The Indian Armed Forces and Subsidised Liquor
The Indian armed forces as we know it is a creation of the British. In fact the history of the Indian army commences when Sir Robert Clive formed the Madras Sepoys and the Bengal army. Later the British changed their policies and made the army the exclusive organization staffed only by higher castes and so called martial races. Indian army does not trace its ancestry to the old Hindu or Mughal army.
During the days of the Raj, the British gave exclusive benefits to the army and one of these benefits was subsidized liquor. After 1947 a committee examined these privileges and concluded the army must continue to have these privileges including subsidized liquor. Nehru himself was very keen about it. This perk of the army is accepted by all civilian governments in India and there is no debate on it.
Cheap liquor without excise duty and sales tax is available to all service personnel from the military runs canteens on the basis of a smart card. These exemptions reduce the cost of the liquor for a serviceman by 50% from the market price. However a quota is fixed per month on the basis of rank. Officers up to the rank of Brigadier are entitled to 10 bottles of hard liquor including whiskey, rum, gin and wine. Senior officers above the rank of Brigadier are entitled to 12 bottles. The bottles can be collected every month. In addition an officer can also consume unlimited liquor at the Services clubs and institutes.
Earlier scotch whiskey was not available in the army canteens , but now rare scotch and premium brands like Chivas Regal, King of Kings, Black label etc are all available. Sometimes extremely rare scotch like the Balvenie is also available. This is a rare scotch and I love it immensely. I have purchased it from the duty free shops, but military canteens are still cheaper than duty free shops.
This is a privilege for the servicemen and adds to the glamour of the men in uniform. I have umpteen friends from the civil who love to come to the military clubs for drink and dinner. I have also presented many of them with a bottle of scotch and that is an absolute delight. This is because firstly, it is genuine as sometimes the stuff available in the market may be spurious or adulterated and secondly its cheaper. I look forward to entertaining some friends from boddunan as and when I visit Hyderabad.
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