ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN A VILLAGE IN NORTH INDIA

Abstract

Culture plays a significant role in defining how alcohol is consumed and in determining the attitudes of the nonconsuming population toward the consumer. While the mechanics of the relationship between alcohol consumption and culture have been extensively investigated in the industrialized world, there is a paucity of studies concerning developing nations. This study contributes to available data by examining in detail alcohol consumption within one North Indian caste group, the Rajputs. The Rajputs have played a unique role in Indian history, first as conquering invaders and later as martial rulers sworn to defend Hindu India. In the subject village, which is over 80 percent Rajput, they are the principal landholders and control the power structure. A survey of a variety of jatis within the village also confirmed their reputation as heavy drinkers. Investigation of the Rajput in relation to other jatis revealed significant differences in childrearing practices, family structure, marriage, religiosity and sex role differentiation between the two groups. This was seen to result in a different basic personality being evident in Rajputs and non-Rajputs. The Rajputs' ongoing ties to their marital past were found to dictate that Rajput males express their martiality by repressing a broad range of intense emotions, including fear, loneliness and despair, and that they restrict the expression of intimacy in personal relationships. Family life, childrearing, marriage and sexual relationships were all subordinated to this overriding concern. Alcohol plays a crucial role in this cultural scheme in that it is viewed as a culturally-sanctioned "escape valve," its consumption resulting in "disinhibiting" behavior not usually associated with the stoic Rajput personality. Evidence of this assigned role was seen in the high associations of alcohol consumption with the release of violence and sexual passions and its function as a social lubricant providing the means for the individual Rajput to function in social situations in which he feels uncomfortable. The sociocultural roles assigned to the consumption of alcohol in Rajput culture were found to bear a striking resemblance to those found in North American culture, specifically in the United States.