Forced Temperance or Self-Control? Understanding Gandhi’s idea of Prohibition and Its Relevance in Post-Independent India

Abstract

The Gandhian anti-liquor movement imprinted a long-lasting legacy on the Indian psyche. Despite the ingrained legacy of the Gandhian movement, alcoholism has become a major social problem. In independent India, several states implemented prohibition, but it was mostly unsuccessful because, on the one hand, the prohibition movement became a populist rather than a policy intervention to curb alcoholism, and on the other hand, the anti-liquor movements continued with their schematic assumption that complete prohibition is a foolproof solution to the existing liquor menace. However, the recurring issue of drinking and prohibition remains an unsolved social problem and a contentious issue that needs an informed and constructive debate. The present paper intervenes in the debate by exploring the Gandhian idea of temperance and tracing its relevance in the present scenario.