Mr. Vice-President, Sir, I was strangely surprised today to see two members of the sovereign Body come up here and say that prohibition must be postponed. Let me take my honourable Friend Mr. Jaipal Singh. He claims to represent the Adibasis – the Hill-tribes and the aborigines. A humble member like myself, coming from the region of the aborigines and Hill-tribes may tell him that there is no such thing as require liquor, toddy, brandy or any such thing, at the time of the ceremonies of the aborigines. I do not know, Sir, whether my friend has ever seen a Toda – a member of the pastoral community, living in the Nilgris. They live there under the worst conditions of the monsoon. In their life they had never seen what alcohol is. Sir, when the Britishers came, they brought in the whisky bottle and when they disappeared, from the administration of this land, we must take it that wine also has disappeared. But it is strange that today my friend Mr. Jaipal Singh had to plead for these unfortunate communities. I may say there are several communities like the KotahsIrulas, Paniyas, Kurumbas, Badagas, and others who all come under the category of Adibasis in the Province of Madras. But there none of these communities has ever come forward to protest against the authorities that drink must be given back to them. It is strange that my friend who is so sympathetic to the aborigines should plead for drink for them. I may tell him that in actual practice, all these communities have greatly benefited in the province of Madras after the introduction of prohibition. The other friend from Kolhapur has been praising Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation and all that. But unfortunately he fails to follow what Mahatma Gandhi told us. Of the four constructive programmes, Mahatma Gandhi placed prohibition at the head of all the four. Why? Because he found that the country was going to rack and ruin, and the poor were spending all their earnings on drink and leaving their children and families in utter poverty and want. I am sorry my friend has taken up this attitude and opposed this amendment, so wholesomely brought before this Sovereign Body. The Province of Madras has lost yearly nearly seventeen crores of rupees. But the people of Madras stood up as one man and said, “Never mind about these seventeen crores of rupees. We want the citizens, we want the poor people to be healthy and peaceful.” Sir, Prohibition has brought peace and plenty to the province of Madras. It has produced a marked improvement in the physique of the people and also in their economic position. I may tell you that Harijans, the unfortunate communities were driven by the Caste-Hindus and the Mirasdars to lowly occupations and were given their wages not in cash, but chits to liquor vendors that they may go and get drunk. But these things have now disappeared and as the Minister in charge of the portfolio, I can dare say that prohibition has brought peace and plenty to my province. So I support the amendment brought by Prof. Saksena and oppose those friends who are talking about postponing prohibition.
