Archive · 3 Oct 2026
Why Mahua Flowers Faced Colonial Restrictions
Mahua flowers were used to make a drink at home.
The article says this drink competed with liquor sold by licensed businesses and brought in from elsewhere.
British authorities said home brewing was harmful to health and morality.
In 1878, a law required production to happen in approved distilleries.
In 1892, another law banned collecting and selling the flowers in the Bombay Presidency.
People did not stop drinking, according to the article.
Instead, they made the drink secretly.
The article says the secret liquor became worse because it used fewer flowers and more adulterants.
The article says home-brewed mahua competed with licensed and imported liquor.
British authorities framed the practice as a threat to public health and morality.
The Bombay Abkari Act of 1878 restricted production to government-approved distilleries.
The Mhowra Act of 1892 banned collecting and selling mahua flowers in the Bombay Presidency.
The article says people continued drinking underground, using fewer flowers and more adulterants.
- Who
- British authorities and people who collected mahua flowers and made home-brewed liquor.
- What
- Laws restricted mahua liquor production and later banned collecting and selling the flowers in the Bombay Presidency.
- When
- The Bombay Abkari Act was passed in 1878; the Mhowra Act followed in 1892.
- Where
- The Bombay Presidency.
- Why
- The article says home-brewed mahua competed with licensed and imported liquor; authorities cited public health and morality.
Colonial authorities
Mahua users
Regulating mahua liquor
Colonial authorities
Authorities described home-brewed mahua as a threat to public health and morality and restricted its production and trade.
Mahua users
People continued making and drinking mahua underground despite the restrictions.
- Earlier law
- The Bombay Abkari Act of 1878 restricted production to government-approved distilleries.
- Later law
- The Mhowra Act of 1892 banned collecting and selling mahua flowers in the Bombay Presidency.
- Authorities' stated concerns
- Public health and morality.
- Commercial context
- Home-brewed mahua competed with licensed and imported liquor.
- Reported outcome
- People continued drinking underground, with fewer flowers and more adulterants.