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Do the people of Tamil Nadu support the government's policy of withdrawal of prohibition? How many welcome the opening of the arrack and toddy shops? Have people who have not been drinking earlier, been introduced to the habit of drinking? How do people compare their financial well being with their position in the previous year?

To answer these and other interesting questions a multipurpose survey was conducted in January 1982 by the students of the Statistics Department of the Madras Christian College. Over 1800 persons drawn from the different sections of the population were interviewed by the student investigators who visited every district of Tamil Nadu.

Public Opinion

Each respondent was presented with the following statement, namely, ' During the last six months arrack and toddy shops have been opened ', and they were asked to say whether they strongly support the new policy, or generally support it or do not support it, or strongly oppose it. Only nine per cent said that they 'strongly support' it and another thirteen per cent said that they 'generally support' it. On the other hand, fifty-two per cent said that they 'strongly oppose' it and another twenty-three per cent said that they 'do not support' it. In other words those who support the new policy of the state government are in a minority.

Taking into consideration only the strong followers of the Chief Minister, forty-seven per cent 'strongly oppose' the prohibition policy and another twenty-five per cent ' do not support' it. Only eleven per cent 'strongly support' it and another fifteen per cent generally welcome it. In other words, vast majorities of over seventy per cent of MGR's followers are against the opening of arrack and toddy shops. Only a small minority of about one-fourth of his followers support this policy.

Has the incidence of drunkenness increased after the opening of the liquor shops or has it remained at the same level? Respondents were asked whether they had seen people drunk during the previous week. Ninety-three per cent said that they had seen people drunk during the previous week but in a survey conducted a year ago it was found that eighty-one per cent said that they had seen people drunk. In other words more people are seen drunk after the withdrawal of prohibition.

General effect on Families

In order to find the extent to which the prohibition policy has affected families, respondents were presented with the statement, ' My family has been affected by the new policy of opening of arrack and toddy shops'. Sixty-five per cent of the respondents said ' we are not at all affected and we don't drink'. Seventeen per cent said ' some drink a bit but it has not adversely affected the family'. Eleven per cent said, ' It has adversely affected the family even though some used to drink even earlier'. Seven per cent said ' Some members of our family have been introduced to drinking recently and it has adversely 'affected the family'. There are approximately one hundred lakh families in Tamil Nadu and from the survey it is seen that six or seven lakhs of families are badly affected because some members have taken to drinking recently and in addition, another ten or eleven lakh families are badly affected because some are drinking much more than in the prohibition days.

Who are the new drinkers? Of the families of the agricultural landless labourers, who are the poorest of the poor, sixteen per cent have started drinking after the recent withdrawal of the prohibition policy. In fact one-third of the families of the landless labourers said that they are adversely affected either due to people taking up to drinking for the first time or due to people drinking much more. It is the families of the poorest of the poor who are affected most by the new policy.

Effect on the Finances of the Family

What is the effect of the policy on the financial aspect of individual families? A few families have made some financial gain because of the new policy. About three per cent said that they have financially gained. It is probably due to the increase in trade and other ancillary activities such as the making of earthenware pots for collecting toddy. Of the agricultural landless labourers, seventeen per cent said that they are ' badly affected' and another thirteen per cent said that they are ' very adversely affected ', from the financial point of view. No other section of the population is so badly affected as the agricultural landless labourers.

Feeling of Financial Well-being

Contrary to the popular belief that there is a general deterioration in the financial well-being of the people, the survey shows that things are in fact improving as far as the feeling of financial well-being is concerned. People were asked to say whether, compared to last year, they were in a better position financially, in the same position or in a position worse than last year. Twenty-four per cent said they were in a better position and this percentage is higher than the figure of only seventeen per cent obtained in last year's survey. Thirty-nine per cent said that they were in a worse position and this figure is much lower than last year's figure of forty-eight per cent. Thirty-six per cent said that they are in the same position and it is very close to last year's figure of thirty-four per cent.

The survey was conducted by the students of the Statistics Department of the Madras Christian College as part of their practical training in the collection and analysis of statistical data.