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Christians demand ban on Christian Brothers brandy

Christians in Kerala are up in arms against popular international liquor brand Christian Brothers.

The brandy, launched in the state three months ago, has angered the community because the label on the bottle carries the picture of a church and a cross. Worse, the label says the brandy was pioneered by a Jesuit priest in California, USA, in 1838 and became popular because it was used for religious ceremonies.

Liquor vendors in the state are wary of stocking the bottles for fear of reprisals by militant Christians.

Street protests demanding a ban on the brand are mounting by the day. Early protests were witnessed in the coastal district of Alleppey where a socio-cultural organisation called Kripasanam launched a people's movement for a ban on the liquor.

Kripasanam director Fr V P Joseph Valiyaveetil accuses the company of marketing the brandy under the trade name of Christian Brothers to exploit religious sentiments. He says the depiction of Christian religious symbols on the bottles has offended a large section of the community. Moreover, he argues, it is against the 1958 Trademarks and Merchandise Act.

Resentment against the brand is all the more acute because of the recent proposal of the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Delhi state to remove churches from the list of religious places on the grounds that wine is consumed in them during the Holy Sacrament.

The Kothamangalam Diocese Madyavarjana Samithi (anti-liquor organisation) has sent a legal notice to the manufacturer demanding stoppage of production of the liquor and an apology to Christians.

The organisation's president, Prof Vincent Maliyekkal, has objected strongly to the company's attempt to justify the brand by pointing out that Christians use alcohol for their religious rites. "It is an insult to the religion and an attempt to give respectability to liquor," he says.

The liquor is manufactured in India by International Distillers (India) Ltd, Bombay, and bottled in Kerala by Kerala Alcoholic Products Pvt Ltd, Palghat.

The All-Kerala Christian Youth Movement has also threatened to launch an agitation if the liquor is not withdrawn immediately. AKCYM president Rani Cheppallil said the organisation would first appeal to the authorities concerned to act against the company.

Despite the uproar, the brand has not been received well in Kerala, having notched up sales of only 5,000 cases a month against the state's consumption of 800,000 cases of liquor. Even in the peak Onam (Malayalee new year) season, it sold just 6,000 cases, according to the Kerala Beverages Corporation, sole distributor for Indian-made foreign liquor (foreign varieties of liquor brewed or distilled in India, a classification under Indian excise laws) in the state.

KBC managing director Yogesh Gupta said the corporation had received complaints against the brand, but had no mandate to take action. He said action could only be taken by the excise department.

State Excise Commissioner John Mathai was not immediately available for comment.

Interestingly, the controversy over Christian Brothers has also focused attention on other brands using religious or communal names or symbols like Old Monk rum, Shiva brandy, and Mughal Monarch whisky.