Women’s organizations from across Karnataka are demanding a ban on alcohol at a protest at Freedom Park on Tuesday. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
“Every day starts with the fear that one of the men in my house will come home drunk and beat us up again,” said Lakshmamma, a daily wage worker from Gunjahalli in Raichur, with a photo of her 18-year-old grandson, who is now addicted to alcohol.
For the 62-year-old, alcohol is not an abstract political issue; it’s why she lost her husband, watched her son fall into addiction, and now watches her grandson slide down the same path. “How many children are we going to lose? Alcohol has eaten our families alive. The government needs to protect families like ours and ban alcohol.”
Ms. Lakshmamma, like many others, traveled overnight to Bengaluru to stand shoulder to shoulder with thousands of women at Freedom Park. Women’s organizations from across Karnataka on Tuesday came together for a joint statewide protest demanding a ban on liquor and stricter measures against illegal sale.
The protest, urgent and deeply personal, is the latest chapter in a more than 10-year-old movement demanding that the state tackle what they see as Karnataka’s quietest social crisis – alcoholism.
The misery filling Freedom Park is nothing new. Madya Nisheda Andolana, a nationwide coalition of more than 30 organizations, has been calling for prohibition for many years. They last staged major demonstrations in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023 and again this year, with smaller protests continuing at the taluk and district levels in between. Still, the women say nothing has changed.
Ms. Lakshamma’s story echoes what many others have echoed. Her husband died seven years ago from complications related to alcohol. She raised two daughters and a son by herself, working long hours on the farms. But addiction returned to her house over the course of the next generation.
Mehbooba Firdos, another protester from Sindhanur, said only one of her four sons remained sober. “The others beat me when they are drunk. No neighbor interferes. Who can we go to?”
Another woman described the loss she had suffered. “My daughter-in-law left because my son beat her whenever he drank. He continued to drink even after she left, and one day his body gave up. We didn’t even have the money to cremate him properly. Now my grandson left school to work. How can I go on like this?”
Women spoke of young widows, of children being forced into work to make up for lost wages, of households slipping into debt and poverty.
“Whether it is licensed outlets or grocery stores and houses selling illegal liquor, the flow has become easier, especially for young boys,” said Geeta J. of Konkal village in Yadgir district.
Two requirements
The protesters on Tuesday presented two demands to the state government – to restore the gram sabha’s power to grant liquor licenses and to set up village-level women’s vigilance committees.
In states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, gram sabhas have the final say on whether a liquor store can open in their jurisdiction. Licenses are issued only if a minimum number of women approve the proposal, often 20% of the sabha. Karnataka had a similar provision until 2016 when the government removed it. The protesters want it reinstated along with a stricter clause allowing even 10% of gram sabha members to veto a permit, as is the case in some states.
They are also seeking quasi-judicial powers for women’s committees in each panchayat to identify and shut down illegal liquor outlets operating out of homes, grocery shops, stalls or sheds. The Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act already allows for the creation of additional social justice committees, with protesters arguing that these powers can be expanded to curb the illegal sale of liquor.
CM promises action
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met the protesters, heard their demands and accepted their petition. He promised the group that their memorandum would be reviewed by the government.
Published – 25 November 2025 21:00 IST
