“[Opium] is a poisonous thing. Its growth is in no way beneficial to the country. It produces an effect which demoralizes the people. Physical growth is deteriorated and children are affected also.” Babu Kshetra Nath Mukerjee argues the cultivation of poppy, the plant from which opium is derived, is extremely detrimental to the entire Indian population. But is Opium consumption really any worse than alcohol? And is there any solution that can simultaneously protect Indian zemindars, lower consumption, shelter habitual users, and ensure Indian prosperity? Babu and Shbikh Raza Husain Khan certainly believe so, and offer insight to each of their own thoughts concerning Opium.
Aside from medicinal uses and the addictive nature of opium, Babu claims there is no reason to cultivate the drug. Opium use is “most injurious to the persons who use it and has its evil effects upon the children also.” Still, because of its euphoric high and high demand, poppy seems the perfect cash crop to cultivate. Contrary to this belief, “Tobacco or sugarcane crops are better paying crops than poppy.” “In reality,” Buba continues, “cultivators lose 36 rupees per ‘bigha’ from growing poppy.” Buba, a landowner and cultivator himself, stresses these findings in his book and agricultural publications. Nonetheless, Indian consumption exceeded nearly 900,000 pounds of opium every year. 1 Buba conveys his concerns not out of desire for personal gain, but to ensure the general welfare and well-being of his fellow countrymen. In fact, Buba once “had the occasion to direct some cultivators to grow tobacco instead of poppy. They made a profit of nearly 40 rupees per bigha.” Regardless, prohibiting or illegalizing the use of opium arouses many questions and problems. Uncertainties with medicinal use, government intervention, distribution, health centers, and medical doctors require a complex solution, however, Buba offers several answers to these problems. “[Opium production] should be stopped altogether, but attention should be drawn to the fact that it must be lessened gradually. It must be sold to the Medical Department so that each man might be registered, and then each habitual consumer might get opium from the Medical Department.” “…medical men should keep a register of each person, and certificates should be given as to the circumstances why they may take opium.” Opponents of Buba’s plan question not only the inconvenience of traveling to medical centers, but how the government can fund establishing these centers. In addition, there are uncertainties surrounding who can be determined a medical doctor and distribute the drug. In his response, Bubba states “[There need only be] one Assistant Surgeon in each headquarter of the district, and there are at least four or five native doctors in each sub-division. Men will not have to travel to get opium from the district treasury. If there be centres they will not have to travel into distant lands for the purpose of getting opium. There will be less smuggling also.” Instead, “The already existing medical centers will [begin prescribing opium]” Buba also explains how this method will be able to monitor very closely for excessive consumption. When asked whether alcohol should also be banned, Buba responded “Yes, but [alcohol] does not effect the law of hereditary. It has an evil effect upon the persons who use it immoderately.” Buba’s unbiased response visibly demonstrates that he is passionate about not only eliminating opium, but all harmful drugs in order to protect the people of India.
Shbikh, a proponent of Buba’s ideas, also shares his feelings regarding opium. “Opium-eating often proves detrimental to the morality and health of consumers. I do not think that much benefit accrues from poppy cultivation.” Ironically, Shbikh does however allow pahi kasht, or tenant farmers, to cultivate poppy on his lands. In his defense, Shbikh claims he is “not in favor of immediate prohibition” but also adds a crucial idea that Buba should adopt to his plan. “…many opium-eaters will find it difficult to live without[opium]. Cultivation should be gradually abolished and opium be sold only for medical purposes. By that I mean that Government should stop giving advances. Government should encourage the cultivation of other crops and make advances for sugarcane.” Shbikh is referring to the advances the Indian government was currently paying to poppy cultivators that other crop growers did not receive. In his opinion, it was these pre-harvest advances that made poppy cultivation lucrative. Although Shbikh, a large landowner himself, was unsure how profitable poppy cultivation truly is, he states that government advances offered for other crops is a solution to gradually end opium consumption. Shbikh brilliantly suggests the government establish a bank, and provide an advance, or lend money to each non-poppy cultivator, to be refunded after that year’s harvest.
After examining Buba and Shbik’s responses to the Commissioner’s questions, I was effectively persuaded Opium cultivation should cease. The type of responses shared by the pair were oddly shaped by the Commissioner’s questions, however, very important matters were brought to light. For each interviewee, the Commissioner foremost set out to determine whether each spoke out of any personal bias or for any personal gain. Many may argue government crop advances would benefit large landowners such as Buba and Shbik. While this is true, the benefits advances may offer would not outweigh the personal losses each would accrue from the soaring increase in supply of each of their crops and the subsequent lower prices. Buba and Shbik offer a compelling argument because they have nothing to gain from opium prohibition and exhibit non-biased interpretations of all drugs including alcohol. Regretably, however, the way the Commissioner proposes his questions may lead us to assume his pro-opium stance. The Commissioner fails to inquire how devastating and unhealthy opium consumption is. Instead, his questions tend to be more socio-economical—as if he’s desperate to find a flaw or bias in each interviewee’s logic.
Unfortunately, Buba and Shbik overlook the most important aspect of opium and the immense cultural roll it plays. Similarly to alcohol, opium is crucial to many cultural and religious Indian practices. The social perception of opium not as a drug, but as a symbol of Indian culture in general creates an almost sacrilegious feeling amongst Indians towards opium prohibition. In addition, the economic implications would be devastating for the large number of shops, stores, and bars that relied on opium to attract customers. These are two major ideas that Buba, Shbik, and other anti-opium reformers needed to resolve in their plan to illegalize opium consumption.

"opium." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. .