1.1 INTRODUCTION
I made my first field visit from Jaipur to Banswara in December, accompanying a coworker who was conducting a budgeting workshop for Vaagdhara’s Adivasi (tribal) beneficiaries. I had the opportunity to observe budget orientations in three different units, or subregions of Rajasthan where Vaagdhara operates. The orientations primarily focused on financial literacy skills like creating household budgets and tracking finances, but I noticed one point repeated a few times–almost frivolously, as though to soften the gravity of its implications: community members must not spend money on alcohol. Despite the reductive and Gandhian overtones of this statement, delineating alcohol as an unequivocal moral wrong, my interest was piqued as to whether struggles with alcoholism were at all endemic to tribal communities across India–particularly since globally, indigenous communities often have higher rates of alcoholism than non-indigenous ones.
In the sections that follow, I attempt to present an overview of alcoholism in tribal communities in India, including a brief history of attitudes toward tribal drinkers. I then delve into sociocultural aspects including longstanding tribal practices, educational and financial statuses, and gender discrepancies. I conclude with propositions for continuing to tackle alcoholism in tribal India.
Note: In most of the studies discussed below, diagnoses of alcoholism are determined using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), a tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in which a score of 8 or more out of 10 indicates harmful alcohol use.
OVERVIEW
2.1 Alcohol in Urban and Tribal India
India has a uniquely complex relationship with alcohol, given sociocultural norms related to caste, religion, and gender, not to mention Independence-era depictions of alcohol as disparate from Indian culture and inherently sinful. Within India, the legal drinking age varies substantially by state. While the majority of states (16) have set the drinking age at 21, others have set it at 18 (5 states), 19 (one state), or in the case of Delhi, 25. As of 2025, the states and territories of Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Lakshadweep have banned alcohol sales and consumption for their residents, with minimal exceptions made for hospitality establishments and medical patients (Sengupta, 2022).
Every five years, India conducts National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) to assess trends in family health, welfare, and demographic trends. According to NFHS-5 (2019-21), the most recent such survey, alcohol consumption is nationally on the decline but remains higher in rural India than urban India. 1.6% of rural women and 19.9% of rural men aged 15 and up consume alcohol, compared to 0.6% of urban women and 16.5% of urban men (Express News Service, India Express, 2022).
Researchers Singh and Kumar from Mumbai’s International Institute for Population Sciences also conducted a comparative analysis of NFHS-4 (2015-16) and NFHS-5, concluding that the consumption of homemade liquor like tadi and mahua, which are traditionally brewed locally by tribal communities, was higher in rural areas than urban, while urban areas had higher rates of beer and wine consumption (2024). Overall, the higher rates of alcohol consumption in Indian tribal communities are in alignment with global trends of indigenous communities consuming more alcohol on average than non-indigenous communities, due to the interplay of various historical and cultural factors that contribute to their status as marginalized populations.
2.2 Case Studies: Rates of Consumption in Tribes
The following case studies elucidate alcohol consumption trends in various tribes across India. Among them, the percentage of drinkers who exhibit alcohol dependence as per AUDIT scores is about 22%, or almost a quarter of all drinkers in the studies.
In a 2021 study of 1200 men from Jawadhi Hills, a rural district of northern Tamil Nadu, 65% of participants had a history of alcohol consumption in the last year, and about a quarter of those men (29%) exhibited signs of alcohol dependency (Rose et al., 2021).
In the West Midnapore district of Bengal, home to the Mahato and Santal tribes, a 2018 study of 340 tribal participants found that 70% of the group had consumed alcohol within the last month, and out of this group, 1 in 4 started drinking before 20 years of age. Within male subjects, who exhibited much higher rates of alcohol use than females, 20% were in Zones III or IV of the AUDIT score, which indicate harmful use or dependence (Ray et al.).
A 2023 study of 388 Kattunayakan households in the Wayanad district of Kerala found relatively lower rates of drinking, with 16% percent of participants having consumed alcohol in the past year. However, broken down by gender, this translated to almost half of the male population compared to 5% of the female population. Of those who drink, 14.5% had received treatment or counseling for alcohol abuse (Sadath et al.).
HISTORY OF ALCOHOL IN TRIBES
3.1 Cultural Traditions
Despite India’s predominant historical narrative about alcohol, the substance was not extrinsic to India but had already been in use by Adivasi communities well before India’s colonization. In the Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand and Odisha, the mythology of tribes like the Munda, Oraon, Kharia, and Ho all includes variations on the story that their tribes were only able to procreate once the Supreme Being taught them to prepare the rice beer handia (Begrich, 2013).
Among the tribal population of Odisha, which includes not only Mundas but also tribes like the Santals, it is common practice for pregnant women to drink handia to reduce physical and emotional pains. Handia is considered safe for pregnant women to consume because it is homebrewed and therefore believed to not cause the harmful side effects that commercial alcohols would (Pati et al., 2018). Consider, too, the Bonda tribe of southern Odisha, which accepts traditional alcohols like handia, landa, mahua, and chuda mad as integral and culturally significant parts of their diet. These alcohols are regarded as aiding digestion and stomach issues, as well as helping the drinker remain healthy and relaxed. In religious rituals, alcohol is offered to the Bondas’ gods and the souls of ancestors, and traditional brews are often consumed during cultural festivals, naming ceremonies, puberty rituals, and marriages (Sahoo et al., 2024). This pattern exists in southern tribes as well, where tribes from districts like the Jawadhi Hills in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala use alcohol in various cultural practices (Rose et al., 2021; Sadath et al., 2023). 
3.2 Gandhi’s Attitude on Alcohol
Considering VAAGDHARA’s adherence to Gandhian philosophy, it is important to note the ramifications of Gandhi’s stance on alcohol during India’s Independence and Post-Independence eras. He held that alcohol was an external influence that had entered India through colonization, and that colonizers had encouraged its consumption to further push Indians into subjugation. Gandhi’s argument was bolstered by the fact that alcohol is prohibited or highly discouraged in most major Indian religions, from Hinduism to Islam to Jainism, leading him to conclude that “In no part of the world is prohibition as easy to carry out as in India for with us it is only a minority that drinks” (Harijan interview, 1939). However, this minority comprised largely of marginalized populations including Adivasis, shudras, and laborers, for many of whom alcohol was an important cultural aspect or livelihood source. As such, Gandhi’s takes on alcohol were retrospectively considered an elite position by many, and the nationwide compulsory sobriety for which he advocated was critiqued as paternalistic (Begrich 2013).
3.3 Ripple Effects
The propagation of this attitude, combined with pre-existing negative perceptions about Adivasis, heightened stereotypes about their relationships with alcohol. Begrich notes that one salient issue is the notion of a collective versus individual mentality: “For someone belonging to the general population, drinking could be understood as an individual problem; in the case of Adivasis, however, drinking is seen as a symptom of a collective affliction, something inherent in the community or the culture” (182). Additionally, alcoholism in Adivasis is interpreted as an issue of cultural predisposition. These narratives are perpetuated by government bureaucrats, NGO employees, and church officials alike, disjoining Adivasis from individual agency and personhood and instead approaching the issue from a paternalistic lens through which tribes are seen as homogenous entities. What’s more, these attitudes have been internalized by many Adivasis themselves, who view their consumption of even average amounts of alcohol as proof of their innate proclivity toward drunkenness.
When questioned about alcohol as a source of livelihood for Adivasis, Gandhi advocated for them to earn a living through the sale of non-alcoholic beverages instead (Begrich, 2013). His suggestion is emblematic of how Adivasi-brewed alcohol has taken on a negative connotation in both social and legal spheres over time. The sale of mahua liquor was first outlawed by the British in the late 1800s to promote imported alcohol sales instead, but due to the prevailing mindset of the Indian elite, this law has remained so in most states. In Jharkhand, even the trade of legally produced tribal liquor is prohibited in panchayats with an Adivasi population of over 50 percent, belying a clear mistrust in Adivasis’ ability to refrain from overconsumption (Bergich, 2013).
It is true that attitudes are slowly changing. Take the case of Madhya Pradesh, which declared mahua a heritage liquor in 2021 (Mukherjee, 2022). Nevertheless, the vast majority of India’s laws on tribal alcohol remain highly restrictive.
In many areas where the home production and sale of tribal liquor is outlawed, legal Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has been introduced instead. However, this often makes space for a government monopoly on alcohol sales, creating a two-fold issue. First, Adivasis must resort to illicit and often more dangerous methods if they wish to continue selling tribal alcohol, including conducting brewing processes deeper into forests and plains. Second, and more pivotal, IMFL is often more potent than locally brewed alcohol, resulting in higher rates of intoxication and addiction (Rose et al., 2015).
4 .1 FINANCIALS
Low socioeconomic status (SES) is a major contributor to alcoholism among tribes. The tribal communities of the Jawadhi Hills had an average monthly income of around INR 2250, (Rose et al., 2021), and among the 388 Kattunayakan households surveyed by Sadath et al. in Kerala’s Wayanad district, the average monthly income was INR 2900 (2023). These numbers may be compared to the national monthly average of INR 12,163 for people in their prime working years, 25-55 years old (Jain & Tambe, 2024). Employment status also influences tribal communities’ relationships with alcohol for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being its causation of low SES. For example, 38% of the surveyed Kattunayakan participants in Sadath et al.’s study were unemployed without any main source of income (2023).
But unemployment can also prove deleterious when analyzed in combination with villages’ hyper-proximal social landscape. While close community has been shown to have preventative or mitigating effects against many psychological disorders, including substance abuse (Birkeland et al., 2021; Jodis et al., 2023), this same tight-knit social network can be damaging for alcohol consumers in Adivasi villages. The intimate physical landscape of tribal villages, where houses are often situated close together, makes it easier for men who are unemployed or only seasonally employed to gather in the evenings and drink collectively. This is compounded by the absence of work opportunities as well as of many other leisurely activities in village settings. As one Kattunayakan man testified, “We get only three‑ or four‑days’ work in a month. The rest of the time, we are simply sitting idle at home. So we (peers) plan for a drink from the morning. There is no other enjoyment for us here” (Sadath et al., 2023).
In a similarly paradoxical vein, higher incomes are also associated with alcoholism among Adivasis. However, this is specifically in the case of disposable income earned at irregular intervals, and not overall higher SES. This phenomenon is often linked to seasonal migration, wherein tribal members travel to cities for employment during agricultural off-seasons. Once they return to their villages, they possess large sums of cash that can more easily be spent on alcohol (Rose et al., 2020).
5.1 EDUCATION
Although education is a known protector against alcoholism, Adivasis receive less access to schooling than the general population (Begrich, 2013). According to India’s most recent census (2011), the average Adivasi literacy rate was 59% compared to the national average of 73%. While this number has been on the rise, school dropouts are still a persistent issue among tribal children. According to the 2022 Tribal Development Report published by the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, 48.2% of tribal children leave school before 8th grade and 62.4% leave before 10th grade (Kumar 2023). This challenge is demonstrated in the aforementioned case studies as well. Among tribals of the Jawadhi Hills, the vast majority of survey participants did not have any formal education (Rose et al., 2021). And of the Kattunayakan men surveyed in Sadath et al.’s 2023 study, the average formal education was just 4.1 years, with 46.1% of the respondents being illiterate.
The paucity of formal education among Adivasis causes diminished awareness of the causes and consequences of alcoholism. Even in study findings from other parts of India, illiterate or poorly educated men are more likely to be hazardous drinkers (Rose et al., 2021).
6.1 GENDER DISPARITIES
There exists a stark gender discrepancy among alcohol consumers in India, with only 1.3% of women drinking compared to 18.7% of men (Express News Service, 2022). This is largely due to gender norms and cultural stigmatization, which prevent women from drinking in public for fears of safety and loss of izzat (honor), among other reasons. Meanwhile, some primary drivers of Indian men’s alcohol consumption include social pressure and the fear of appearing feminine (Dasgupta et al., 2018).
This skewed gender ratio manifests in the vast majority of tribal communities as well. In the Malayali tribes of Vellore, Tamil Nadu, tradition forbids women from drinking at all (Ray et al., 2018). Among the Paniya tribes of Kerala’s Wayanad district, drinking is seen as a male activity, and it is common for older and younger males of the same family to drink together regularly (Devarapalli et al., 2020). In the Kattunayakan population, just 5% of women drink compared to almost half of the male population, with the risk of male alcohol use hovering at almost 18 times higher than the risk for Kattunayakan women (Sadath et al., 2023). In Jhargram, West Bengal, 83% of men among the Lodha tribe drink compared to 48% of women (Ray et al.), and in the scheduled tribes (STs) of Arunachal Pradesh’s Chamlang district, the ratio of male to female substance users was almost double (Devarapalli et al., 2020). However, Arunachal Pradesh’s tribes generally have higher percentages of women who drink compared to tribes in other regions of India (Pati et al., 2018).
One concern that this discrepancy evokes is the association between elevated alcohol use among males and increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), especially in rural India. In one study conducted of over 1000 couples in rural Maharashtra, where almost three-quarters of the sample population belonged to a scheduled caste or tribe, husbands who were at a higher risk for alcohol-related issues were more likely to have wives who reported IPV (Dasgupta et al., 2018). Also relevant is the fact that tribal women are often married younger than the national average: according to NFHS-5, 26% of SCs and STs married below the legal age (UNFPA). Since married women in India report the highest rates of IPV victimization (Dasgupta et al., 2018), tribal women’s relatively lower age of marriage makes them vulnerable to more years of IPV risk, particularly if their husband already exhibits elevated alcohol use.
7.1 NEXT STEPS
To curb alcoholism in tribal communities, health officials should follow a three-pronged approach of awareness, education, and intervention, all the while accounting for preexisting cultural beliefs. As one NIH Expert Panel concluded, an acknowledgement of varying cultures is currently absent from public health research, suggesting a highly monocultural lens. Innovative solutions like mobile clinics can be dispatched in tribal areas that are not linked to hospital infrastructure or are otherwise difficult to access (Sadath et al., 2023). As for intervention methods, Sreeraj et al. suggests that tribal populations may be more receptive to psychological support than pharmacological treatments due to widespread belief in the free-will model rather than disease model–in other words, the notion that overconsumption of alcohol is a behavioral issue and not a psychological or genetics-based disorder (2012).
Health programs must also address gender valences. Currently, the prevailing assumption that Indian women do not drink has led policy makers to dismiss the female population in their efforts to address alcoholism (Pati, 2018). Meanwhile many other countries have established programs for the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome and other alcohol-related birth defects. Similar programs would prove highly beneficial to tribal populations such as in Odisha, where cultural norms allow for pregnant women to consume home-brewed alcohol. Alcoholism-related counseling and education for tribal populations must also include awareness trainings on gender equality, with a special emphasis on male participation (Dasgupta et al., 2018). Doing so would mitigate rates of gender-based violence in communities with higher risks of elevated alcohol consumption.
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