Holi, bhang, and the NDPS Act

I have never been a big fan of Holi. Being a south Indian, I don't understand whats the big deal in soiling your clothes and your face and body (I use the term "temporary chromatic mutilation"). Perhaps its a mental block, one may say..

But what piques my interest in the affair is the free availability of bhang at most Holi venues. In the big apartment complex where I stay in Bangalore, there was a Holi dinner celebration two days ago, and bhang lassi was "officially" catered, courtesy of the association. I am sure the same was true of a lot of other Holi parties, in Bangalore as well as elsewhere in India.

In that festive mood, it is easy for everyone to forget that there is something known as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in India. Few Indians realise how powerful this act is, with potential for abuse. For example, someone arrested under this act is presumed guilty until proven innocent, which is against normal jurisprudence. Bail can be granted only after a court hearing. Given the Indian judicial system, this can take a few months to many years.

Normally, during Holi, the police do not make any arrests even knowing that a particular place serves bhang, since it is well understood that it is part of the tradition, and a significant portion of the population enjoys it.

But then, nothing, I repeat, nothing prevents the police from making arrests and throwing everyone at a Holi party into jail for a good measure of time. But why would the police do this? Simple. As I mentioned before, the NDPS act is open to abuse. Imagine a politician who wants to get even with his rival or someone else. If the rival is a north Indian who participates in Holi, all he needs to do is set him up for an arrest during the festivities (where people consume bhang openly). In that case, others at the party will also get arrested as unavoidable collateral damage.

You may ask, "But wouldn't a judge throw out the case? I mean, many Indians consume bhang during Holi, and I am sure the judge wouldn't risk his own standing by convicting someone of consuming bhang during Holi. That would be like opening a can of worms." Yes, you are right there, but then that's besides the point. For a judge to throw out the case at the very first hearing, the "very first hearing" has to take place first. And that could be years after the arrest. And till then, no bail, because that's what the act says!

It is rather surprising that most of us are complacent about this, and do not realise that we walk a minefield when we consume bhang in public during Holi. If you think that the NDPS Act has never been abused actually, think again. In Tamil Nadu, the NDPS Act has been invoked against a lot of political enemies of Jayalalitha after their household/belongings were deliberately planted with ganja (by connivers in the police force). And because of what the act says, even the police cannot grant them bail. Plus a lot of innocent people have languished in jail indefinitely for no fault of theirs.

But since we are Indians, we are the usual complacent lot. If consumption of bhang is so widespread during Holi, and also in parts of Rajasthan throughout the year, we should question why this act exists in its present form in the first place. At least it should be amended so that people booked can be granted bail immediately. Also instead of being a blanket act that doesn't discriminate between ganja and ecstasy, it should have separate clauses for dealing with different types of substances, keeping culture into account.

Otherwise, if you spend years in jail following a Holi celebration, don't be surprised too much.