, if any, leviable by law on its transhipment or exportation (section 10).
Transport of any quantity of intoxicating drugs exceeding 40 tolas is prohibited save under permit (section 12).
Manufacture is prohibited save under license (section 14).
Sale is prohibited save under license: provided that no such license is necessary for the sale by a cultivator or owner of any plant from which an intoxicating drug is produced of those portions of the plant from which the intoxicating drug is manufactured or produced to a licensed vendor, manufacturer, or exporter (section 16).
The maximum quantity which may be sold by retail at one time or to one and the same person in the aggregate on any one day within any defined local area or place is half an Indian sér or 40 tolas (section 17 and notifications thereunder).
Whenever a license is granted for the manufacture or sale of any intoxicating drug, and whenever the import, export, transport, or removal from place to place of any intoxicating drug is permitted, such duty shall be levied as the Collector, acting under the general or special order of Government, thinks fit (section 27).
Under this section notifications have been issued prescribing that the duty leviable on account of a license for the joint privileges of manufacture and retail sale of intoxicating drugs shall be fixed by the Collector, who before granting any such license shall put up the said privileges to auction.
For a permit for the import or export of any intoxicating drug, or for its transport between any two places not situated within the same district, duty subject to certain exemptions is levied at the following rate:—
If the amount does not exceed 10 Indian maunds...Rs. 5
For every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof...Rs. 1
Every license, permit, or pass granted under the Act is granted—
(a) on payment of such fees, if any,
(b) for such period,
(c) subject to such restrictions and on such conditions, and
(d) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as Government directs (section 30).
626. The wild plant is not much found in Bombay. There is cultivation of hemp for the production of ganja in a few districts, principally in Ahmednagar and Satara. The average for five years is 874 acres. The cultivator has to obtain a permit, for which no fee is levied, to enable him to dispose of his produce. The Excise Commissioner states that the cultivation is noted and watched by the village officers, and he cannot dispose of his crop without obtaining the necessary permit. There is not much evidence of the cultivation of plants in homesteads and enclosures for private use, but Mr. Sinclair, Collector of Thana, alludes to such cultivation as occurring in many private gardens. The amounts of imports of ganja from other provinces given in the statistics supplied by the Commissioner of Excise show an average for the last ten years of 1,820 maunds, and that officer in his memorandum states that the imports are chiefly from the Central Provinces. In view of the evidence the figures seem excessive, and a doubt suggests itself to the Commission whether imports from district to district have not been included.
Charas is imported in very small quantities from the Punjab. Except in the City of Bombay, it is hardly known. Bhang is produced to a small extent in Gujarat and Palanpur. It is imported from Ujjain. The average imports for the last ten years amount to 87 maunds, but not much reliance can be placed on these figures. Probably wherever the hemp plant is grown for ganja, a certain amount of bhang is also produced.
Bombay is intersected with a large number of Native States, in some of which ganja is grown. The illicit import of this ganja does not seem to be very extensive, but owing to the cheapness of the drug in these States, and to the high maximum of legal possession (40 tolas), it is inevitable that a certain amount of smuggling should take place, and this is considered to be the case by several witnesses.
627. The rules provide that the joint privilege of manufacture and retail sale at one or more shops shall be auctioned. The vendors are the only importers of the drugs, and there are no wholesale dealers acting as middlemen between the cultivators and the farmers of retail vend. The farmers pay import and transport duties as above described. As a rule the farm of the drugs for a whole district is sold to a single vendor. The retail shops are usually fixed by the Collector. The total number of retail licenses has been very constant for some years, the average for the last ten years being 373. The number of shops, however, is larger, averaging 647 for the last ten years. The form of retail license contains no provision regarding consumption on the premises, nor regarding the persons to whom the drugs may be supplied. There is no fixed rule regarding "local option." In some districts it is attended to carefully. Any representation by the inhabitants would have full consideration, but representations relating to the location of shops are seldom received.
632. Bombay.—Cultivation and manufacture not controlled. Ganja produced to a considerable extent. Amount imported uncertain. Taxation light, there being no direct duty beyond import duty of 8 annas per maund. Charas hardly used, except in Sind. Bhang little known.
PROVINCIAL SYSTEMS EXAMINED.
658. In Madras and Bombay the general opinion among local officers appears to prevail that no changes are necessary, though the Commission have reason to believe that these Governments recognise the impossibility of continuing the present state of affairs in view of general considerations affecting the whole of India. A seizure of 14 maunds 24 sérs of Madras ganja imported by sea to Calcutta was made in January 1894. When the Madras Collector of Customs was communicated with and asked to enquire full particulars and take action if he considered it necessary, he replied to the Calcutta authorities asking under what law he was desired to interfere. The Madras Act contains full provisions regarding the import and export of drugs; but these provisions have not been extended to the province. In view of the illicit imports into Burma from Madras, regarding which there is ample evidence from the former province, of the complaints from Mysore which are mentioned in Chapter XVII, and of the cheapness of the drug, there can be no doubt that reforms are urgently required. The system in Bombay is somewhat more formulated, but in view of the large amount of ganja produced, and the still lower price of the drug in the producing districts, there is no less need of an improvement in the system of administration. The annexed table gives a comparative view of the cultivation and taxation of ganja in these provinces, and in Bengal and the Central Provinces. The only comparison which can be made is that of total taxation per acre of reported cultivation, because the areas of cultivation and totals of taxation are the only figures on which any reliance can be placed in these two presidencies:—
659. The Bengal figure in columns 4, 5 and 6 represents nearly the whole of the revenue levied on all the ganja produced on the area given in column 2, as the Assam and Kuch Behar duties, which are not levied in Bengal, have been added. The only item which cannot be added is that portion of the North-Western Provinces license fees which is due to the sale in those provinces of Bengal ganja. If this is calculated according to the proportionate amount of such ganja, it would not materially affect the calculation. If a similar calculation is made to determine the amount of the license fees due to the sale of Khandwa ganja in the North-Western Provinces, about Rs. 1,57,000 would have to be added to columns 5 and 6 of the Central Provinces figures, and the result of this will be to raise the average revenue per acre of cultivation in column 7 from Rs. 219 to Rs. 393. Some of the Khandwa ganja also finds its way into Bombay and Berar and other tracts, and pays duty there in the form of license fees; so the average per acre of Rs. 393 is still under the mark, but in any case the taxation thus calculated is very much less than in Bengal.
On the other hand, the average revenue per acre for Madras and Bombay is probably over the mark, as the amounts in column 6 represent the license fees paid for all the hemp drugs and not ganja only; and in the sales effected under these licenses is included a certain amount of ganja, at all events in Bombay, imported from other provinces. Against this, however, must be set the fact that both the presidencies export ganja, — in Madras to the extent of about one-seventh of the total produce, and in Bombay to the extent of more than one half. But as the bulk of these exports goes to Native States, or is exported by sea, no revenue is realized therefrom, and the figures of column 7 are therefore on the whole probably in excess of the true figures. The general conclusion is that as compared with Bengal, or even with the Central Provinces, the taxation of the ganja produced in Madras and Bombay is very light.
661. The system in Bombay, which was introduced in 1880, does not seem to have been brought under discussion since that time. The Commissioner of Excise states that the subject attracted little attention till the Commission was appointed. The Commissioner of the Northern Division says that the system seems to have grown up in a haphazard way. The subject has been treated mainly from the revenue point of view, and the control exercised has not been strict. At the same time the area of regular ganja cultivation in Bombay seems to be considerably larger than in any other province; and if measures with a view to restriction in consumption are necessary anywhere, they certainly appear to be so in this Presidency.
662. The Commission on a full review of the whole circumstances connected with the ganja administration have framed the opinion that cultivation of the hemp plant for the production of narcotics in Madras and Bombay should be prohibited except under license, and that the licensed cultivators should be restricted to a limited area as in Bengal and the Central Provinces. They are of opinion that no greater difficulties exist in this respect than have been already overcome in these provinces. A few remarks are offered in justification of this view.
663. First.—In Madras and Bombay, as was formerly the case in Bengal and the Central Provinces, the regular cultivation is already confined to limited areas. There is practically scarcely any regular field cultivation of ganja except in the Kistna and North Arcot districts of Madras and the Ahmednagar and Satara districts of Bombay; and the prohibition of cultivation in other districts will involve no serious difficulty. And though the ultimate inclusion of all the ganja cultivation in an area more circumscribed than that of two whole districts is desirable and probably feasible, still the limitation even thus far would be a considerable step in the right direction.
664. Secondly.—If it be objected that the prohibition of occasional cultivation of a few plants in the private gardens or enclosures of individuals will be difficult to enforce, to this the Commission would reply— (1) This difficulty has been overcome in Bengal, Assam, and the Central Provinces, in parts of which, as abundantly established by the evidence taken by the Commission, this sporadic cultivation was equally prevalent. (2) The difficulty is not so great as it seems; for whereas at first sight it seems that it would be necessary in order to enforce the prohibition to increase establishments and exercise vexatious interference with the people, such has not been found from experience gained in other provinces to be actually the case. The difficulty of concealing the plant and the evidence of illegality involved in the mere existence of a prohibited plant in occupied lands, coupled with a legal prohibition, has in fact sufficed almost to exterminate such growth in tracts where ganja is produced with a minimum of prosecutions and penalties.
665. Thirdly.—If it be objected that the wild hemp plant growing in unoccupied lands is so plentiful that, even if the prohibition against cultivation is successful, ample opportunity will still be found to bring a large amount of ganja into the market from this source, to this the Commission reply— (1) That the ganja derived from such spontaneous growth, untended and unimproved, is so inferior as to obviate all likelihood of its competing with the cultivated ganja. (2) That wild hemp in the strict sense is not found in tracts removed from human habitations, past or present; and the amount of ganja capable of being smoked which can be procured from such growth will not interfere with the success of the proposal.
666. Fourthly.—If it be objected that the ganja produced in Native States adjoining the Madras and Bombay Presidencies cannot be kept out of the province, and that this fact alone vitiates the scheme, to this the Commission reply—
(1) That even if this be so, the same may be said of the provinces where cultivation is controlled; and while the arrangements of these provinces are, no doubt, affected by the proximity of Native States, they are nevertheless sufficiently successful for practical purposes. (2) That there is nothing to prevent the Government from entering into negotiations with the States (as has been done in the case of the Central Provinces, apparently with marked success) for mutual co-operation in the interests of the excise revenue, and the Commission (vide Chapter XVII) are prepared to recommend that this should be done.
668. In Bombay, though several witnesses say that further control is unnecessary, three of whom are under the impression that licenses are already required for cultivation, there is no opinion adverse to its restriction on other grounds. The following officers see no serious objection to restriction of cultivation:
669. The Commission are further of opinion that control and limitation of cultivation must be accompanied with such supervision of the manufacture and storage of the crop as is necessary to the imposition of a fixed duty on ganja in addition to the fees for licensed vend which are at present levied. In regard to both these matters, the experience of Bengal and the Central Provinces is available, though the systems differ at present as to storage.
670. That there is room for the imposition of a duty on ganja in both presidencies can hardly be doubted. In Madras, though there are several officers of standing who are satisfied with the present arrangement, there is no protest against increasing the duty, while a few witnesses are in favour of increasing the price of the drugs. Mr. Willock, Collector, says: "I am not opposed to an increase of the price of the drug where practicable." Mr. Bradley, Collector, says: "At present I do not think hemp drugs are sufficiently taxed with reference to alcohol." Other advocates of increased taxation are: a District Surgeon, a District Forest Officer, a Deputy Tahsildar, two medical practitioners, a jagirdar, a pleader, a merchant, a newspaper editor, bank cashier, and three missionaries. In Bombay there is also a good deal of evidence as to the needlessness of further interference on taxation; but there is at the same time weighty evidence in favour of increased taxation. Mr. Mackenzie says: "I think the taxation of the hemp drugs in this Presidency might be raised; but the question would require details and careful examination. The ganja of this Presidency is roughly manufactured, though the cultivation is careful enough. A direct tax would necessitate the adoption of a system of distinct wholesale vend. I see no objections to that, as the tax does not fall on the cultivator. The variations in the retail price shown in paragraph 8 of my memorandum are, no doubt, excessive, and seem to indicate that there is room for taxation to regulate the wholesale rates of the drug." Mr. Vidal says: "In view of the higher taxation in other provinces, I see no reason why there should not be a higher direct tax in this province. The disproportion between the taxation of liquor and of hemp drugs, and the relative dearness of liquor which results from this, also points to the propriety of increasing taxation on hemp drugs." Mr. Monteath, Collector, says: "I think the present system of excise administration in respect of hemp drugs has worked fairly well, but that the time has come for putting these drugs on the same footing as alcoholic stimulants and opium. Hitherto the consumption of preparations of hemp has not been extensive, and so long as it was very small, the farm of the right to sell, as dispensing with the need of any preventive establishment, was perhaps more suitable. But it seems that not only in this district (Bijapur), but throughout the Presidency, the amounts bid for the right to sell have been increasing, and it may fairly be inferred that the habit of consuming these drugs is spreading. It cannot, indeed, be said yet to be prevalent; still the total consumption is, I think, sufficient to make it worth while to impose an excise duty; it is already in this district much in excess of the consumption of opium, though insignificant as compared with the consumption of alcoholic stimulants, particularly toddy. It is, I believe, generally admitted that the system of deriving a revenue by farming the right to sell is suitable only in the earliest stage, and that the levy of an excise duty is the fairest and most satisfactory method of taxing an article produced in the country. Now the levy of an excise duty on preparations of hemp will present no difficulties in this Presidency. The existing abkari establishments would probably suffice for the levy of the duty, or at least would require strengthening to but a small extent. The levy of an excise duty would not, I think, excite any opposition. An alteration in the form of duty could not reasonably be objected to." Mr. Ebden, Collector, says: "The hemp drugs are very much cheaper than liquor now. For a pice a man can get enough ganja to last him for a week if he is a moderate consumer. There is, therefore, considerable margin for heavier taxation of the drug without driving the people to liquor or other intoxicants. I consider there is a considerable margin for taxation, though the drug is consumed by the very poor. I have no sympathy with the excessive consumer, and the moderate consumer would not feel a moderate increase." Mr. Sinclair, Collector, says: "I consider there is a margin for increasing taxation, having regard to the price of other intoxicants, the fact that the drugs are mainly used by the poor, and the danger of smuggling." Mr. Almon, Assistant Collector, Bombay, says: "My impression is that the tax on the drugs is too low. I think that the ordinary liquor consumer pays twice as much for what he wants as the ordinary ganja consumer would, or three times as much as the ordinary bhang drinker. I think the rates should be equalized." Other advocates of increased taxation are three Deputy Collectors, the Administrator of the Jath State, an Assistant to the Commissioner, an inamdar, a mamlatdar, a pleader, and a drug farmer.
671. In view of these opinions, as well as of the general considerations which have been explained above, the Commission have no hesitation in advocating the gradual assimilation of the Madras and Bombay systems to that in force in Bengal. The process of arriving at adequate taxation must necessarily be gradual, but a commencement should be made without any further delay. The present is the time for this measure, while consumption of ganja is still believed by the authorities to be very limited. It cannot but be the case that the enormous difference between the taxation of liquor and ganja is an incentive to the increase in the drug habit, and such an inconsistency between the arrangements of different provinces and the administration of the excise on different kinds of intoxicants cannot, in their opinion, be any longer maintained.
(d) Licensing of shops.
683. A separate license should be granted for each shop. This is ordinarily the practice, but there are exceptions. None should be permitted. The District Officer should watch the auction bids and refuse to renew licenses if they only amount to a nominal figure. The principle should be to supply a real demand, not to create one; and if the demand only exists to a very limited extent, the danger of stimulating it must prevail against the convenience of the very limited number of consumers. The number of the population per retail license in the different provinces in 1892-93 was as follows:—
Souls. Bengal 23,560 Assam 19,975 North-Western Provinces 12,012 Punjab 12,869 Central Provinces 9,109 Madras 144,781 Bombay 43,528 Sind 4,478 Berar 6,061 Ajmere 30,130 Coorg 28,842
The number of shops in Madras is only 246, and the allegation of some of the witnesses that there is no need for shops because the consumers of ganja can get ganja when they require it from the cultivators receives confirmation from these statistics. In Bombay the number of shops is stated to be nearly double the number of retail licenses, and the difference is not explained. The number of souls per shop is only 24,681. No doubt density of population is an element in the consideration, and thinly populated tracts will require more shops proportionally than where population is dense; but the number of shops in the North-Western Provinces, Punjab, Central Provinces, Sind, and Berar seem to require attention with reference to these remarks. A considerable reduction of shops has been under consideration in the North-Western Provinces which was to come into force in 1893-94.
689. In Bombay and Sind the Act (V of 1878) prescribes the limit fixed by the Government for retail sale as the limit of possession. This limit has been fixed by notification for the whole Presidency at 40 tolas or half an Indian sér for all intoxicating drugs. There is a considerable amount of evidence in Bombay that this limit is too high. Mr. Mackenzie says that it might be very considerably reduced, and four Collectors, Messrs. Campbell, Monteath, Woodward, and Lely, recommend the adoption of 5 tolas as the limit for ganja. Eleven other witnesses in this province advocate reduction of the maximum. In Sind there are fewer opinions on the subject, but there also the reduction of the limit is recommended by three witnesses.
SYSTEMS OF THE NATIVE STATES.
737. The principles of administration in many of the Native States under the Bombay Government are similar to those in British territory; and the conditions as regards growth of the hemp plant and its cultivation are also similar. Sale of the drugs appears to be invariably controlled. Here also any advance in the administration of the hemp drugs in British territory must be accompanied by the co-operation of the States. The mode in which this can be done need not be detailed. It is undertsood that the Bombay Excise Act has been adopted by many of the States, and it is probable that there will be no difficulty in securing a further development of their system if this is undertaken in British territory.
MEMORANDUM ON HEMP DRUGS IN BOMBAY, BY THE HON'BLE T. D. MACKENZIE, COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS, SALT, OPIUM AND ABKARI
(a) in the Note attached to the letter from the Secretary, Hemp Drugs Commission, No. 29, dated 11th August 1893—vide Government Resolution in the Revenue Department, No. 6123, dated 2:3rd idem; and
(b) in the series of questions appended to the letter from the Secretary, No. 34, dated 12th August 1893, furnished with Government Resolution in the Revenue Department, No. 6161, dated 24th idem.
The questions in Chapters I, III, and V are in great measure amplifications of the points noted for report under head (a). Those in Chapter VI will presumably be considered and answered by medical and police experts, while those in Chapter VII relate to the administration, taxation, and control of intoxicating drugs.
(b) of the various preparations made from ganja.
(c) of the purposes for which they are used and the classes of people who use them;
and it forms a valuable contribution to the literature of a subject concerning which but little has hitherto been ascertained in this presidency.
4. Before further discussing the various matters touched upon, I must express regret that it is impossible to obtain the statistics required by the Commission for a period of twenty years—
2nd, because statistics of the kind required have not heretofore been prescribed, and,
3rd, because many of the papers which would have given information have, under standing orders, not been preserved, and during the term of years from 1880 there have been many different farmers in the various districts whose accounts have passed away with their terms of office. Such statistics as are available are supplied in separate tables, but, for the reasons given above, they are not so full or so accurate as is desirable. The plain fact is that in this presidency ganja and the preparations made therefrom have not attracted very much attention either as a source of revenue, or, owing to the comparatively small consumption, as a cause of crime, or as affecting materially the moral or physical well-being of any but a very small proportion of the community.
5. The system of administration is uniform for the whole presidency, the Commissioner of Abkari is the central controlling authority, while in each district it is administered by the Collector and his subordinates in the Revenue and Abkari Departments under the provisions of the Abkari Act, V of 1878, and the rules published in accordance with sections 27 and 30 thereof under Government Notification in the Revenue Department, No. 4421, dated 23rd August 1880. That notification with the forms attached of which a copy is appended, gives in a complete and intelligible form the whole system of the administration of revenue from intoxicating drugs. It supplies almost completely answers to points (a) and (c) to (f) in the Note, and such further information as I can give will be supplementary and on matters of detail.
6. Regarding point (b) the information I have received from the various Collectors shows that wild hemp is not found anywhere in the presidency; as a consequence it is not used for the preparation of bhang or other narcotics, and it is therefore unnecessary to control the possession or sale of such drug.
7. Point (c).—The cultivation of hemp is not prohibited by law in any district, though in such districts as produce it there is a certain restriction in that the cultivator has to obtain a permit, for which, however, no fee is required to enable him to dispose of his produce. His cultivation is noted and watched by the village officers, and he cannot dispose of his crop without obtaining the necessary permit. Form B.—The districts in which hemp is grown are Khandesh, Ahmednagar, Satara, Poona, Nasik, and Sholapur in the Deccan, Bijapur in the Southern Maratha Country, and Broach and Surat in Gujarat. The cultivation, however, is on a very limited scale, as will be seen from the following table, which shows the average area under cultivation for past years so far as figures are available:—
The information under this head can be regarded only as approximately accurate, as papers relating to cultivation have not been uniformly preserved, and in several instances, e.g., Satara, the term of thirteen years is broken by an interval of five, previous to 1890-91. From ganja being cultivated almost entirely in districts where the rainfall is from moderate to scanty, it may be inferred that in those where the fall is heavy, such as the Konkan and Kanara, conditions for its growth are unfavourable.
8. Point (c).—The only importers of ganja and other hemp drugs are the licensed retail vendors, i.e., the farmers or contractors for each district or in a few cases each taluka or shop; the arrangements for import, transport, and export are stated in paragraph 3 of the notification mentioned above, and this information may be supplemented by stating that a permit has to be obtained from the Collector, Assistant Collector, or Mamlatdar, according as the drug is to be imported from outside the district, taken from one taluka to another, or from one village to another in the same taluka. When the bhang or ganja arrives it is compared with the pass by the Mamlatdar in the first two cases and by the patil in the third. The retail vendor may store the drug in his own store-room, but the Mamlatdar and Abkari officers go from time to time, and compare the quantities in store with the accounts.
9. Point (e).—The nature of the control exercised over wholesale vendors, i.e., the cultivators of hemp, and retail vendors, i.e., the contractors and their servants, and the system of licensing them have been explained above, and are further shown in the Government notification mentioned in my 5th paragraph.
10. So, too, as regards point (f). The direct tax is the levy of duty on import, transport, and export, the rates of which are specified in the notification aforesaid, viz., Rs. 5 for amounts not exceeding 10 Indian maunds; Re. 1 for every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof. The indirect tax is the sum paid by the contractor for the right to sell the drug, and that of course varies according to the sums bid in each district. No tax is levied from the wholesale vendors, the cultivators of the plant, and without legislation prohibiting the growth of the plant, I do not think that any tax could be levied, inasmuch as they pay the revenue assessment on their lands. As regards evasion by the farmers or retail sellers, they cannot possibly evade the indirect tax, because until they pay two instalments of the amounts they have bid, they cannot start their business, and if they were to fail in any of their instalments, their licenses to sell would be withdrawn. As to the direct tax, it is equally difficult for them to evade that, seeing the bulky nature of the article, the necessity for getting passes, and the series of examinations to which the consignments and the passes are subject. They have also to keep accounts, which are examined and compared with their stocks from time to time by various Government officers.
11. With reference to point( g),I may say that the retail shops are usually fixed by the Collector of the district with regard to the area and population of the locality and the demand for the drug, and it will be gathered from what has been said above that the farm for the whole district being as a rule disposed of to a single vendor, the single shops are not sold by auction. In a few districts, however, the practice has been to sell single shops by auction, an upset price being fixed, but that practice has been stopped, and for the future the farm for the whole district will be sold to a single contractor. There is no fixed rule as to "local option." In some districts it is attended to carefully, in others the Collector uses his discretion according to the information he possesses as to the demand, but in all, any representation by the inhabitants for or against the establishment of a shop would have full consideration. Such representations, however, have seldom been made.
12. Point (h).—No rate is fixed for the sale of the drug by the wholesale to the retail vendors. That is matter of arrangement between the cultivator who sells his crop and the contractor who buys it. This may perhaps be a suitable place to describe the process of cultivation and manufacture of the plant, and in describing what takes place in Nasik, it will be seen on reading the report of Mr. R. C. Artal, mentioned in paragraph 3 above, that it closely corresponds to the description given thereof in a district so far removed from it as Bijapur. The seed is sown in July or August in black soil land, which is manured. Before sowing the land is ploughed once and harrowed, and during growth the plants are watered and weeded three or four times. Some plants, which apparently are males, seed when they are about a foot high. These have at once to be pulled up, or the whole crop would be rendered useless. Experts are required to distinguish between the male and female plants. The crop is ripe in November-December, and the leaves and flowers are then cut and placed by women on clean threshing floors, where, for 4 or 5 days in succession, they are carefully trodden flat by men, women not being strong or heavy enough for the work, after which process they are packed and ready for sale by the cultivator to the retail vendor. It is very difficult to say accurately what is the average retail price for consumers, as it varies considerably in the different districts, and even in talukas of the same district according to the supply of and demand for the drug. But the following statement compiled from the reports I have received gives such information as is available:—
From the above it will be observed that local ganja varies from Re. 0-3-0 to Rs. 2-8-0 per lb., that bhang is considerably cheaper, but that in Khandesh local ganja runs as high as Rs. 2-8-0 per lb., the same price as bhang imported from Ujjain, and that even the locally made bhang is dearer there than ganja in most other districts.
13. Point( i).—The maximum quantity fixed for retail sale to and possession by one person, consumer, is 40 tolas, throughout the province, and no minimum price is fixed for the drug. That is a matter which is left to the natural law of supply and demand, and few complaints have been made regarding excessive prices. Such complaints have not infrequently been made about the price of country spirit and toddy, and the absence thereof with reference to hemp-drugs indicates not only that there is no dissatisfaction on this score, but that there is, as a rule, so small a demand for these drugs that the general public are indifferent in the matter.
14. Point (j).—The reports I have received from all districts are unanimous in saying that smuggling of these drugs is to all intents and purposes unknown. Illicit cultivation, sale, and possession may also be said not to exist. There is no reason why there should be illicit cultivation, and the crop itself is not a popular one with the cultivator as is shown by the areas under cultivation. The Collector of Khandesh reports that the area so cropped is declining and the reason is not far to seek. As the Collector of Surat puts it—"now that the sale and transport have been brought under control, only wholesale sale is allowed, and that to the licensed farmers. As ganja and bhang soon deteriorate if kept, the result is that no one grows the plant unless he has a previous contract with a purchaser. The area under the plant is confined to two or three villages, and does not extend to more than 15 to 20 acres. It is said to have been much diminished since the arrangements of 1880." The general measures taken to prevent smuggling and illicit cultivation have been indicated in previous paragraphs, i.e., the growing crops are known and watched; the cultivator cannot sell his crop save under permit and to specified persons; the Revenue, Abkari, and Police officers are entitled to examine consignments and passes for import, transport, and export; the article itself is so comparatively bulky that it could not easily escape detection by one or other of the establishments; and finally there is no such great demand for it, or so heavy duty imposed thereon, as to induce people to run the risk of detection in illicit practices.
15. Point (k).—I am not aware of any modifications of the present system in respect to hemp-drugs being under consideration. I can not see that any are urgently called for. The total revenue is small, mainly because the demand for these drugs is small, and it is easily collected. No hardship is caused either to the wholesale seller, the cultivator of the crop, the retail seller, or the consumer. No hindrance is put in the way of legitimately supplying what is an undoubted want of certain classes, no encouragement is given for excessive production, and no inducement is held out to smugglers or others to indulge in illicit practices to meet the demand for the drug. So far as this presidency is concerned, the system which was devised 13 years ago has been successful in every way as I have endeavoured to show above.
16. As to Point (l) I have in the previous paragraphs shown the extent of cultivation, and in some measure the sources of retail supply. The latter I may recapitulate as (a) the crop grown in the districts mentioned in paragraph 7 so far as it is available, and (b) the imports from the Central Provinces, small quantities from Palanpur and from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur in Northern India. The other details called for, so far as I am able to give them, will be found in the appended statement (5), under which I have entered explanatory remarks to prevent misconception of certain of the figures.
17. Turning now to the list of questions under head (b) of my 2nd paragraph, I may note that I have answered many of them in the course of this paper, and I propose therefore to refer briefly to a few only of those in Chapter V and those in Chapter VII.
Questions 23—28.—I do not gather from the information before me that bhang is smoked either in the mofussil or in Bombay City, and it appears to me, with deference, that the replies to Questions 24, 26, 28 must in the absence of a careful census be conjectural and untrustworthy. This applies also in great measure to Question 25, and although the figures of revenue from intoxicating drugs may show an apparent increase, they have to be taken with caution, as the census of 1891 shows a considerable increase of population from 1881 and the percentage of ganja consumers as ascertained from the revenue is a very doubtful factor on which to base increase or decrease. The answer to Question 31 is also purely a matter of opinion, and personal experience, either of drug consumers themselves or of those closely associated with them is necessary to answer it.
Question 32.—An interesting and curious, religious custom prevails in part of Gujarat Kaira, and probably Ahmedabad, where there are many Nagar Brahmans, which is thus described by Mr. B. E. Modi, the District Deputy Collector of Kaira: "On the Shivaratri day (the last day but one of the month of Maha), sacred to the god Mahadev or Shankar, bhang water is freely poured over the 'lingam.' Mahadev is an ascetic, and is fond of bhang, and on this day it is considered a religious duty to offer him his favourite drink. From this day until the 11th day of Ashad, on which day gods go to sleep, water is kept constantly dripping upon the 'lingam' of Mahadev from an earthen pot kept over it." Mr. Campbell, in paragraph 9 of his report, also alludes to the special consumption of bhang at the Shivaratri festival. The information that I have received from all districts in the presidency shows that moderate consumption of bhang mixed with water, milk, sugar, and spices into a cooling drink during the hot weather is a common practice amongst the fairly well-to-do classes, both of Hindus and Musalmans, and that (Question 33) it is not regarded as otherwise than respectable, it being a not unusual form of refreshment to offer to guests.
Questions 34—36.—I have every reason to believe that it would be a serious privation to consumers to forego the use of the drug to which they are accustomed. Mr. Campbell has referred to this in his report, and he is confirmed by every Collector who has written on the subject. Ascetics, both Hindu and Musalman, are amongst the chief consumers; they have considerable influence amongst large bodies of the lower classes, who on visiting them from time to time themselves partake either of ganja or bhang without, so far as I can gather, suffering injury therefrom. If the ascetics were deprived of what they regard as a solace from many of the ills that flesh is heir to, they would scarcely refrain from expressing their sentiments very freely, and impressing their own opinions on their visitors. It would of course be possible to forbid and prevent in great measure the use of any of the drugs, but I have no doubt whatever that serious discontent, which might easily amount to political danger, would be caused by such prohibition, and by interference with the customs of men who are universally regarded, by the uneducated classes at least as specially holy. It is not improbable that prohibition of the use of these drugs would stimulate the consumption of alcohol and opium, although I do not think there is any cause to believe that alcohol is taking their place at present. There is no reason why it should.
18. With regard to the questions in Chapter VII, I have already said above in paragraph 15 that I consider the present system to be working well, and have given reasons for that opinion. It may be capable of improvement, but I am unable to offer any suggestions in that direction either as regards the cultivation and preparation of the hemp plant, its control of the present system of wholesale and retail vend, export, transport, import, or taxation. Nor does it seem to me necessary that there should be different rates of taxation for different kinds of ganja. The whole trade is too trivial to bear minute detailed taxation, so far as this presidency is concerned. Such taxation would cause harassing interference and vexation, and would result in no corresponding benefit either to the public or to the Government revenues. There are not, so far as I can ascertain, houses or shops licensed in this presidency for the sale of these drugs or their preparations, where they may be consumed on the premises, and in my opinion the grant of such licenses would be most objectionable.
T. D. MACKENZIE, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari
Extract paragraphs 2 to 14 from the letter No. 562, dated 30th August 1893, from the District Deputy Collector of Bijapur.
"2. The hemp plant known as ganja is only grown in the town of Bijapur and nowhere else in the talukas under my charge. It is a domesticated plant, and does not grow wild here, and, as far as I know, nowhere in the Southern Maratha Country.
"3. It is grown generally as an irrigated crop, either in red or loamy soil well manured. The land is tilled once or twice, and then it is ploughed with a heavy hoe called ' ukkikunti' and levelled. It is afterwards sown through a seed drill, the process of sowing resembling in every respect the sowing of ordinary jowari, the space left between the rows of crops being wider. A leveller called ' dindu' is then driven over the sown area with a view to get the seeds covered over with earth. The seeds required are brought from Ahmednagar and Indore in Central India. It is said that the seeds from the latter are of a superior quality than those obtainable from the former place. As a rule the sowing takes place in July or August, and the crops are reaped within about four months from the date of sowing. If the rainfall is not sufficient, then the crop has to be watered once or twice a week. Handweeding is mostly resorted to in addition to the use of grubber or yedi-kunti. (small hoe) with a view to get rid of the grass or other weeds growing between the rows of crops. By the driving of the yedi-kunti loose surface earth also accumulates at the roots of plants. This process partly serves in keeping up moisture in the earth. When the plants grow to a height of about two feet, the operations of selecting and uprooting the male plants commence, the female plants only, as far as possible, being allowed to remain and grow to maturity. This selection can only be made by an expert called "Párakhi," and if after great care any male or staminate plants escape attention, and are allowed to grow, there is every fear of the entire crop being damaged. The female plants are said to be so sensitive that if, perchance, male ones are allowed to grow even altogether in a separate plot of ground situated in a windward position of the crops, almost all the female plants run into seeds, damaging the crops to a great extent. I am informed that separate plots of grounds were selected for growing the seeds. The experts always walk through the crops, up-rooting the male plants, and this continues up to the time the crop is harvested and gathered. The owner of the ganja farm here has secured the services of an expert from Lengri, a village in the Khanapur Taluka of the Satara district, where the drug is grown on a large scale. Here the plants grow to a height of about 6 to 8 feet. In the fourth month the side pods and the leaves are stripped off with hands, and the crown pods are cut with a knife or a scythe. The pods and the leaves thus collected are stacked in a place, and are trodden while in green state for three or four days, and when dried they are winnowed and the pods are thus separated from the leaves; this latter stuff is called bhang-powder. The experts say that it is impossible to select the seeds which produce male plants. The plant is grown in this part of the country as a narcotic drug and not as a fibre plant.
"4. The farm at Bijapur produced about 60 bags of ganja, each containing four maunds (a maund is equal to 960 tolas), worth about Rs. 180 in 1891. In the following year (1892) the yield was about four hundred maunds, worth about Rs. 800 after deducting the necessary expenses incurred in raising the crop, &c. The area sown was about 13 acres.
Ganja.
"Almost all the quantity of pods known as ganja is used up in smoking. Three to eight pods are smoked mixed with ordinary tobacco. The process of preparing the drug for the purpose of smoking consists in soaking the pods in cold water for a few minutes; they are then separated from the little stalks, and the seeds, if there be any, are thrown away. The pods thus soaked and cleaned are rubbed on the palm of the left hand with the right thumb for about a quarter of an hour, a small quantity of cold water being poured on it at short intervals and squeezed out. This rubbing is continued until the stuff gets sticky, and when this condition is obtained it is mixed with ordinary tobacco and smoked. The intoxicating property of the drug increases with the length of the time spent in rubbing it. The drug is also smoked as a medicine to check indigestion, especially in out-of-the-way places where medical aid is not available. It is largely used by the following classes of people:—
(2) and to a great extent weavers, drummers ,fiddlers, the gavayyis (singers), and to some extent day-labourers and also a very low class of prostitutes.
"6. It is administered mixed in sugar by professional thieves to travellers, &c., with a view to make them insensible and then rob them of their property. The drugged sugar is prepared as follows:—
Ganja is mixed with madan-masta, madan-kamsi, and the seeds of black dhatura trees (all medicinal plants). All these ingredients are reduced to fine powder. A tola weight of this powder is mixed up in a kucha seer of sugar, and then administered as Deviprasad. This sort of use of the drug, as far as I know, is resorted to at big fairs by professional thieves, though now on a very small scale, in this part of the country; but the extent to which it was administered with impunity by a Mahomedan and his companions some years ago in the Belgaum district can be seen by a reference to the confessions recorded by the Superintendent of the Operations for the suppression of the Thugee and Dacoity Department, and printed at pages 49 to 67 of the book called 'Selections from the Records of Government in the Police Branch of the Judicial Department, No. I of 1853, Old Series.'
"7. Charas is one of the by-products of the hemp plant. It is the exudation of the flowers, leaves, young twigs, and barks of the stems. It is a resinous substance which accumulates itself on the palms of hands and fingers when stripping off the pods and leaves, and is scraped off and made into small balls. This narcotic is produced on a very small scale in this part of the country, and is smoked mixed up with ordinary tobacco. It is said that this stuff is more intoxicating than ganja, and being costly is rarely used.
Ghota.
"This drink is prepared as follows:—Some quantity of bhang powder is slightly parched in the first instance, and is then carefully washed to remove impurities from it. It is then ground on a stone mixed with water. The stuff thus prepared is strained. The liquid is then mixed with the powder of black-pepper, poppy, and anise-seeds and other spices according to the taste and means of the drinkers. Jaggery or sugar and milk are also, added to the preparation, and it is drunk both by the rich and poor as a cool beverage, especially during the hot season. This drink is not considered injurious to health. The fakirs and mendicants have special liking for this beverage.
"9. This is one of the intoxicating preparations in which bhang powder has to be used. It is prepared as follows:—Ordinary jowari flour is soaked in water for a night, which is boiled the next morning, and the kosht-kolanjan (the roots of Costus Arabicus), kuchla (Nux vomica), and bhang powder are then mixed in it. Some mix the powder of the roots of aconite with a view to increase the strength of the drink. The mixture thus prepared is then spread on a mat and allowed to dry in the shade. This stuff is called 'kanya.' A second preparation, called mávyáche peith, is next prepared. Best sort of jowári is soaked in water for 11 days until the grain germinates. The jowari is then dried in the sun and ground into fine flour. The two stuffs, viz., kanya and mávyáche peith, when proportionately mixed up, produce a fluid substance like nuchhu, the common staple food of all classes of people in this part of the country. This fluid substance is then stored up in a big earthen vessel called ránjan and allowed to ferment therein. A small quantity of this preparation is mixed with water, which is strained and drunk. No sugar or jaggery is used in preparing this drink. It produces a strong intoxication to such an extent that the customers seldom leave the premises of shops, but lie down there quietly until the intoxication subsides. The drink has a very sour smell, and is used only during the hot season. It is sold in common earthen pots called 'moghas.' I am further informed that the contractors, with a view to make good profits out of their farm, buy deteriorated or rotten jowári for preparing the stuff called 'kanya.' Boja farm has not been sold in the district, nor do I hear of any people of any class resorting to this drink.
"10. Majun, commonly called 'majum,' is another preparation of bhang and is prepared in small cakes. Its preparation is as follows:—Ghi is allowed to boil in water for three days and is then mixed with bhang powder and boiled. When boiling it a second time, some quantity of ghi is added to the preparation, and while it is lukewarm, spices, such as cardamoms, saffron, dried ginger, sugar or jaggery,& c.,a re put in. The stuff thus prepared is then poured in a tray, and when cooled is cut into small cakes. It is used by both Hindus and Mahomedans, who are generally addicted to the vice. It is given occasionally to the sick as a sleeping draught, especially in small villages where medical aid is not available. Some use it as a nervine tonic.
"11. This preparation is in the form of a powder and is prepared as follows:— Bhang powder is carefully washed in the first instance. A very small quantity of ghi is put in it and is slightly parched on a frying pan. The stuff is then reduced to fine powder, which is mixed with poppy-seeds and sugar. It is used chiefly by Mahomedans and other people who are given up to the vice.
"12. Bhang powder is also given, especially to plough cattle, as a tonic or preventive against inclement weather in the Mallad part of the country (i.e., districts situated close to the Sayhadri ranges). In a like manner it is also given in various forms to horses.
"13. Oil is extracted from the ganja seeds just as that from the safflower and other oil seeds. Generally the oil is used for burning lamps, but when fresh it is also used, however very rarely, for culinary purposes.
"14. Chutney is also made from the seeds. For this purpose the seeds are slightly parched and mixed with chilly, salt, and other spices. The several ingredients are then well pounded and used as chutney with bread. It has a good taste. The seeds form one of the ingredients in native tonic medicines prepared by native doctors."
No.A /426,dated the 1st September 1893.
From—J. M. CAMPBELL, Esq., C.I.E., Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium, Bombay,
To—The HON'BLE T. D. MACKENZIE, Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari.
With reference to your letter No. 8741, dated the 21st July last, I have the honour to report that the preparations of hemp known as ganja, bhang, and charas are consumed in the town and island of Bombay.
2. The hemp plant from which these drugs are obtained is not cultivated in the island of Bombay. Ganja is procured from the Deccan, chiefly from Ahmednagar, Nasik, and Satara; bhang from Surat and Palanpur in North Gujarat; and charas from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur in Northern India.
3. As the hemp plant is not grown in Bombay, I trust I am right in thinking that any account of the cultivation or process of manufacture, would be out of place in the present report.
4. Except a few women of loose character, the consumption of hemp-drugs is confined in Bombay to the male portions of the Hindu and Mahomedan communities. Ganja and charas are smoked with tobacco in the ordinary pipes or chilams; bhang and garda, the droppings of ganja, are drunk mixed with various spices; and the sweetmeats, májum, yákuti, and gulkand, whose intoxicating qualities are due to the presence of bhang or garda, are eaten. The preparation and sale of bálagolis, or children's pills, made with ganja instead of with opium, is now prohibited.
5. Ganja is smoked by Mahomedans of the working class, by fakirs or Mahomedan beggars, and by Hindu sadhus or ascetics, and labourers. Charas is smoked by Pathans, fakirs, sadhus, and people from Northern India. Bhang and garda are drunk by Mahomedans, and among Hindus by Brahmans, Banias, Bhatias, and other classes to whom their caste rules forbid the use of spirits. The sweetmeats májum, yákuti, and gulkand are eaten chiefly by Hindus from Northern India. Garda is at times given to buffaloes and bhang to horses as a tonic. Except with the limitations of high caste and ascetic, bhang can hardly in Bombay be correctly described as the poor man's narcotic.
6. From the fairly trustworthy figures given in the statement marked A* it will be seen that about 345 Indian maunds of ganja and garda, about 48 1/2 Indian maunds of bhang, about 7 Indian maunds of charas, and 29 1/2 Indian maunds of májum, yákuti, and gulkand are consumed annually in this collectorate. For the total male population of Hindus and Musalmans this would give an average yearly consumption per head of 2.50 tolas of ganja and garda, .35 tolas of bhang,. 05 tolas of charas, and 21 tolas of májum, yákuti, and gulkand. It is to be remembered that habitual indulgence in these drugs is confined to a comparatively small number of persons, and that the very great majority of Hindus and Mahomedans either never use the drugs at all or only occasionally consume bhang and garda in the form of a drink.
7. The number of persons who habitually consume hemp-drugs in the island of Bombay is estimated at nearly 3,000. 2,000 of this number are put down as ganja smokers, 400 as bhang drinkers, 300 as garda drinkers, 100 as charas smokers, and 25 as daily consumers of májum, yákuti, or gulkand. According to this estimate habitual consumers amount to 0.36 per cent. of the total population of the island and to 68 per cent. of the total males of the Hindu and Mahomedan communities.
8. The occasional or moderate use of hemp-drugs is believed not to be physically harmful. The immoderate use of these drugs gives rise to affections of the lungs, bowels, eye, and brain. The smoking of ganja, still more the smoking of charas, is considered the most baneful, and the drinking of bhang and garda the least harmful form in which hemp is used. Hemp-drugs are described as at once stimulating and sedative. They are said to have an exhilarating effect, to excite the imagination, to freshen the appetite, and to act as an aphrodisiac; excessive indulgence in their use leads to indigestion, wasting, dropsy, impotence, melancholia, and in extreme cases, chiefly of charas and ganja smoking, even to insanity.
9. I see little reason to doubt that the prohibition or even the stringent restriction of the use of hemp-drugs would be resented by the people as an unjustifiable interference with their social customs, and would give rise to discontent. Ascetics, both Hindu and Mahomedan, use the drugs largely, and these men are regarded with veneration by, and have influence over considerable sections of the people. Though the inveterate or excessive use of these drugs is held discreditable, the occasional observance of the practice is not open to censure. The use of bhang is closely connected with the worship of the god Shiva or Mahadev. On Maha Shivratri, the great night of Shiva in February, on the Mondays of August-September or Shravan, and at the spring festival of Shimga, the drinking of bhang, if not a binding, is an approved and usual practice.
10. If the use of hemp-drugs was prohibited, I think it pretty certain that many habitual and some occasional consumers would be driven to the use either of spirits or of opium.
11. In the town and island of Bombay the right to sell hemp-drugs is put to public auction by the Collector, and with the sanction of the Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, is sold to the highest approved bidder. Notice that the right is to be put to public auction is given by advertisement in the Bombay Government Gazette and in some of the local newspapers. Printed slips are also circulated for the information of the Collectors of most of the districts in the presidency. The right is usually sold for a term of three years. A copy of the conditions under which the farm was last sold is forwarded, marked B.*
12. A.license under the Bombay Abkari Act (Act V of 1878) is granted to the farmer, a copy of which is forwarded, marked C.* The main heads of the license are:—
(2) That all risks of loss shall be borne by the farmer, and that he shall pay regularly all sums due.
(3) That he shall keep shops only at places sanctioned by the Collector; that he will keep his shops open during authorized hours; and that he will open a new shop when required by the Collector.
(4) That he will make his own arrangements for obtaining supplies of drugs, purchasing from licensed persons only, and obtaining the necessary permits for the import or transport of the drugs. That he will keep such minimum stocks of drugs in his shops as the Collector may direct.
(5) That he will not sell drugs of bad quality likely to be obnoxious to the health of consumers. That he will not keep or sell balagolis or children's pills.
(6) That any stocks of drugs remaining on hand on the expiry of the license shall become the property of Government.
(7) That the farmer will keep and sell drugs at sanctioned shops only.
(8) That he will furnish the Collector with the names of his servants, and give them service certificates or nokaruámas (blank form, marked D,* herewith forwarded) countersigned by the Collector, with the clauses of the license relating to the keeping of shops attached, and that he will dismiss any servant when required by the Collector.
(9) That he will not sell more than 40 tolas of drugs to any one person on the same day.
(10) That he will not receive any articles in barter for drugs.
(11) That he will not open his shops before sunrise, and that he will close them at 11 P.M. That he will close his shops when ordered to do so by the Collector or Police Commissioner, and of his own accord during a disturbance or riot
(12) That he will prevent gaming and disorderly conduct in his shops, and will not allow notoriously bad characters to frequent them. That he will give information of suspected characters to a Magistrate or to the police.
(13) That he will fix signboards at his shops.
(14) That he will keep at his shops accounts of the receipts and sales of drugs, and produce these accounts whenever required; that he will furnish all returns and information required by the Collector.
(15) That he shall use such weights and measures as the Collector may prescribe, and have them tested and stamped at his own expense at the Collector's office.
(16) That he will not admit partners into his business without the permission of the Collector in writing.
(17) That his license may be recalled for default in the punctual payment of duty, or for infringement by himself or by any of his servants of any of the conditions of the license, or for any breach of the Abkari law. If the license is recalled, the Collector may dispose of it or not as he thinks fit, and that the licensee shall continue to be responsible for the instalments of duty. If the right of vend is transferred, the original licensee shall receive credit for payments by the new licensee up to the amount of duty still payable by the original licensee. He shall have no claim to profits made by the transfer.
13. Except that when purchasing in the Bombay Presidency, he must buy from a licensed seller, the farmer makes his own arrangements for obtaining supplies of the drugs. When he wishes to bring the drug to Bombay, the farmer makes a written application to the Collector, when an import or transport permit (forms forwarded marked respectively E* and F*) is granted on payment of the duty sanctioned, viz.:
For every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof...Re. 1
A copy of the permit granted is sent by post to the Collector of the district from which the drug is to be brought.
14. On the arrival of the drugs in Bombay, a Sub-Inspector of the Abkari Department attends at the railway station, checks the weight of the packages, and if found correct, escorts the packages to the farmer's godown. From the godown the farmer sends the drugs to his shops under permits, a copy of which is forwarded, marked G.
15. The statement marked H* shows the number of hemp-drug shops open in Bombay during each of the last five revenue years. The shops are shown in two classes:
(b) those in which drugs are sold and consumed on the premises.
In the greater number of shops under the (a) or drug-selling class the business of selling drugs is combined with the sale of tobacco and pán-súpari.
The (b) or drug-consuming shops are places used solely for the sale and consumption of hemp-drugs.
16. Before a new shop can be opened, or an old shop be transferred from one place to another, the farmer must obtain the Collector's sanction. No opening of a fresh shop is allowed if the residents in the neighbourhood offer reasonable objections.
17. The Police Commissioner grants the police license required under Bombay Act XLVIII of 1860 for (b) or drug-consuming shops on payment of a nominal yearly fee of Re. (1) one. For the opening of a new or the transfer of an old drug-consuming shop the previous approval of the Police Commissioner is also necessary. From the beginning of the current revenue year 72 hemp-drug shops have been open, of which 52 come under class (a) or drug-selling and 20 under class (b) or drug-consuming.
18. As the sole right of sale within the island belongs to the farmer, no wholesale drug shops occur in Bombay. Under a license granted by the Collector the farmer issues to his nominees nokarnamas or service certificates countersigned by the Collector. In these service certificates all the provisions of the license relating to the working of the shops are embodied.
19. The Bombay farmer is not required to sell drugs at any fixed price. The following table shows the present rates at which the farmer sells the different drugs to his nominees and the rates at which his nominees retail them to the public:—
That is, the retail prices show an increase of 15 to 42 per cent. over the wholesale or farmer's prices.
20. In Bombay no limit is set to the number of drug shops the farmer may open with the sanction of the Collector and Police Commissioner. In practice any increase in the number of shops is discouraged. The farmer would find it difficult to obtain sanction to the opening of a new shop, especially to a shop of the drug-consuming class. The shops are located in parts of the town where the drugs are in demand, that is, as a rule, in the most thickly peopled parts of the town.
21. Except by such special order as is contemplated under section 17 of the Abkari Act the ninth condition of his license prevents the farmer selling to the same person on the same day more than 40 tolas of any hemp-drug. Applications for such special orders are unknown. No case is on record of any one requiring more than 40 tolas of a drug for his own use during a single day. The possession of more than 40 tolas of a drug by one person, except under the authority of a permit, is also illegal.
22. The statement marked I* shows for each of the past five years the quantities of drugs brought into Bombay by the farmer for local sale. In comparing these figures with those given in statement A* considerable deductions from the I figures must be made for wastage and loss on account of spoiled drugs. From time to time quantities of these drugs are destroyed under the supervision of Abkari officers as unfit for sale. The quantities reported by the farmer to have been consumed in the island during the last two years are believed to be fairly correct.
23. The statement marked J* shows the total revenue derived from hemp-drugs during each of the past five revenue years. A comparison of the figures given in table J* with those in table I* shows for the five years that the incidence of duty on these drugs, excluding those used in the medicinal preparations, extract Cannabis Indica, amounts to Rs. 87.4 the Indian maund, that is, nearly Rs. 2.2 the seer. The largest item of revenue is the license fee. This has steadily increased for each successive term for which the license has been granted. For the present term, starting from 1st August 1893, the annual license fee payable is Rs. 48,000, that is, Rs. 8,500 more than the same fee paid for the previous term of three years.
24. The statement marked K* shows the exports of drugs by sea during the past five years. When drugs arrive by rail for export by sea, the weight of the packages is checked by an Abkari officer at the railway station. If the weight is found correct, the officer escorts the package to the docks or bandar and hands them to the Port Trust or Customs authorities. If the drugs arrive by water for transhipment and export, the Customs authorities supervise and allow the transhipment after the Abkari Department have endorsed on the covering permit that the transhipment is free from objection. The figures under "British Indian Ports" indicate exports to ports in British territory. Those under " Foreign Indian Ports" relate to ports within the limits of Native States.
25. The smuggling of hemp-drugs into Bombay cannot at present be said to prevail to any extent. Bona fide travellers may bring into Bombay 10 tolas of drugs from places without the presidency, and any person may bring 40 tolas of drugs into Bombay from a place within the presidency. The Abkari and Opium Departments have special establishments who watch the railway lines for smugglers. The Customs Department guard the sea front of the island. The present Bombay farmer also holds the hemp-drugs farm in the Thana district, and regulates the prices at Bandra, Kurla, and Thana so as to discourage people running out by rail to these places and bringing back with them less than 40 tolas of a drug.
26. The table marked L* shows the admissions to the Colaba Lunatic Asylum during each of the five years ending 1892-93 and the causes of insanity so far as they have been ascertained.
Compared with eight from opium, sixty-two is a heavy total from hemp-drugs. Considering how comparatively few persons use the drug, sixty-two is also large compared with seventynine from spirits. Of the sixty-two admissions due to the excessive use of hemp-drugs all but four, two from bhang and two from charas, are ascribed to ganja-smoking. It is perhaps doubtful whether some entered as ganja smokers were not actually charas smokers. In any case the number of smokers of charas is small compared to the drinkers of bhang. It follows, and this agrees with all other received information, that the drinking of bhang is comparatively a harmless practice.
27. The import, export, transport, manufacture, sale, and possession of intoxicating drugs other than opium are regulated by the Bombay Abkari Act, No. V of 1878, and the rules and notifications published under that Act. Subject to the control and direction of the Commissioner of Customs, Salt, Opium, and Abkari, the Collector of Land Revenue, Customs, and Opium is charged with the collection of abkari revenue, and with the carrying out of the provisions of the Abkari Act in Bombay. In addition to its other abkari duties the Collector's abkari establishment is engaged in preventing the smuggling of hemp-drugs and their illicit sale within the island. Under the orders of the Collector, the Abkari officers also see that the farmer of intoxicating drugs pays punctually the sums due by him and that his shops are conducted in accordance with his license conditions. They check shop accounts, and exercise a general supervision and control over all matters relating to the possession and sale of hemp-drugs.
28. In conclusion I would beg to state that in this report I have endeavoured to include replies to the questions in the note attached to Government Resolution, Revenue Department, No. 6123, dated the 23rd August. Further report will, as early as possible, be submitted in connection with the schedule received with the said Government Resolution.
NOTE BY MR. J. M. CAMPBELL, C.I.E., COLLECTOR OF LAND REVENUE AND CUSTOMS AND OPIUM, BOMBAY, ON THE RELIGION OF HEMP.
To the Hindu the hemp plant is holy. A guardian lives in the bhang leaf. As the wife of Vishnu, the preserver, lives in the hysteria-curing tulsi, or Holy Basil, and as Shiva dwells in the dysentery-scaring bel,Æ glem armelos, so the properties of the bhang plant, its power to suppress the appetites, its virtue as a febrifuge, and its thought-bracing qualities show that the bhang leaf is the home of the great Yogi or brooding ascetic Mahadev.
So holy a plant should have special rearing. Shiva explains to his wife, Parvati, how, in sowing hemp seed, you should keep repeating the spell 'Bhangi,' 'Bhangi,' apparently that the sound of that guardian name may scare the evil tare-sowing influences. Again, when the seedlings are planted the same holy name must be repeated, and also at the watering which, for the space of a year, the young plants must daily receive. When the flowers appear the flowers and leaves should be stripped from the plant and kept for a day in warm water. Next day, with one hundred repetitions of the holy name Bhangi, the leaves and flowers should be washed in a river and dried in an open shed. When they are dry some of the leaves should be burnt with due repeating of the holy name as a jap or muttered charm. Then, bearing in mind Vagdevata, or the goddess of speech, and offering a prayer, the dried leaves should be laid in a pure and sanctified place. Bhang so prepared, especially if prayers are said over it, will gratify the wishes and desires of its owner. Taken in the early morning such bhang cleanses the user from sin, frees him from the punishment of crores of sins, and entitles him to reap the fruits of a thousand horse-sacrifices. Such sanctified bhang taken at day break or noon destroys disease. Before the religious user of bhang stand the Ashtadevata or Eight Guardians with clasped hands ready to obey him and perform his orders. The wish of him who with pure mind pours bhang with due reverence over the Ling of Mahadev will be fulfilled.
Such holiness and such evil-scaring powers must give bhang a high place among lucky objects. That a day may be fortunate the careful man should on waking look into liquid bhang. So any nightmares or evil spirits that may have entered into him during the ghosthaunted hours of night will flee from him at the sight of the bhang and free him from their blinding influences during the day. So too when a journey has to be begun or a fresh duty or business undertaken it is well to look at bhang. To meet some one carrying bhang is a sure omen of success. To see in a dream the leaves, plant, or water of bhang is lucky; it brings the goddess of wealth into the dreamer's power. To see his parents worship the bhang-plant and pour bhang over Shiva's Ling will cure the dreamer of fever. A longing for bhang foretells happiness: to see bhang drunk increases riches. No good thing can come to the man who treads under foot the holy bhang leaf.
So evil-scaring and therefore luck-bringing a plant must play an important part in the rites required to clear away evil influences. During the great spirit time of marriage in Bombay among almost all the higher classes of Gujarat Hindus, of the Jain as well as of the Brahmanic sects, the supplies sent by the family of the bride to the bridegroom's party during their seven days' sojourn includes a supply of bhang. The name of the father who neglects to send bhang is held in contempt. Again, after the wedding, when the bridegroom and his friends are entertained at the house of the bride, richly-spiced bhang is drunk by the guests. The Gujarat Musalman bride before and after marriage drinks a preparation of bhang. Among the Pardeshi or North Indian Hindus of Bombay bhang is given not only at weddings, but the Pardeshi who fails to give his visitor bhang is despised by his caste as mean and miserly. Another great spirit time during which bhang plays an important part is the time of war. Before the outbreak of a war and during its progress the Ling of Mahadev should be bathed with bhang. Its power of driving panic influences from near the god has gained for bhang the name of Vijaya, the unbeaten. So a drink of bhang drives from the fighting Hindu the haunting spirits of fear and weariness. So the beleagured Rajput, when nothing is left but to die, after loosing his hair that the bhang spirit may have free entrance, drinks the sacramental bhang and rushing on the enemy completes his juhár or selfsacrifice. It is this quality of panic-scaring that makes bhang, the Vijaya or Victorious, specially dear to Mahadev in his character of Tripur, the slayer of the demon Tripurasur. As Shiva is fond of bel leaves, as Vishnu is fond of tulsi leaves, so is Tripuresvar fond of bhang leaves. He who wishes to obtain his desires must constantly offer bhang to Tripuresvar.
Bhang the cooler is a febrifuge. Bhang acts on the fever not directly or physically as an ordinary medicine, but indirectly or spiritually by soothing the angry influences to whom the heats of fever are due. According to one account in the Ayurveda, fever is possession by the hot angry breath of the great gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. According to another passage in the Ayurveda, Shankar or Shiva, enraged by a slight from his father-in-law Daksha, breathed from his nostrils the eight fevers that wither mankind. If the fever-stricken performs the Vijaya abhishek, or bhang-pouring on the Ling of Shankar, the god is pleased, his breath cools, and the portion of his breath in the body of the fever-stricken ceases to inflame. The Kashikhanda Purana tells how at Benares, a Brahman, sore-smitten with fever, dreamed that he had poured bhang over the self-sprung Ling and was well. On waking he went to the Ling, worshipped, poured bhang and recovered. The fame of this cure brings to Benares sufferers from fever which no ordinary medicine can cure. The sufferers are laid in the temple and pour bhang over the Ling whose virtue has gained it the name Jvareshwar, the Fever-Lord. In Bombay many people sick of fever vow on recovery to pour bhang over a Ling. Besides as a cure for fever bhang has many medicinal virtues. It cools the heated blood, soothes the over-wakeful to sleep, gives beauty, and secures length of days. It cures dysentery and sunstroke, clears phlegm, quickens digestion, sharpens appetite, makes the tongue of the lisper plain, freshens the intellect, and gives alertness to the body and gaiety to the mind. Such are the useful and needful ends for which in his goodness the Almighty made bhang. In this praise of the hemp the Makhzan or great Greek-Arab work on drugs joins. Ganja in excess causes abscess, even madness. In moderation bhang is the best of gifts. Bhang is a cordial, a bile absorber, an appetiser, a prolonger of life. Bhang quickens fancy, deepens thought, and braces judgment.
As on other guardian-possessed objects, the cow, the Vedas, or the leaf of the bel tree, oaths are taken on the bhang leaf. Even to a truthful witness an oath on the bhang leaf is dreaded. To one who foreswears himself the bhang oath is death.
So holy a plant must play a leading part in temple rites. Shiva on fire with the poison churned from the ocean was cooled by bhang. At another time enraged with family worries the god withdrew to the fields. The cool shade of a plant soothed him. He crushed and ate of the leaves, and the bhang refreshed him. For these two benefits bhang is Shankarpriya, the beloved of Mahadev. So the right user of bhang or of ganja, before beginning to drink or to smoke, offers the drug to Mahadev saying, lena Shankar, lena Babulnath: be pleased to take it Shankar, take it Babulnath. According to the Shiva Purana, from the dark fourteenth of Magh (January-February) to the light fourteenth of Ashadh (June-July), that is, during the three months of the hot weather, bhang should be daily poured over the Ling of Shiva. If not every day, bhang should be poured at least during the first and last days of this period. According to the Meru Tantra on any Monday, especially on Shravan (July-August) Mondays, on all twelfths or pradoshs, and on all dark fourteenths or shivratris, still more on the Mahashivratri or Shiva's Great Night on the dark fourteenth of Magh (January-February), and at all eclipses of the sun or moon, persons wishful either for this world or for the world to come should offer bhang to Shiva and pour it over the Ling. Not every devotee of Shiva makes offerings of bhang. Such rites in Bombay are seldom performed except in the Bhuleswar and Babulnath temples and there only on special occasions. The bhang offered to Mahadev is without pepper or other spice. It is mixed with water, water and milk, or milk and sugar. It is poured over the Ling. According to some authorities the offerer should not touch the offered bhang. Temple ministrants Atits, Tapodhans, Bhojaks, Bhopis, Bharadis, Guravas alone should drink it. If there are no ministrants the remains of the offering should be poured into a well or given to cows to drink. Other authorities encourage the offerer to sip the bhang, since by sipping the bhang reaches and soothes the Shiva-Shakti or Shiva-spirit in the sipper. On certain special occasions during failures of rain, during eclipses, and also in times of war libations of bhang are poured over the Ling.
Vaishnavas as well as Shaivas make offerings of bhang. The form of Vishnu or the Guardian to whom bhang is a welcome offering is Baladev, Balaram, or Dauji, the elder brother of Krishna. Baladev was fond of spirits, not of bhang. But Banias, Bhatias, and other high class Hindus, not being able to offer spirits, instead of spirits present bhang. In Bombay the offering of bhang to Baladev, unlike the special offerings to Shiva, is a common and everyday rite. Without an offering of bhang no worship of Baladev is complete. Unlike the plain or milk and sugared bhang spilt over the Ling, Baladev's bhang is a richly-spiced liquid which all present, including the offerer, join in drinking. Such social and religious drinking of bhang is common in Bombay in the temple of Dauji in Kalyan Kirparam lane near Bhuleshwar. As in the higher class worship of Baladev the liquor offering has been refined into an offering of bhang so it is in the worship of Devi, Shiva's early and terrible consort. On any Tuesday or Friday, the two week-days sacred to Devi, still more during the Navratra or Nine Nights in Ashwin or September-October, those whose caste rules forbid liquor make a pleasing spiced bhang. And as in the worship of Baladev all present, worshipper and ministrant alike, join in drinking. Shitaladevi, the Cooler, the dread goddess of small-pox, whose nature, like the nature of bhang, is cooling, takes pleasure in offerings of bhang. During epidemics of small-pox the burning and fever of the disease are soothed by pouring bhang over the image of Shitaladevi. So for the feverishness caused by the heats especially to the old no cure equals the drinking of bhang. Unlike spirits the tempter to flesh bhang the craver for milk is pleasing to the Hindu religion. Even according to the straitest school of the objectors to stimulants, while to a high caste Hindu the penalty for liquor-drinking is death, no penalty attaches to the use of bhang, and a single day's fast is enough to cleanse from the coarser spirit of ganja. Even among those who hold stimulants to be devil-possessed penalty and disfavour attach to the use of hemp drugs only when they are taken with no religious object and without observing the due religious rites.
At the other extreme of Hindu thought from the foes to stimulants, to the worshippers of the influences that, raising man out of himself and above mean individual worries, make him one with the divine force of nature, it is inevitable that temperaments should be found to whom the quickening spirit of bhang is the spirit of freedom and knowledge. In the ecstasy of bhang the spark of the Eternal in man turns into light the murkiness of matter or illusion and self is lost in the central soul-fire. The Hindu poet of Shiva, the Great Spirit that living in bhang passes into the drinker, sings of bhang as the clearer of ignorance, the giver of knowledge. No gem or jewel can touch in value bhang taken truly and reverently. He who drinks bhang drinks Shiva. The soul in whom the spirit of bhang finds a home glides into the ocean of Being freed from the weary round of matter-blinded self. To the meaner man, still under the glamour of matter or maya, bhang taken religiously is kindly thwarting the wiles of his foes and giving the drinker wealth and promptness of mind.
In this devotion to bhang, with reverence, not with the worship, which is due to Allah alone, the North Indian Mussalman joins hymning the praises of bhang. To the follower of the later religion of Islam the holy spirit in bhang is not the spirit of the Almighty. It is the spirit of the great prophet Khizr or Elijah. That bhang should be sacred to Khizr is natural. Khizr is the patron saint of water. Still more Khizr means green, the revered colour of the cooling water of bhang. So the Urdu poet sings 'When I quaff fresh bhang I liken its colour to the fresh light down of thy youthful beard.' The prophet Khizr or the Green prophet cries 'May the drink be pleasing to thee.' Nasir, the great North Indian Urdu poet of the beginning of the present century, is loud in the praises of his beloved Sabzi, the Green one. 'Compared with bhang spirits are naught. Leave all things thou fool, drink bhang.' From its quickening the imagination Musalman poets honour bhang with the title Warak al Khiyall, Fancy's Leaf. And the Makhzan or great Arab-Greek drug book records many other fond names for the drug. Bhang is the Joy-giver, the Sky-flier, the Heavenlyguide, the Poor Man's Heaven, the Soother of Grief.
Much of the holiness of bhang is due to its virtue of clearing the head and stimulating the brain to thought. Among ascetics the sect known as Atits are specially devoted to hemp. No social or religious gathering of Atits is complete without the use of the hemp plant smoked in ganja or drunk in bhang. To its devotee bhang is no ordinary plant that became holy from its guardian and healing qualities. According to one account, when nectar was produced from the churning of the ocean, something was wanted to purify the nectar. The deity supplied the want of a nectar-cleanser by creating bhang. This bhang Mahadev made from his own body, and so it is called angaj or body-born. According to another account some nectar dropped to the ground and from the ground the bhang plant sprang. It was because they used this child of nectar or of Mahadev in agreement with religious forms that the seers or Rishis became Siddha or one with the deity. He who, despite the example of the Rishis, uses no bhang shall lose his happiness in this life and in the life to come. In the end he shall be cast into hell. The mere sight of bhang cleanses from as much sin as a thousand horse-sacrifices or a thousand pilgrimages. He who scandalises the user of bhang shall suffer the torments of hell so long as the sun endures. He who drinks bhang foolishly or for pleasure without religious rites is as guilty as the sinner of lakhs of sins. He who drinks wisely and according to rule, be he ever so low, even though his body is smeared with human ordure and urine, is Shiva. No god or man is as good as the religious drinker of bhang. The students of the scriptures at Benares are given bhang before they sit to study. At Benares, Ujjain, and other holy places yogis, bairagis and sanyasis take deep draughts of bhang that they may centre their thoughts on the Eternal. To bring back to reason an unhinged mind the best and cleanest bhang leaves should be boiled in milk and turned to clarified butter. Salamisri, saffron, and sugar should be added and the whole eaten. Besides over the demon of Madness bhang is Vijaya or victorious over the demons of hunger and thirst. By the help of bhang ascetics pass days without food or drink. The supporting power of bhang has brought many a Hindu family safe through the miseries of famine. To forbid or even seriously to restrict the use of so holy and gracious a herb as the hemp would cause widespread suffering and annoyance and to the large bands of worshipped ascetics deep-seated anger. It would rob the people of a solace in discomfort, of a cure in sickness, of a guardian whose gracious protection saves them from the attacks of evil influences, and whose mighty power makes the devotee of the Victorious, overcoming the demons of hunger and thirst, of panic fear, of the glamour of Maya or matter, and of madness, able in rest to brood on the Eternal, till the Eternal, possessing him body and soul, frees him from the haunting of self and receives him into the ocean of Being. These beliefs the Musalman devotee shares to the full. Like his Hindu brother the Musalman fakir reveres bhang as the lengthener of life, the freer from the bonds of self. Bhang brings union with the Divine Spirit. 'We drank bhang and the mystery I am He grew plain. So grand a result, so tiny a sin.'
REPORTS FROM LUNATIC ASYLUMS
Colaba Lunatic Asylum
Poona Lunatic Asylum
Ahmedabad Lunatic Asylum
Ratnagiri Lunatic Asylum
Dharwar Lunatic Asylum
Nagpur Lunatic Asylum
Questions from the Hemp Commission to the Bombay Presidency Witnesses
Bombay Presidency Witnesses to the Hemp Commission
Bombay Presidency Individual Witness Statements to the Hemp Commission.
