Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, belonging to present-day Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, was an ardent disciple of Gandhi. Following Gandhian principles, he focused his actions on curbing British political activities, through not just protests, but also in terms of social, economic and cultural practices of the masses.
Following Gandhi’s path, Rajagopalachari wrote numerous pamphlets on anti-liquor campaigns. Salem Municipality, which Rajagopalachari chaired, urged the Madras government to reduce the licenced alcohol shops in the town and succeeded in it. These shops mostly sold alcohol imported from the west and therefore their profit implied the profit of the British imperial force. During the civil disobedience movement, Rajagopalachari wrote two important pamphlets on the prohibition of liquor titled, Indian Prohibition Manual, which was in English and Urkattupadu in Tamil. Soon after the Indian National Congress won in the Madras Presidency Assembly election, C. Rajagopalachari, the then Chief Minister, banned all toddy and arrack shops in Salem district. Despite the Madras Governor’s warning about the fall of revenue, Rajagopalachari did not stop in his mission. Eventually, the first Prohibition Bill of the country was passed on 27th September 1937. Though there were troubles in the beginning, the prohibition plan ultimately succeeded. To cover up the revenue loss, Rajagopalachari introduced Sales Tax in Madras.
As the Salem experiment turned out to be a success, Rajagopalachari extended the Prohibition Act to more districts.
Source: Indian Culture Portal