Actor Imran Khan says raising the drinking age to 25 years is like 'opening a job opportunity' to make criminals of innocent people
What's the thought behind you filing a PIL against the legal drinking age raised to 25 in Maharashtra?
I understand their intention – and it's absolutely correct. Alcohol addiction is injurious to health. It can lead to serious problems. However, this is not the solution. 1) It's not restricted to people under 25 years. I think there might be more people over the age of 25 with alcohol addiction – call me crazy, but I think there's a chance I'm right; 2) if we allow this to pass, if we say 'Theek hai, alcohol addiction's a problem for people under 25, therefore, even though they're adults, they shouldn't be allowed to drink,' it paves the way for any number of addendums to the law. For instance, they could say our population is growing out of control, therefore, if you've married after the age of 23, you can't have kids. To keep population in control in India, it's for a good cause; but what's to stop that legislation, then?
Of course, TOI has been arguing just that for years – and now through the It's My Life campaign – and it renders the advocate of the argument open to the charge of being pro-drinking or pro-a certain kind of lifestyle, doesn't it?
Yes, and I've already come under fire for that – a couple of things came out somewhere that since I wore dark glasses to an event, I've been drinking like a fish.
Because you wore shades?
Because I wore shades, yes. A lot of people say, you just want to party, you're just promoting drinking. But had they said, you can't have kids now that you're 28, I would have fought against that as well. It's important, from time to time, to raise the level of debate. Sometimes, inadvertently, our personal freedoms are curtailed. It's not only our right, but also our duty, to stand up and save it sometimes, in a democracy.
Another criticism commonly levelled against those who argue this line is that there are 'other causes out there' that they could take up...
There are, as you say, any number of issues, and there'll always be someone to say, arre, but what about that one? You protest against corruption, they'll say what about those starving people? Achha, isko chhod diya, usko pakad liya, then what about molestation of women in the North, uska kya? Then uske peechhe bhaagein.
People tire of crusaders very soon. When you fight for something, they label you a preacher, and eventually stop paying attention. It's the sad truth, but it's the truth. Therefore, you pick and choose your battles. There are other people, in positions of influence, who take up other causes. I took up this one because I live in Maharashtra, so I deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Not personally, but it is in the area that directly affects me. It is an audience who are my audience, people whom I, in some way, feel I can represent, people I feel for.
And that's also the idea behind the Facebook page you're launching at the Women's Press Club in Delhi today, called Power To The Youth?
What pushed me towards this thing was seeing how much discussion was happening around this on Facebook and Twitter. These are platforms where young people talk – these are youth forums. Conventional media is where slightly older people, people in a slightly higher position of influence, talk. So I saw a lot of chatter on there, online, and I said, this is the area where everyone is talking about this issue, so this is the area where I'll be able to gather some support.
What's the agenda of the page?
The first thing is to use it as a kind of barometer, to see how many people are in agreement with me. I personally am of a particular opinion, and I feel like there are a lot of people who share this opinion, but I want to get a sense of how many people are with me. Once you have a sense of that, you have some kind of data that you can take forward.
Also, I'm sure, when the government took this decision, they consulted some experts. I think that this is a forum where, perhaps, other experts will come forward, put forth their opinion, and perhaps we'll have a counter-argument. Then we can talk about this in a more balanced way.
There are many ways to raise issues, many forms of agitation – protests, strikes, etc. It is my opinion that a PIL is a very reasonable and moderate approach. I'm approaching the concerned body, I'm approaching people who are mediators, who are in a position to judge whether my opinion has merit or not. I'm not just standing on top of a roof and shouting. I'm actually approaching the problem and saying, sir, you are in a position to fix this problem. If you feel that my opinion is correct, the problem will get fixed. If you feel my opinion is incorrect, then the situation will not change, but I'll have approached someone who's in a position to actually do something.
The Times View, in fact, has been that outdated laws like these actually cause harassment, and turn innocent people into 'criminals'.
It turns people into criminals, and gives rise to 'new criminals'. The concept of bootleggers did not exist in Mumbai earlier. Now, anyone can be a bootlegger. Anyone can buy a crate of whiskey and sell it, and there, you're a criminal. You've opened up a job opportunity, taken out a classified ad saying aa jao naye criminals.
You can join the campaign by
logging on to www.timesofindia.com, or lby giving a missed call to the toll-free number 08030088401, or
lby sending 'agree' as an SMS to 58888. It's your life, your choice.
What's the thought behind you filing a PIL against the legal drinking age raised to 25 in Maharashtra?
I understand their intention – and it's absolutely correct. Alcohol addiction is injurious to health. It can lead to serious problems. However, this is not the solution. 1) It's not restricted to people under 25 years. I think there might be more people over the age of 25 with alcohol addiction – call me crazy, but I think there's a chance I'm right; 2) if we allow this to pass, if we say 'Theek hai, alcohol addiction's a problem for people under 25, therefore, even though they're adults, they shouldn't be allowed to drink,' it paves the way for any number of addendums to the law. For instance, they could say our population is growing out of control, therefore, if you've married after the age of 23, you can't have kids. To keep population in control in India, it's for a good cause; but what's to stop that legislation, then?
Of course, TOI has been arguing just that for years – and now through the It's My Life campaign – and it renders the advocate of the argument open to the charge of being pro-drinking or pro-a certain kind of lifestyle, doesn't it?
Yes, and I've already come under fire for that – a couple of things came out somewhere that since I wore dark glasses to an event, I've been drinking like a fish.
Because you wore shades?
Because I wore shades, yes. A lot of people say, you just want to party, you're just promoting drinking. But had they said, you can't have kids now that you're 28, I would have fought against that as well. It's important, from time to time, to raise the level of debate. Sometimes, inadvertently, our personal freedoms are curtailed. It's not only our right, but also our duty, to stand up and save it sometimes, in a democracy.
Another criticism commonly levelled against those who argue this line is that there are 'other causes out there' that they could take up...
There are, as you say, any number of issues, and there'll always be someone to say, arre, but what about that one? You protest against corruption, they'll say what about those starving people? Achha, isko chhod diya, usko pakad liya, then what about molestation of women in the North, uska kya? Then uske peechhe bhaagein.
People tire of crusaders very soon. When you fight for something, they label you a preacher, and eventually stop paying attention. It's the sad truth, but it's the truth. Therefore, you pick and choose your battles. There are other people, in positions of influence, who take up other causes. I took up this one because I live in Maharashtra, so I deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Not personally, but it is in the area that directly affects me. It is an audience who are my audience, people whom I, in some way, feel I can represent, people I feel for.
And that's also the idea behind the Facebook page you're launching at the Women's Press Club in Delhi today, called Power To The Youth?
What pushed me towards this thing was seeing how much discussion was happening around this on Facebook and Twitter. These are platforms where young people talk – these are youth forums. Conventional media is where slightly older people, people in a slightly higher position of influence, talk. So I saw a lot of chatter on there, online, and I said, this is the area where everyone is talking about this issue, so this is the area where I'll be able to gather some support.
What's the agenda of the page?
The first thing is to use it as a kind of barometer, to see how many people are in agreement with me. I personally am of a particular opinion, and I feel like there are a lot of people who share this opinion, but I want to get a sense of how many people are with me. Once you have a sense of that, you have some kind of data that you can take forward.
Also, I'm sure, when the government took this decision, they consulted some experts. I think that this is a forum where, perhaps, other experts will come forward, put forth their opinion, and perhaps we'll have a counter-argument. Then we can talk about this in a more balanced way.
There are many ways to raise issues, many forms of agitation – protests, strikes, etc. It is my opinion that a PIL is a very reasonable and moderate approach. I'm approaching the concerned body, I'm approaching people who are mediators, who are in a position to judge whether my opinion has merit or not. I'm not just standing on top of a roof and shouting. I'm actually approaching the problem and saying, sir, you are in a position to fix this problem. If you feel that my opinion is correct, the problem will get fixed. If you feel my opinion is incorrect, then the situation will not change, but I'll have approached someone who's in a position to actually do something.
The Times View, in fact, has been that outdated laws like these actually cause harassment, and turn innocent people into 'criminals'.
It turns people into criminals, and gives rise to 'new criminals'. The concept of bootleggers did not exist in Mumbai earlier. Now, anyone can be a bootlegger. Anyone can buy a crate of whiskey and sell it, and there, you're a criminal. You've opened up a job opportunity, taken out a classified ad saying aa jao naye criminals.
You can join the campaign by
logging on to www.timesofindia.com, or lby giving a missed call to the toll-free number 08030088401, or
lby sending 'agree' as an SMS to 58888. It's your life, your choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment