On Sunday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah sparked a controversy after linking alcohol consumption to freedom of choice, saying his government had not increased the number of liquor shops in the Union Territory.“Has anybody forced you to drink? You are going to liquor shops by your own choice. Why do you go? We are not dragging you there,” Omar said when asked about liquor shops. “We are not even advertising liquor sales. Our government has not increased the number of alcohol shops.”A day later, Omar attempted a clarification, saying liquor shops cater to people whose “religion allows them to consume alcohol”. But the issue snowballed into a controversy, with rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference’s own MP Aga Ruhullah targeting him. The NC, in turn, accused the PDP of double standards over its own position on liquor sales during its coalition government with the BJP.On Monday, cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also weighed in on the issue saying both drugs and alcohol posed a serious threat to society. “The government cannot justify taking action against one while remaining silent on the other. The ongoing campaign against drug networks will not yield the desired results if action is not also taken against liquor, which is also destroying families,” he said.Rhetorical political sloganFor decades, the issue of liquor has remained a rhetorical political slogan in Jammu and Kashmir, often exposing contradictions in party positions. Leaders who advocated prohibition while in Opposition have frequently softened their stance in power, invoking “freedom of choice” and “personal liberty”.For much of this period, prohibition was not a major issue in public discourse in Kashmir. The Valley had only a handful of liquor shops, and alcohol consumption lacked both social and religious acceptance. Even so, the issue was repeatedly raised in the Assembly.In 1978, Syed Ali Geelani, then a Jamaat-e-Islami MLA, first called for a ban on liquor sales in Jammu and Kashmir through a private member’s Bill. However, NC founder and then chief minister Sheikh Abdullah — Omar’s grandfather — strongly opposed the proposal, arguing that prohibition would hurt revenue and tourism.Story continues below this adWhile Geelani continued to campaign for a ban and successive governments resisted it, the onset of militancy effectively halted liquor sales in the Valley. A militant outfit, Allah Tigers, led by Air Marshal Noor Khan, specifically targeted liquor shops and forced their closure. Over the past three decades, only four liquor shops operated in the Valley — all in Srinagar and under heavy security.In 2014, when Omar was CM, PDP leader Abdul Haq Khan introduced another private member’s Bill seeking prohibition. Though admitted, the Bill never came up for discussion.When the PDP came to power in coalition with the BJP in 2015, the debate came full circle. In 2016, then Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu ruled out a ban, citing “freedom of choice”. “There is a demand for banning liquor, but I believe the issue needs to be addressed on the basis of freedom of choice,” Drabu said in the Assembly. “As a state policy, we cannot enforce our decision on others. There is freedom of choice, and let people decide what they want to do.”In 2018, BJP leader Ravinder Raina also backed the idea of prohibition, calling for Jammu and Kashmir to be declared a dry state.Story continues below this adThe PDP-BJP government faced another test over prohibition when NC legislator Ishfaq Jabbar and Congress MLA G M Saroori introduced private member’s Bills seeking a liquor ban. After Jabbar’s Bill was rejected, NC legislators stormed the well of the House in protest.Opposing the Bill, then Minister of State for Finance Ajay Nanda of the BJP argued that Jammu and Kashmir, being a tourist destination, could not afford prohibition.While political theatre around prohibition continued in the Assembly, the issue entered mainstream public discourse in 2020 after the Jammu and Kashmir Excise Department identified 183 locations — 116 in Jammu and 67 in the Kashmir Valley — for opening new liquor shops. Following public outrage, the administration backtracked, saying no policy decision had been taken.The controversy resurfaced in 2022 when the administrative council headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha approved the sale of beer and ready-to-drink beverages in departmental stores in urban areas of Jammu and Kashmir. The move was widely criticised in the Valley as “cultural aggression”, drawing opposition from religious leaders, civil society groups and the public.Story continues below this adAlthough liquor sale and consumption were never formally banned in Kashmir, public drinking has long remained taboo and was also restricted by law. In recent years, however, videos of tourists consuming alcohol and posting them on social media have triggered anger in the Valley. The public display of alcohol consumption has given fresh momentum to anti-liquor campaigns and broadened public support for prohibition.