Kohima: Nagaland’s 35-year-old liquor ban is failing. Suspected bootlegged alcohol recently killed multiple people in Tuensang and Mokokchung districts, triggering urgent calls to scrap the NLTP Act of 1989. The status quo is deadly. Instead of stopping drinking, the law created a massive, dangerous underground market.
Researcher Dr. Kanato Chophy says the state must stop pretending the ban works. The proximity to Assam makes total prohibition impossible to enforce. Bootleggers now mix toxic home-brewed concoctions in small towns across the state. Chophy suggests a move toward regulated sales. He believes the government needs a dedicated officer to oversee a sensible policy. As he put it, “Honestly, total prohibition cannot work practically in Nagaland.”
The Kripa Foundation calls the current law an absolute failure. Director Abou Mere says the government ignores its duty to protect public health. He wants a shift from law enforcement to a system focused on safety. This would mean strict licensing, legal age limits, and rehab services. Mere also wants faith-based groups to step up. He says churches must address alcohol dependence within their own congregations instead of just pushing for a ban.
Critics point out that issuing advisories after people die is a mockery of governance. Rev. Dr. Meyu Changikiri of the North East India Christian Council agrees that the focus must move to harm reduction. He wants a collective response that prioritizes treatment and education over failed policies. The consensus is clear. A law that creates an unregulated, lethal supply chain is no law at all.
Updated at 3rd October 2026 at 9:52pm
The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) has pushed back against the growing movement to scrap the law. In a joint statement, Rev. Dr. Mar Pongener and Dr. Villo Naleo argued that an illegal market does not invalidate the law's intent. They stated that the appropriate response to corruption or criminal networks is not to surrender public policy or legalize these issues. The council maintains that human dignity, family welfare, and social responsibility remain the primary focus.
The NBCC claims that the Excise Department has shifted its primary duty from revenue collection to active enforcement of the act. While the council admits the law is imperfect, it insists that any government review should not serve as an automatic trigger for repeal. Instead, they demand stronger institutional integrity, the closing of loopholes, and a shared commitment from village organizations, women, and student groups to help fix the broken enforcement system.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 5:46am
The NSCN Provisional Government has entered the fray, declaring the recent deaths of 20 people in Tuensang and Mokokchung a calculated crime rather than an accident. The group reported that 11 individuals died in Tuensang and nine in Mokokchung, calling these losses a result of greed fueled by illicit networks operating in the shadows of the law. They hit the state government for its apparent indifference, warning that inaction in the face of such tragedy borders on complicity.
While the NSCN called for a thorough investigation into the supply chains behind these deaths, it turned its sights on the church, urging the NBCC to wake up and mobilize civil society rather than remaining silent. The group framed the current crisis as a test of collective conscience, insisting that the only path forward is to hold the criminal enterprises accountable through unified, ironclad enforcement of the existing prohibition laws.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 9:47am
The NBCC also warned against making groundless claims about corruption or shadowy syndicates, insisting that such allegations must be backed by hard evidence before dragging institutions through the mud. They pointed to the recent destruction of bootlegged stock in Zunheboto as a model for how the state and community should cooperate, rather than just pointing fingers.
The NSCN Provisional Government took a sharper tone, hitting the state government for its silence. They characterized the administration's neutrality as nothing more than complicity, demanding that officials stop looking the other way while illicit networks turn the prohibition law into a death trap.
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