Kashmir, the most peaceful place in the world, was known as a heaven on earth. In ancient times it was an abode of Rishis, Sufis and Munis because of its natural environment and geographical location. These saints had definitely laid some positive imprints on the minds of the people. The people of this erstwhile state were simple in nature and truthful to their word. It was famous, not only for its natural scenic beauty but for hospitality and good behaviour of its people. The Hindus and Muslims used to live happily and peacefully together. And this style of living together would set an example of co-existence of two communities having different faiths but common language and culture.
In the past drug abuse was unknown to Kashmir. But in some areas, bordering Anantnag and Pulwama near Sangam and its surroundings, some anti-social elements would cultivate bhang (charas) not for the domestic consumption in the valley but would smuggle it out from JK state to other states and in some cases outside country.
But with the onset of militancy in Kashmir, all the social evils including drug abuse gained momentum. Unfortunately the politicians of the yesteryears who were responsible for rigging in 1987 would have never imagined that this undemocratic and unwarranted action on their part would leave such a horrific affect not only on the security of the state, its peaceful atmosphere but also on the cultural values of the people and future of our youth.
In the past the people of Kashmir no doubt were economically not so better off but would carry with them the highest degree of human and social values. The main cause of drug abuse in Kashmir is no doubt the impact of militancy which is responsible for imbalance of social order.
The unequal distribution of wealth, unaccountable money, corruption and increasing graph of unemployment among educated and skilled youth and their dissatisfaction, have also contributed to this menace.
Besides these factors, the lack of supervision of parents on their children, disservice of some black sheep in the society, and some govt. departments by ignoring its disastrous effects on our youth, are also other contributory factors for spreading this abuse.
The parents and the teachers have an important role to play for the prevention of drug addiction. With the increasing standard of living and flow of money the parents do exercise very little or some time no supervision on the activities of their children. The same is the case with the teachers in some schools, where teachers do not think as their moral duty to check and supervise the activities of their students during school hours. The culture of learning in private tuition institutions has made things worst. The mushroom growth of these private coaching centres besides becoming traffic hazard, have also turned into business centres. Neither the owner nor any member of their staff working in these coaching classes bother to have any supervision on the activities of students in or outside the premises of these centres. The heads of the education institutions particularly high and higher secondary school are supposed to check the quality of snacks sold to students in school canteens so that no drugs such as opium or bhang is mixed with the ice cream, pakodas or in any other eatable items. The heads of the institutions also need to keep an eye on the vendors who are selling ice cream or fast food items, outside school premises.
Some anti-social elements have now shifted to poppy cultivation in their agriculture land not only in the rural areas but also in suburbs of district Srinagar, to earn quick and high returns. The concerned officials of revenue and excise departments have to come into action not only by destroying the bhang and poppy crop but also slap heavy fine on the owners of such land.
The prevention is always better than cure. If we are successful in containing the supply and availability of narcotics drugs we are then almost close to our mission in eradicating this menace. Prevention is better if we try to nip the evil in bud. The trade via URI border has also contributed to this menace as the neighbouring country is always bent upon disturbing the peace and tranquillity of the UT and destroying the future of youth of Kashmir. The police need to play a crucial role in curbing this menace by getting the accurate information about the persons who indulge in drug trafficking and illicit peddling. The police should be ruthless in dealing with these anti social elements. Though the law provides major punishment for such heinous crimes but some times the criminals manage to get themselves free on bail. We have seen that it takes lot of time for prosecutors to get cases decided in courts due to legal niceties. The prosecutors therefore need to work hard to make cases foolproof so that the criminals do not go escort free.
The conviction rate in such cases is also not encouraging. Application of PSA in some rare cases on habitual offenders could serve as detrimental for such criminal. It is heartening to note that the police in Kashmir have become very active in recent times while dealing effectively with such crime. The recent press reports regarding crackdown on supply channels by Kashmir police is a good step towards controlling this abuse. The J&K police have earned a good name for its working whether it is crime or militancy or law and order. It is considered as one of the best police forces in the country. The J&K police feel pride in receiving President’s “COLOUR” for fighting militancy and efficient crime work, a rare honour which only few states in country have achieved so far. The award was presented to Gopal Sharma then DGP by the then president of India late sh. A.P.G Abdul Kalam in 2003 at police Academy Udhampur. The society has pinned lot of hope on Kashmir police and therefore they expect from them, an active and encouraging participation in the fight against drug trafficking and illicit peddling.
So far as de-addiction of the victims of drug abuse is concerned, the J&K police have been the pioneer in establishing the drug de-addiction centre, long back in 1990, at police Hospital, PCR Batmalloo. The doctors in police hospital have achieved a lot of success in treating and rehabilitating number of such patients. This way the police have done a good job as part of their social service. Of late the state health department has also opened de-addiction and counselling centres in various hospitals particularly at SKIMS Medical college Bemina. The Bemina medical college is also doing good work in this regard and have organised seminars and debates, educating people how to treat and rehabilitate such patients.
In the month of June 2023, they also organised a power point programme in the office of ‘’Help Foundation’’ for the members of a ‘GCC’ a non political group of civil society to educate them about causes of drug abuse and its disastrous effects. To warn the youth who fall prey to the peddlers about the disastrous effects of drug abuse need to be given wide publicity through print and electronic media. There should be a complete ban on the sale of disposal syringes and morphine injection to adolescents not having doctor’s prescription. Those medical stores and pharmacies who indulge in illegal sale of these items need to be black listed and prosecuted.
We have to break this supply chain if we are sincere to protect our youth from falling prey to this menace. It can be ultimately controlled by the joint efforts of members of the society, the educational institutes, excise, revenue, health departments and last but not least by the police and parents of the children.
Abdul Rashid Khan (IPS), former IGP