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THE HINDU Magazine DELHI
Sunday, March 3, 2019 5

piano when he took on the part, did Mercury’s role. For Malek, it was even He never believed he could play
intensive training. He began voice, more intimidating because the iconic Freddie Mercury until he realised his
piano and guitar lessons, and said he concert was filmed on day one of name was Farrokh Bulsara — “and that
spent months watching the archival shooting. According to reports, a was the most powerful message sent to
footage of Mercury to understand his combination of Mercury’s real voice, me.”
accent, movements, stage presence Malek’s voice and another singer was As for Mercury, he was inspired by
and the way he reacted to the used against the band’s original the way the Queen singer could move
audience. He also got a prosthetic for recordings of Queen’s hits like We will people and reach out to everyone, even
Mercury’s teeth, who was sometimes Rock You and We are the Champions, those at the back of the room. Malek
called Bucky as a child, to make it “feel the two songs with which the band said it was as if he was telling the
more like Freddie.” opened Oscars night with the help of audience, “I will play to you and
The film faithfully recreates frame singer Adam Lambert. together we will transcend...it’s not
by frame one of the high points of about being from one place or looking
Queen’s career — the Live Aid benefit What does it mean? like one thing or one race, we are all
concert in London in July 1985. The Growing up, Malek never thought it human beings, collectively we are all
Queen members, particularly guitarist possible that he would one day act in the champions.” In a divided world,
Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, Mr. Robot and win an Emmy “because I Malek had hit the right note.
were at hand to advise the filmmakers never saw anyone in the lead role that .............................................................................
on every aspect of the music and looked like me.” Sudipta Datta

■WHAT ■WHERE

The lowdown on the In Assam, lethal liquor
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Forest Rights Act in tea country

What is it? evicted. It ordered the Forest Survey of Spurious ‘sulai,’ or country spirit, has
In the colonial era, the British diverted India (FSI) to make a satellite survey often taken lives in Assam. But the
abundant forest wealth of the nation to and place on record the cheap liquor was seldom a large­scale
meet their economic needs. While “encroachment positions.” killer until more than a week ago when
procedure for settlement of rights was it felled 157 people in and around two
provided under statutes such as the What is the problem? tea estates in eastern Assam’s Golaghat
Indian Forest Act, 1927, these were The February 13 order is based on and Jorhat districts. The disaster forced
hardly followed. As a result, tribal and affidavits filed by the States. The the State to crack down on illicit
#70929
forest­dwelling communities, who had affidavits, however, do not make clear breweries that allegedly thrive on a
been living within the forests in whether the due process of law was nexus between bootleggers and excise
harmony with the environment and observed before the claims were and police officials.
the ecosystem, continued to live inside rejected. The Centre argues that the
the forests in tenurial insecurity, a rejection of claims is particularly high Where did the tragedy happen?
situation which continued even after in the States hit by Left­Wing On February 21, death struck at the
independence as they were Extremism, where tribal population is Halmira Tea Estate in Golaghat when
marginalised. The symbiotic high. The forest land claims of these plantation workers gathered to
relationship between forests and tribes and forest­dwellers are mostly celebrate a birth. Local hospitals soon drinks, but is far more toxic. If not
forest­dwelling communities found rejected by the States. Being poor and began to fill with patients from villages produced by standardised factories, a
recognition in the National Forest illiterate, living in remote areas, they around Halmira and Borhola Tea Estate higher dose of methanol can cause
Policy, 1988. The policy called for the do not know the appropriate in Jorhat district. Preliminary multiple organ failure.
need to associate tribal people in the procedure for filing claims. The gram investigations pointed to the ‘sulai’
protection, regeneration and sabhas, which initiate the verification having come from the same source. Why are gardens affected?
development of forests. The Scheduled The tragedy happened within a certain A survey done a decade ago by an NGO
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest radius of the two estates not far from in 64 tea estates of Sonitpur district
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) each other, but social activists involved revealed 87% of plantation workers
Act, 2006, was enacted to protect the with the health of plantation workers aged above 40 were addicted to
marginalised socio­economic class of said it could have been anywhere alcohol. This addiction, activists say, is
citizens and balance the right to across Assam’s tea­growing areas a colonial hangover; the British
environment with their right to life and comprising 65,000 major and small planters made rectified spirit easily and
livelihood. gardens. cheaply available to the earliest
plantation workers to let them forget
What did the order say? What caused the deaths? the trauma of being uprooted from
On February 13, the Supreme Court Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya their central Indian homes 170 years
ordered the eviction of lakhs belonging said a lethal combination of methanol ago. Alcoholism coincided with
to the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and and liquid molasses claimed the lives of another habit the British introduced —
Other Traditional Forest Dwellers plantation workers. The National salted tea — to counter dehydration.
(OTFDs) categories across 16 States, Human Rights Commission took note
whose claim as forest­dwellers has of their claims, are low on awareness of of the methanol content and issued What are corrective measures?
been rejected under the Forest Rights how to deal with them. The rejection notice to the State government, asking In 2017, the BJP government amended
Act. A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, orders are not even communicated to it for a report on the cause of death the Excise Rules for “scientific
Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee these communities. and the action taken. Excise officials brewing” and to end the control of the
ordered the Chief Secretaries of many said ‘sulai’ traditionally involved country liquor market by a few barons.
of these States to evict those whose What lies ahead? fermenting molasses and breaking it Companies were offered licences,
claims were finally rejected. The court On February 28, the court stayed its down to ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, and expected to fetch ₹200 crore in annual
directed that the eviction be carried order, though it said “the mighty and carbon dioxide at a controlled revenue, to bottle hygienic country
out by July 24, 2019. the undeserving” who have temperature. A process of distillation spirit. A firm in Jorhat set up an
The Bench, in a 19­page order, encroached on forest land would be over firewood yielded the clear, automated plant to produce ‘sulai’ with
cautioned the States that if the shown no mercy. It has decided to pungent liquor with alcohol content of 12% alcohol. But illicit brewers have
evictions were not carried out within examine whether due process was up to 45%. But high demand and been cashing in on the demand with
the stipulated time, “the matter would followed by the gram sabhas and the commercialisation saw illegal cheaper stuff that sells higher on
be viewed seriously.” The Chief States under the Forest Rights Act manufacturers using the cheaper weekly pay day or during a social
Secretaries of the States were asked to before the claims were rejected. methanol, an alcohol that provides the occasion, as was the case in Halmira.
file affidavits by July 12, explaining why ............................................................................. same kick as ethanol and occurs .............................................................................
the rejected claimants had not been Krishnadas Rajagopal naturally at low levels in fermented Rahul Karmakar