It is quite disturbing that drug addiction cases in Kashmir are on rise at a horrible pace. The latest figures say that the drug addiction cases have witnessed 100% in increase in 2017 in comparison to 2016. As per the official data at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, the cases of drug addiction registered from January 2017 to December 2017 were 4000 while during year 2016, the cases stood at 2200. The data says that the SMHS hospital alone records 90 patients in its OPD daily. The other hospitals and state-sponsored and privately owned de-addiction centres also have disturbing inflow of drug-addict patients. Recently, a young boy in Shopian died due to overdose of drugs leaving his parents in the life’s worst grief. The boy had previously been admitted in different rehabilitation and counseling centres but in vain. It is not an isolated case. The menace of drugs is catching up the young Kashmir fast and furiously. Be it a way to fight personal crisis, means to wipe the mental scars or just a sign of being cool, the youth in Kashmir have fallen into the net of drugs. Charas, brown sugar, cocaine, cannabis, psychotropic drugs et al are the new weapons of mass destruction for the youth. Around forty per cent of our youth, a majority of them students, have become habitual drug addicts. What is more disturbing is that drug peddlers having found their way in, have by now entrenched themselves into spaces of educational institutions as well. Some lower rung employees of educational institutions are reported to be in involved in trafficking of drugs in colleges and schools. Educational institutes for girls are on their radar. Sometime back a premier woman’s college cancelled admissions of around half a dozen girl students and issued notices to the parents for ‘bad behaviour’. Some of these students had been found taking drugs and other immoral activities within the college premises. A few years back police arrested the son of a prominent mainstream leader for indulging in arson of mosques and shrines in south Kashmir. Later it was found that the man was a drug addict. Easy access to drugs and uncontrolled activities of drug peddlers are reported to be the main contributing causes of this insidious phenomenon. Figures released by J&K Police reveal around 2,574 kilograms of cannabis and its derivatives, 11,000 bottles and 17,000 tablets of psychotropic prescription drugs were seized in 2013. Police have arrested 247 persons involved in illicit drugs related activities and registered 227 cases under narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) act in Kashmir Zone in 2013. Last year, 1,000 kilograms of cannabis and its derivatives, 115 kilograms of brown sugar and about 1,600 bottles and 14,000 tablets of psychotropic prescription drugs were recovered by police in Kashmir Zone.Our political and religious leadership is perhaps ignorant of the horror drug abuse is spreading in our society. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has, on occasions, cautioned of the immorality and drug abuse that has been overtaking our social system. But the volume of the dangers of this huge social abuse is little to be countered by mere press notes. It needs a comprehensive and joint campaign by all sorts of political and religious leaders. There are dozens of social and religious organizations, which owe moral obligation towards people to educate them on this issue. Jamaat-e-Islami, being the largest socio-political organization, has the main responsibility. It should get together other religious groups on the issue. This however would not absolve political groups from the responsibility. The separatist political parties of all sorts should also put in their effort to make society clean of this dirt. Azadi is a long drawn struggle, and may or may not take time. But that does not mean that we would ignore moral and social issue till ‘azadi’ is achieved. Our leadership must rise to the occasion and launch a comprehensive fight against all sorts of immoral activities. The mainstream political parties and government cannot shirk from their responsibility. They are part of this society, and they should also come forward to build society on strong moral values. The government’s responsibility is more than anyone else. It is primary duty of the government to guard the society against all kinds of debauchery and decadence.
