Voting for ‘yu’ in dry Manipur
The Hindu
The State’s only constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes, Sekmai derives its name from a village that brews a popular distilled rice wine
Dry Manipur’s only Assembly constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes is voting for ‘ yu’, a distilled rice wine. Sekmai, the constituency, derives its name from Sekmai, a village of more than 4,000 home-based brewers, about 20 km north of State capital Imphal. Tipplers associate the name more with the type of ‘ yu’ the villagers brew.
Manipur has been divided since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government headed by Nongthombam Biren Singh had decided in June 2017 to pave the way for exporting branded country liquor that is allowed to be sold on a small scale, unlike the India-made foreign liquor.
Some of Manipur’s popular ‘ yu’ destinations include Andro, Phayeng and Keikhu Kabui. But the votes of thirsty throats and connoisseurs of local wines invariably go to the ‘ sekmai’ for its taste and kick.
The rating has not necessarily translated into prosperity for the people of Sekmai dominated by the Tai-Lai community. For the 5,066 voters across eight polling stations in the village, ‘ achchhe din (good days)’ can be ensured if the new government allows the production to be scaled up for selling to markets beyond Manipur.
“We would like our candidates to promote ‘ yu’ without feeling guilty or letting the pressure from prohibitionists get to them. But sadly, Sekmai has always produced the weakest representative in Manipur except for K. Chaoba, our very first MLA who could have become the Chief Minister,” Sekmai youth leader Khwairakpam Rakesh said.
Heikham Dingo Singh, the BJP candidate seeking re-election, credited the Biren Singh government for steps to take the local wine to the next level through branding and exporting. He also pointed to the approval of the State Assembly’s Select Committee in August 2021 to the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, for allowing the export-oriented brewing of alcoholic beverages.
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