Mizoram has stopped the sale of alcohol. The Mizo National Front (MNF) government, led by Zoramthanga, hews to the puritanism of the Presbyterian church. So, Mizoram, a near-90% Christian state, will have an officially ‘dry’ Christmas, followed by total prohibition. The state is no stranger to this, nor to the devastating costs of liquor bans. A Congress government imposed a ban in 1997, egged on by the church. It was partially lifted by the same regime in 2014, with people allowed to purchase strictly rationed amounts every month. Between 2015 and 2018, alcohol sales mopped up .`200 crore in taxes, a significant amount for a state whose total tax revenue was .`484 crore last fiscal year. This will evaporate from Friday, as hooch replaces taxable liquor. Expected revenue loss was why the Uttar Pradesh government has imposed prohibition on six ‘holy’ towns, but kept the rest of the state out of it.