When a Rafi song alerted villagers

IN 2020, more than 120 people died in Punjab’s Majha region after consuming spurious liquor. Last year, a hooch tragedy claimed about 20 lives in Sangrur district. And now a similar tragedy has occurred at Majitha in Amritsar district, resulting in over 20 deaths. Lethal synthetic liquor seems to be the new normal, even as unauthorised brewing of spirits has been in vogue for ages.

As a child in the late 1950s, I heard shrieks of villagers running around in panic in the streets, shouting that the Jhabal police were conducting a raid. From our rooftop, we would see groups of people talking about the raid and its fallout. Handcuffed residents were taken away by the police and confiscated drums were loaded on a bullock cart.

Most of the fertile land had turned barren because of Kallar (saline) soil, causing hardships for the hardworking and brave people of the village, which had the distinction of producing several freedom fighters and soldiers. In a bid to overcome their financial difficulties, many villagers started distilling illicit liquor and supplying it to areas in Amritsar city. No wonder the village’s image was sullied and the police stepped up their raids.

Then came the India-China war in 1962. Every town and village of Punjab reverberated with the patriotic song, “Watan ki aabroo khatre mein hai, hoshiar ho jao, taiyar ho jao …”, sung by a legend from Amritsar, Mohammed Rafi, penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and composed by a great music director, Khayyam, who hailed from Rahon, Nawanshahr. It featured Hindi film stars Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar.

In our village, sometimes in the early morning or in the thick of night, Rafi’s song would start echoing all over. Then we would hear footsteps of people running helter-skelter. I came to know about this song’s importance for our village much later.

Some smart villagers and residents of notorious localities in the city had joined hands and come up with a plan to evade arrest and save the liquor equipment from falling into cops’ hands. Six spots were chosen in the village; loudspeakers were installed and music records were kept ready. Twelve young men, who were usually sitting idle, were selected. Their job was to reach these places as soon as they got an input about police raids and turn on the loudspeakers.

The people who indulged in illicit distillation would thus be alerted. The system worked very well for many years for the people as well as the police, who proudly claimed that the illegal practice had been eliminated.

Musings