Alcohol in India - Research Paper Example

Men are ten times more likely to use alcohol regularly as compared to women. Raffensperger further states, “While alcohol consumption is low overall, it's even lower in women than in men in India”. Social Organizations and Use of Alcohol In India, people are divided into various categories according to their castes. There also exist many subcultures in India. Three most common subcultures in India are Punjabi culture, Bengali culture, and Marwari culture. Alcohol consumption is relatively low in Punjabi culture as compared to other two subcultures.

The social class structure, family system, and different subcultures put a significant impact on overall alcohol consumption in India. The social structure of India is a mixture of diverse cultures, religions, and racial groups. Hindu religion, Muslim religion, and Sikhism are the most prominent religions of India. Social structure of India influences the institutions of family, marriage, and caste (Gihar 58). If we talk about social organizations in India, the most common social organizations include Forward class, Backward class, and Harijans.

The social class structure of India includes different classes to which people of India belong. Forward class consists of rich people or those belonging to higher castes. People belonging to this class consume the highest percentage of total alcohol consumed by Indian people. Such people generally have fewer tensions in their lives as compared to lower classes. The main reasons for Forward class to consume a high percentage of alcohol include sociability and taste. Consumption of alcohol is not considered bad among higher classes of India.

The most common brands used by the Forward class people include Blossom Hill, Smirnoff Red Vodka, and Carling. People belonging to Backward or middle class also use alcoholic drinks but the percentage is considerably low as compared to Forward class or Harijans. In the societies of Backward class people, use of alcohol is not considered a good deed. The family structure of India plays an important role in controlling the percentage of alcohol consumption in this class. “Most of the families in India are extended families, wherein every member has his/her own role, often influenced by age and gender” (Rampur).

Every member of a family resects the norms and values of the family structure. The reason behind low percentage of alcohol consumption in this class is the joint family structure of India. It is very difficult for the adults to use alcoholic drinks in front of their parents or relatives. Children respect their parents and do not do any such thing, which their parents do not want them to do. Harijans or lowest class people are the most alcohol addicted people in India. These people are not financially stable and have many tensions in their lives.

They take alcohol in order to forget their problems for a while and to feel relaxed. However, they take low quality alcohol because they are not able to buy expensive or high quality alcoholic beverages. Living Conditions, Leisure, and Recreation Living conditions of Indian people and leisure also put a significant impact on overall alcohol consumption in India. Some people belonging to elite class use alcohol as a recreational activity. The people belonging