Having discussed the merits and demerits of the prohibition policy on a social networking site, a Vadodara-based realtor and an ‘art lover’ has come up with an exhibition that criticises the state government for not giving up The Bombay Prohibition Act 1949.

A group of artists and people from other professions from Gujarat and outside the state have joined him to voice their views on the issue through this month-long exhibition, which started on Thursday.

While some targeted the state’s “hypocrisy” in the free flow of liquor to politicians and police officials in the ‘dry’ state, and the government’s discrimination in keeping the SEZs away from the Act, others highlighted that it is not prohibition but public mindset that builds up a better society.

“As an artist, I have the freedom to express what I see around me. The issue of prohibition is seen differently here and it needs to be portrayed without the involvement of any politics. I am not sure how the people and the government would react to this show, but as an artist, I am not afraid since we try and bring out the true expressions of society through our work,” said Nirmala Biluka, one of the artists of the group, who call themselves ‘The Facebook Group’.

“I am even planning to invite the city police commissioner to our exhibition. I have been in the real estate business for long, and while travelling abroad and comparing the situation with Gujarat, I realised that prohibition is just hypocrisy in our state. The sufferers are not those from the affluent class, but the poor people who become victims of hooch tragedies like the one in Ahmedabad,” said Rajiv Patel, the curator of the exhibition.

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