My Conservative Views on Alcohol

Last weekend, I was out with some friends when I noticed something interesting that I’ll now write about. As we were about to enter the restaurant where the six of us had planned to have lunch on Sunday, I saw a sign at the entrance that said, “No alcohol will be served to customers below 25 years.” To give a bit of context, I was in New Delhi, where the legal drinking age is 25. This is the case in many Indian states, while in others, the legal age is either 21 or 18.

Typically, purchasing alcohol for consumption at home, even if you're under 25, is relatively easy since establishments rarely ask for IDs, and there's always the option to rely on an older acquaintance to be cautious. However, finding a restaurant or bar willing to serve alcohol to individuals under 25 is challenging, making drinking in public settings less convenient. 

My friends and I are in our twenties or thirties, but we hadn't planned on drinking that day. After we sat down at our table, I asked if anyone felt like having a drink, still thinking about the notice I saw outside. Out of my four friends, one mentioned that she'd like to, but she had to drive back home. Another friend has a two-year-old and hasn't touched alcohol since her child was born. "I'd feel guilty, like I'm setting a bad example," she explained.

A third friend thought about it for a moment before saying no; he had a presentation due on Monday and didn't want to risk having a hangover. My fourth friend said, "My parents live alone, and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them and I wasn't sober enough to drive over or help. So I hardly ever drink now; it's not worth the stress." 

As for my boyfriend, he's saving up for a new car, so he's only spending on "what's important," and alcohol doesn't make the list. I rarely drink—maybe two or three times a year, usually for a special occasion or on vacation—so my default answer to the question was no.

I looked around the table and smiled to myself. I’ve known these people for years, and probably they would have jumped at the opportunity to drink had I asked them the same question about five years back. Of course, back then, most of us would have been under the legal drinking age, so there's that.

Many people criticise the government for raising the legal drinking age to 25, pointing out compelling arguments like, "Why can you vote and get married at 18 but not drink?" The government's reasoning is that it aims to discourage alcohol consumption rather than completely prohibiting it (except in dry states like Gujarat and Bihar). Indian society generally has conservative attitudes towards alcohol, and higher drinking ages align with those views, encouraging responsible behaviour and reinforcing family and community values. 

This trend is precisely what I've noticed among my group of friends, and probably among many 30-year-olds. The responsibility of caring for children or dependent parents, increased work commitments, more mindful spending, a reduced appetite for risk, and a growing preference for healthier lifestyles have all led to a drop in alcohol consumption. These factors seem to become especially significant once you pass the age of 25. It seems like that's exactly what the government was aiming for when it set the legal drinking age at 25. We now have the freedom and the means to drink, but we find ourselves wanting it less and less.

Maybe it's our middle-class upbringing that prevents us from splurging on late-night drinking sessions every weekend or during the week, wandering around the city intoxicated with a child on one’s hip until the early hours. By the time you're 30, the stakes are much higher, and it just doesn't seem appropriate. It's better to make reckless choices, take unnecessary risks, and break some rules in your 20s, so that by the time you hit 30, you want to grow up instead of trying too hard to convince yourself you’re still young.  

What is a good quality life? It depends on who you ask. If you ask me and some of my friends, we’d say: No screens after 8 pm, going to sleep at 10, waking at 5, morning swims, evening walks with your dog, three home-cooked meals a day, time with family, and time to read and pray. But among most other Indian corporate employees, it seems to have been redefined as endless Bloody Marys on the beach. Too many young people have bought into the idea that life is short so one is entitled to have as much “fun” as one can while it lasts, when they can focus on changes to make life long.

It is not alcohol itself that is the problem. It is the unpredictability of the variables that ensues when one is tipsy. Especially when one drinks with one’s colleagues at an office party, or with a group of people one may not know too well. Or even on a first date (I often advise my friends to never go on first dates that involve alcohol). Boundaries start to blur, touches become more suggestive, and anything can trigger violence, profanity, or public misbehaviour. And it's usually the person who isn't drinking who ends up dealing with the police, mediating arguments, driving everyone home, or cleaning up the mess. Alcohol erodes respect and reliability—qualities that should matter more as people get older.

Although I don't believe that all alcohol consumption should be banned by law or custom (who can predict what happens with too much rigidity?), I also think it's wrong to gloss over the negative effects on health and society just for the sake of tolerance. None of my friends waited until 25 to have our first drink. However, the higher age limit certainly made it more difficult for us to drink wherever and whenever we wanted. We approach drinking as if it's a guilty pleasure—discreetly, quietly, and with caution. It might sound harsh, but perhaps some things are better done with a bit of shame rather than fanfare. In the state where I grew up, liquor stores were generally so shabby and unappealing that you'd rather avoid them altogether. But in the state where I live now, alcohol is half the price, and liquor stores are on nearly every corner. These stores are as sleek and modern as a supermarket, complete with shopping carts, as if they're selling something as harmless as cookies.

I come from a progressive family (by Indian standards), and some of the older members occasionally enjoy a drink or two. However, I have to admit that I lose a bit of respect when I see them drinking in front of me or around their children. I’d prefer they drank in secret, so I can keep my illusions about them alive. I prefer responsible adults to cool adults and I find 30-40 year old frat boys a rather ugly sight.

Abstaining from alcohol on religious holidays and wedding days is a tradition in India, and I hope it remains that way. I find myself pondering the deep-rooted sense of inferiority among Indians as a cultural collective. It's disconcerting to witness the rush to blindly ape Western customs such as bachelor parties and strip clubs, particularly in a country as beautiful and culturally rich as mine. It's time we valued our unique traditions and embraced the wisdom they offer, rather than chasing after trends that might not truly serve us. It's important to appreciate the values and traditions that shape our identity, rather than chasing a superficial sense of modernity. After all, true progress must borrow from the outside, but it also must find strength in the wealth of its own roots.