In many states like Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur, West Bengal, et al, drug addiction has reached epidemic proportions, with all classes of society, including the elite, succumbing to the menace. From young students and daily-wage labourers to professionals and business barons or multi-millionaires, they are all falling prey to drug addiction.
The problem has been aggravating due to indifference to the issue by successive governments, both at the Centre as well as in various states, since the country’s independence over 68 years ago. Unfortunately, the authorities concerned do not want to accept that this is a social malaise, and as a result there is little effort to check the easy availability of illicit drugs or even regular assessing the number of new addicts in the country.
Indeed, illicit drug menace is the worst problem affecting India for a long time because two of the world’s biggest narcotics cartels, known as the ‘Golden Triangle’ and the ‘Golden Crescent’ are operating just across the north-eastern and the north-western frontiers of the country, respectively. The Golden Triangle, in narcotic trade parlance, includes the contiguous border area of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos – with Myanmar as its headquarters, and the Golden Crescent comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikstan – with Pakistan as its centre, are seriously affecting India’s social life, besides endangering internal as well as external security of the country.
Many of India’s politicians, bureaucrats (especially police officials) and business barons are having close links with the illicit drug trade. The increasing militancy and terror activities in Kashmir, Punjab and other north-western states of India, are reportedly being aided and abetted through supplying drug profits to the terrorists. Pakistan’s state secret agencies are encouraging transportation of narcotics from that country into India, to finance terrorism here.
The north-eastern states of India too are in the grip of terrorists who are encouraged by the narcotics traffickers from the Golden Triangle, who have huge amounts of ill-gotten money at their disposal. Drug traffickers need an atmosphere of chaos. And if this is not so, they will deliberately create chaos because an environment lacking political stability and lawful order, is conducive to a smooth operation of the contraband drug trade. The disturbed situation in the border states provide ample opportunity for transportation of drugs into India – particularly in the coastal states of the country, which are international tourist centers, and where the price and demands are high.
The drastic fall in smuggling of foreign goods such as watches, electronic appliances, textiles, liquors, etc., besides gold and silver ingots in India, following adoption of liberalization policy in the mid-1990s, has led to a tremendous increase in narcotic drug trafficking. Financiers, underwriters and landing agents who were earlier connected with smuggling of contraband foreign goods, have now plunged themselves head-on into the illicit drug trade. The fall of Communism, has led countries like Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to go in for narcotics production, which is finding its way into India. In fact, the down-slide of Communism, has led many countries in Asia to go in for fast money through narcotic drug trade.
Some of the drug peddlers in India are involved in both import and export of the contraband substances. Illicit drugs are being regularly dispatched to various foreign countries, especially in Europe, through different means, including courier and even postal services. A huge amount of the narcotics drug money is used in financing political parties and individual politicians during elections. Even in the day-to-day political activities, politicians look up to drug traffickers for help. In certain northern regions of India, farmers are involved in cultivations to produce ‘charas’, ‘bhang’, opium, et al, with the encouragement and support of politicians and officials of law-enforcement agencies. Of late, even Defence personnel are said to be involved in aiding the illicit drug trade in the country.
The pattern of corruption in India being highly acute, there is no limit to purchasing influence at the highest political and bureaucratic levels. Unlike ‘hawala’ payments, the drug traffickers are directly dealing with those in authority and gain great influence. What the traffickers want is protection to their unlawful business, and they get it. Many high-ranking police officers from the IPS cadre are on the regular pay-roll of the drug peddlers, who manage their transfers from one area to another through influence at the highest level of government administration. Indeed, because of their influence at the political and bureaucratic levels, the drug traffickers are able to carry on with their unlawful business smoothly, without any hindrance.
India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the countries having close proximity to each other as the Asian sub-continent should combine their efforts to fight the drug menace and save the younger generation in the region. Instead of constantly preparing for war against each other, India and Pakistan should immediately join hands to have a common war against the drug mafia.
That would be a greatest service to the humanity!
(The writer is a freelance journalist)
