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{{Short description|Type of Desi daru}}
'''Tharra''' ([[Hindi]]: ठर्रा, [[Urdu]]: ٹھرا) is a type of [[Desi daru]] which is locally, and often illegally, brewed [[alcoholic drink]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]], mainly India and [[Pakistan]].<ref name="ref36datim">[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-9-2005_pg7_57 Use of ‘tharra’ rises alarmingly], Intikhab Ali, 15 September 2005, Daily Times (Pakistan), ''... The number of teenagers in the city drinking locally made liquor called tharra is fast increasing ... also known in the market as kuppi, bambaat, katchi shraab and kutta maar. This liquor is life-threatening and its worst side-effects include loss of eyesight and destroyed liver ...''</ref> It is made from yeast [[Fermentation (food)| fermentation]] of [[sugarcane]], or wheat husk, especially in [[Bihar]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] and [[Haryana]]. Since it is usually made from sugarcane, it is often viewed as a crude [[rum]].<ref name="ref19rixep">{{cite book|author=Alan J. Buglass|title=Handbook of Alcoholic Beverages: Technical, Analytical and Nutritional Aspects|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNc34oNpg0AC&q=tharra&pg=PT109|date=13 January 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-97665-4|page=558|chapter=Distilled Spirits|quote=... Indian rum ranges from the rough and pungent tharra to sophisticated, aged dark beverages such as Old Monk ...}}</ref>

==Preparation==
Due to the [[Pungency|pungent]] smell of the [[distilling]] process, ''Tharra'' is often prepared in remote fields, away from human settlements. It recycles some of the waste products of the agricultural economy of the region.

==Health concerns==

According to a study done in Pakistan, homemade liquor ''Tharra'' contain many impurities and is often injurious to health.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Imran |first1=Uzma |last2=Chandio |first2=Awais |last3=Soomro |first3=Jamil |last4=Kumar |first4=Haresh |last5=Brohi |first5=Rafi-U-Zaman |title=Assessment of Homemade Liquor "Tharra" Quality by GC-FID and its Potential Impacts on Human Health |journal=Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology |date=1 October 2017 |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=1025–1036 |doi=10.22581/muet1982.1704.27 |bibcode=2017MURJE..36.1025I |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320395717|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Local economy==
It is often consumed by poor or landless tillers, typically distilled with the connivance of officials and police officers, generating large profits.

==See also==
* [[Desi daru]]
* [[Kilju]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Portal bar|Liquor|Drink|India}}
{{Alcohol in India}}
{{Alcohol by countries}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Indian beverages}}
{{Beers of the world}}
{{Prohibition |state=collapsed}}
{{Whisky |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Indian alcoholic drinks]]
[[Category:Indian distilled drinks]]
[[Category:Alcohol in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Traditional Indian alcoholic beverages]]
[[Category:Adulteration]]
[[Category:Alcohol in India]]

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