The Conundrum of drug abuse
Zahid Hassan
Youth of Kashmir are capable enough in any field they choose; be it medicine, economy, sports, or other sciences/arts. A few discoveries and inventions are mentioned below:
Wasim Nadaf invented a low-cost ventilator.
A young boy from Gurez invented a pen which counts words while writing.
Auto-electricity generator and Morse code decoder were created by Abrar Aijaz hailing from Lolab.
Another Kashmiri youth discovered a drug namely Bedaquiline which is used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis – a disease that affects millions of people across the globe.
Hundreds of such inventions have put Kashmir on the world map – as an important part of the young scientist community. Young Kashmiris excel everywhere. They are competent and possess true intelligence. They are rising stars of not just our Valley but a symbol of genuine excellence to the whole world. They have surpassed others at state, national as well as international forums.
My shout out to the young generation:
You are the efficacy and endowment
You are the dedication and enthusiasm, O youth!
You are the epitome of bravery
You are the inception and serendipity, O youth!
You are the spring of creativity and accountability
You are the backbone of Kashmir, O youth!
Drug abuse in Kashmir
However, the productivity graph of young Kashmir is declining exponentially, hurtling towards its end, as the menace of drug abuse continues to pose a threat in our Valley. The way juveniles crawl towards drugs is horrifying. Young ones in any society blossom, grow and bloom into flowers, to become its future leaders – to be a source of sweet fragrance. These buds should not be plucked and shred into pieces. Unfortunately, this is how drugs are impacting the youth of Kashmir.
United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) reported that around 70,000 people are drug addicts in Kashmir valley, among which 4000 are females. Further studies have unmasked that youth, particularly between the age group of 17-30, are addicted to drugs. To choose such a path, youngsters could mostly have faced a psychiatric breakdown or psychological trauma. Psychiatric problems, majorly depression, if not recognized at the earliest might lead to drug abuse.
The situation in Kashmir is different from the rest of India. It is a conflict zone where youth is pushed to a corner due to torture by Indian forces, and because of unnecessary hindrances or restrictions created in the name of security. Lockdowns, hartals and continuous shutdowns for almost two decades have corrupted the peace of our young population.
What is more depressing is that this turmoil has wreaked havoc in their minds. Psychological impact, due to our region’s conflict-ridden situation, is pushing them to choose temporary tranquility – thus they step foot into the den of drug abuse. They are dragged to the extent where all they want is to, somehow, get rid of their pain, facing an unending poignancy and desolation. Cases of clinical depression are increasing at an alarming rate in Kashmir, giving soul to the statement – we have lost one generation to bullets and may lose another to drugs.
What’s worrisome is not just conflict in Kashmir, but peer pressure plays an important role in hoarding youngsters towards drug abuse as well. Eventually these unaware youth are padlocked by drug dealers, who are backed by various agencies, with the sole aim of making our future generations incapable of good. They are, thus, trapped in a vicious cycle of mental instability and drug dependency, losing their dreams and the will to live.
Cannabis or marijuana is easy available with drug dealers, and since poppy is cultivated in various districts of our Valley, including Pulwama, Kupwara, Anantnag and Budgam, use of opium (heroin) is abundant. Brown sugar, adderall, cocaine and meth have been added to the mix as well.
According to the doctors at a government de-addiction center in Srinagar,, “From 15% heroin abuse recorded in 2016, the percentage has now gone up to 90%.” And this pandemic has escalated the already worsening situation to an even greater degree!
Continuous lockdown for almost a year has rendered thousands unemployed in our Valley, brutally affecting about 2.5 lakh educated youngsters. After struggling to complete their education, they are now facing problems in finding employment as well. Thus, becoming prone to depression and related disorders. It is usually these youth who dive into drug abuse when hitting rock bottom.
Role of Religion
Religious rituals impact Muslims to a greater extent than political or social agendas, as it is through Islam that we gain a foothold on our life. It models our character and personality.
Religious scholars must take action and deliver sermons to address drug addiction in Kashmir. Since Muslims form the majority population of our Valley, it is the duty of religious preachers to inculcate decent behavior and discipline according to the teachings of Islam. Biography of our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), recited with fervor and in a way that people, especially our youth, understand and follow him (PBUH) as a symbol of modest human behavior, is one efficient way.
Proper and relevant sermons that correlate the beauty of life to restraint from indecent actions should be conveyed to the youth, on priority, by our preachers.
A famous scholar of Kashmir, Mushtaq Ahmed Veeri, who mainly focuses on youth, proclaims:
“cxe harmi kabuk nisaar oosukh
shikaar sapdukh sharaab wanuk”
(O youth, you used to be the embodiment of World
But you fell to the dark side of drugs and alcoholism)
“Ye chu sath mubarak baatilas kuth cxe aawrounakh charsas kun
Ye tarzi Magrib shakar cxe baasi, walith chu ath manz zahar jawanoo”
(It’s good news for annul drug dealers that you fell into the trap of drug addiction
This Western menace seems to be sweet but is encoded with poison, O youth!)
What has to be done?
1. Rehab centers should deal with the situation positively. They should not let the drug abuser feel isolated. He/she should not be treated like a criminal.
2. To deal with the worsening drug situation in Kashmir, concrete steps by the government, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and especially the Jammu and Kashmir Police, should be taken.
3. Police has to play the undertaker, eradicating this pollution which has seeped into the young.
4. Drug dealers should be dealt with stringent law, not letting them endanger youth any longer.
5. Public awareness campaigns have to be launched to make people understand and acknowledge this menace.
6. All families must be made aware of the signs and symptoms related to drug abuse. Bloodshot eyes, larger or smaller pupils than normal, sudden weight loss or gain, deterioration of physical appearance, slurred speech, tremors and spasmodic movements are some pointers to keep an eye out for.
7. The drug abuser must not be banished, nor considered unscrupulous. Rather, they must be treated with care, empathy so that in the process they recognize issues on their own. For them not to feel lonely and isolated, they mustn’t be judged.
Following these steps, the evil of drug abuse can be rooted out as quickly as possible from our society. Keeping in mind – emotions are a weapon where even medicine does not work – drug abuse can only be stopped – at the earliest – when we begin to understand why it happened in the first place.
If the steps were not taken appropriately and immediately we will be the same generation who will be cursed by our future ones as we will be considered as SILENT KILLERS
(The author is pursuing B.Tech from GCET Jammu. He can be mailed at [email protected])
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