Pushkar priests want legal bhang

The priests of Pushkar are tired of smuggling bhang. After 10 years of dodging the police and illegally bringing bhang into the holy city fr...

The priests of Pushkar are tired of smuggling bhang. After 10 years of dodging the police and illegally bringing bhang into the holy city from neighbouring Ajmer, they are now demanding that legal thekas be opened in Pushkar.

‘‘We need it here,’’ 44-year-old priest Madhusudan pleads. ‘‘All we ask is for peace of mind to concentrate in God. And bhang helps. We never ask for anything. This is the first time we are and hope it will work out.’’

Like Madhusudan there is a sizeable number of priests and sadhus who are slowly getting together to ask for their ‘‘rights’’.

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‘‘The Brahmins of Pushkar have been drinking bhang for centuries. It is one of the few things that they indulge in. Everywhere else in the state, there are legal bhang thekas, why not in Pushkar?’’ asks the Religious Charitable Trust secretary in Pushkar, S.N. Garg.

‘‘The use of banned drugs is on the rise in the city,’’ says Ishwar Parashar, resident of the area. ‘‘Foreigners come and bring with them charas and all kinds of drugs. The young people here are slowly getting hooked to these drugs. There have been a few unregistered deaths due to an overdose. bhang will prevent this.’’

As of now, there are no legal thekas in Pushkar. While the government legally gives out thekas in Rajasthan, Pushkar has resisted the urge for 10 years, after the last few thekas were closed down.

‘‘As such there is no law that bans the sale of bhang in Pushkar,’’ the Executive Officer of the Pushkar Municipal Board, Narayan Lal Meena, explains. ‘‘But since the time of the kings, the sale of liquor, hunting and consumption of meat has been prohibited in Pushkar, keeping in mind that it is a religious place.’’

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‘‘But that doesn’t make sense,’’ says Ramzan Khan, MLA from the area who is campaigning for legal thekas in the state Assembly. ‘‘Everyone knows that in almost every hotel and guesthouse in Pushkar, all the banned things are available. In fact, if these legal thekas are opened, it will only reduce the illegal trade.’’

While Meena agrees the illegal drug trade is on the rise in Pushkar, he adds that any attempt to legalise the sale of bhang here will only result in widespread public protests.

‘‘A majority of the residents will definitely oppose any such move on our part. We want to maintain the sanctity of this pilgrim centre. I know there is illegal trade but that is where the police come in. They are constantly carrying out raids and keeping a check on the problem,’’ Meena says.

Madhusudan disagrees. ‘‘Look, it is simple. Now, we go through a lot of trouble to smuggle bhang in from Ajmer. Give it to us legally and we will not disturb the peace.’’

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Excise officials in Jaipur add that they will be only too glad if the Pushkar Municipal Board changes its mind. ‘‘It will mean more revenue for us. We have no problem in opening thekas, provided the local authorities lift the unofficial ban,’’ an official says.