Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu

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Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu is governed by State Prohibition and Excise department as per Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937. TASMAC, state government owned company controls the wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the State. On 24 May 2016, after swearing-in J. Jayalalitha has announced to close 500 liquor shops and reduce the business hours of State-run liquor shops across the State. [1] On 20 February 2017, the first office order signed by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the closure of 500 liquor outlets owned by the public sector TASMAC. This is in addition to the 500 liquor outlets closed down by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in May 2016.

Contents

Prohibition before Independence

Madras Abkari Act, 1886 was imposed and set in place a strict regulation which banned the local manufacturing of alcohol and confined it to central distilleries where excise duty was paid prior to being sold. [2] This British tax policy favored the consumption of foreign liquors over more traditional drinks such as toddy and country liquors. One fifth of the Madras Presidency population consumed alcohol. Excise revenue from Madras Presidency accounted for as much as 38% of its total revenue. [3] As per Historian Robert Eric Colvard, alcohol consumption came to be defined as something "foreign" and inherently anti-Indian by nationalists. Major Indian freedom struggle like the Swadeshi, Non-Cooperation, and Civil Disobedience movement played vital role in anti-alcohol agitation. [4] When Congress won with majority in Madras Presidency in 1937, C. Rajagopalachari imposed alcohol prohibition in Salem district then later extended throughout the presidency.

Prohibition after Independence

Though prohibition was relaxed on other states after independence including former Madras Presidency regions, Tamil Nadu continued to adopt total prohibition until 1971. [5] In 1971 the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi suspended it in 1971 and allowed the sale of arrack and toddy. But later, the same government stopped the sale of these in 1974. [6] In 1981, the AIADMK government headed by M.G. Ramachandran lifted prohibition and reintroduced the sale of arrack and toddy. Due to wide use of the methanol in industries and there were no restrictions in other States, In 1984 September methanol was removed from the purview of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act. In 1987, the sale of arrack and toddy was again banned. During 1975-76 and 1988–90, illicit liquor claimed many lives in Tamil Nadu. In 1990, the DMK government revived the sale of arrack and toddy. In 1991 July 16, again the sale of arrack and toddy was banned by new government led by J. Jayalalitha. [5] Methanol was substituted and consumed under the illegal liquor trade. In 2002, Methanol brought again under Prohibition act [7]

TASMAC

Whenever government imposed prohibition, the illegal sale of toddy and arrack along with consumption of methanol, an industrial solvent resulting in loss of several lives, Which paving way for lifting the ban. [6] In 2001, prohibition was lifted again and TASMAC became the wholesale monopoly for alcohol. In January 2002, the Tamil Nadu government under O. Panneerselvam started selling low-cost liquor through TASMAC. In 2014-15, the annual revenue of TASMAC was Rs. 26,188 crores and the company sold 48.23 lakh cases of liquor. [5]

Anti-liquor agitations

Fifty nine year old Gandhian Sasi Perumal protested to demand closure of a TASMAC shop in Kanyakumari. During the protest on 31 July 2015, Perumal climbed up a mobile phone tower and began losing his consciousness led to death. [8] In August 2015, residents of Kalingapatty village in Tirunelveli district, was led by Mariammal, mother of Vaiko ransacked nearby TASMAC outlet to call for prohibition in the state. [9] On 30 October 2015, police arrested Kovan, a Folk artist and a member of extreme Left group Makkal Kalai Iyakkam, who was criticising government policy on earning revenue by selling liquor. [10]

  1. Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 [11]
  2. The Tamil Nadu Neera and Padaneer Rules, 1939
  3. The Tamil Nadu Molasses Control and Regulation Rules, 1958.
  4. The Tamil Nadu Denatured Spirit, Methyl alcohol and Varnish (French Polish) Rules, 1959
  5. The Tamil Nadu Spirituous Essence Rules, 1972
  6. The Tamil Nadu Disposal of Articles (Confiscated under Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937) Rules, 1979
  7. The Tamil Nadu Distillery Rules, 1981
  8. The Tamil Nadu Indian Made Foreign Spirit (Manufacture) Rules, 1981
  9. The Tamil Nadu Liquor (Licence and Permit) Rules, 1981
  10. The Tamil Nadu Liquor Transit Rules, 1982
  11. The Tamil Nadu Indian Made Foreign Spirit (Supply by Wholesale) Rules, 1983
  12. The Tamil Nadu Brewery Rules, 1983
  13. The Tamil Nadu Prohibition Appeal and Revision Rules, 1983
  14. The Tamil Nadu Mass Wine Rules, 1984
  15. The Tamil Nadu Chloral Hydrate Rules, 1984
  16. The Tamil Nadu Spirituous Preparation (Control) Rules, 1987
  17. The Tamil Nadu Rectified Spirit Rules, 2000

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C. Rajagopalachari was a Chief Minister of erstwhile Madras Presidency of Independent India. He was the first Indian National Congress member to assume office in Madras Presidency. He served as a Chief Minister for two terms spanning about five years. He was elected as a Chief Minister after 1937 elections in Madras Presidency and served till 1939. He was also the first Chief Minister to serve the Madras State after first elections held after Indian independence. His second term lasted from 1952 till 1954.

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) is a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It controls the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) trade in the state.

Kerala State Beverages Corporation

Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd (BEVCO) is a public sector company fully owned by the Government of Kerala, it started under civil supplies department at that time under the minister U A Meeran, K Karunakaran Ministry. Since then BEVCO has the authority under law for the wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Kerala. It controls the retail sales of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer in the state.

The legal drinking age in India and the laws which regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol vary significantly from state to state. In India, consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat and Nagaland, Mizoram as well as the union territory of Lakshadweep. There is partial ban on alcohol in some districts of Manipur. All other Indian states permit alcohol consumption but fix a legal drinking age, which ranges at different ages per region. In some states the legal drinking age can be different for different types of alcoholic beverage.

Tamil Nadu Government Laws & Rules

Tamil Nadu Government Laws & Rules

The 2008 Karnataka-Tamil Nadu alcohol poisonings was an incident in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in May 2008 in which 180 people reportedly died after consuming illicit liquor. This incident is considered to be the worst methanol poisoning in the country since at least 2000.

Road collisions in Tamil Nadu, a state in South India, are among the highest in India. In 2013, the state recorded 15,563 fatalities in the 14,504 recorded collisions, the highest for any state in India. The state also topped the list of most collisions in a state for all previous 18 years from 2002 to 2020. According to the report of two experts published in the International Journal of Research in Management and Technology, driving under the influence of alcohol accounts for 82 per cent of collision fatalities in India. A few political leaders have vehemently opposed the state-run TASMAC shops that sell alcohol and have called for a total prohibition of alcohol in the state, but opposing governments have maintained that prohibition would lead to illegal liquor, which in the past has claimed hundred of lives. The increase in number of vehicles from 82 lakh in 2007 to 1.6 crore in 2012 without appreciable change in the road infrastructure is also believed to the reason for most collisions.

Sasi Perumal was a Gandhian activist and anti-liquor activist from Salem, Tamil Nadu. He protested for the enforcement of prohibition in Tamil Nadu for over four decades. He died near Marthandam in Kanyakumari after staging a demonstration atop a BSNL tower for the removal of a TASMAC outlet near a church at Unnamalaikkadai.

Kovan (singer)

S.Sivadas better known as Kovan is a folk singer from the activist cultural and arts group Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam. He is known for composing songs and music about concerns and issues of marginalized people. His arrest was criticised by human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Intoxicants in Sri Lanka are legal in certain contexts. One can legally buy most alcohols, tobaccos, and certain herbals through licensed ayurvedic shops, who are provided the raw materials by the Ministry of Health and then compelled to produce solutions/products that are then sold to the public. It is also possible to purchase tobacco from convenience stores and alcohol from several licensed stores.

References

  1. ↑ "Jayalalithaa closes 500 liquor shops, cuts liquor shop timings by two hours". Times of India. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "3". A World Without Drink: Temperance in Modern India, 1880-1940. Robert Eric Colvard.
  3. ↑ "A Review of A World Without Drink: Temperance in Modern India, 1880-1940". Dissertation Reviews. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Fischer-Tiné, Harald; Tschurenev, Jana (3 January 2014). A History of Alcohol and Drugs in Modern South Asia: Intoxicating Affairs. ISBN   9781317916826.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tamil Nadu's experiments with liquor ban" . Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "A series of tragedies resulting from the consumption of methanol". Frontline. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Methanol again brought under Prohibition Act". The Hindu . 26 February 2002. Retrieved 24 May 2016.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Gandhian Sasi Perumal Dies While Staging Demonstration Atop Cellphone Tower". No. 31 July 2015. New Indian Express. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Liquor shop ransacked at Kalingapatti in Tirunelveli district; police fire teargas". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Folk artist, activist Kovan arrested by Chennai police for criticising Jayalalithaa government". DNA India. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "PROHIBITION AND EXCISE WING OF HOME, PROHIBITION AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). tn.gov.in. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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