Rameshwar Singh Jamwal
Central Government has prioritized the focus of state, UT and other local governments in their commitment for tackling the problem of ever increasing problem of Drug menace, which is not only harming the youth, but also draining the exchequer. Taking a cue from this, some politicians in J&K have also started joining the bandwagon and showing lip service for the problem, another photo opportunity for them in the offing, forgetting that they did nothing for tackling the problem, when they were in power, as the tendency and intensity has not erupted all of a sudden.
But without going into the details as to who is responsible for this problem, we need to focus on the strengthening of the measures and evaluate as to whether we are on the right track and what more is required in this war against Drug supply and consumption. The withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and its Pariah status in international community has given a free run to those operating the Drug mafia in the golden Crescent comprising of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran but trafficking through the border states of Northern India has become more easier for these groups, due to modern techniques like use of Drones and terrorism problem in Punjab and J&K. Afghanistan is unlikely to stabilize soon and we may have to fight a prolonged battle on the frontiers, which can be done only by the central security forces but the local administrative units cannot absolve themselves of their duties as de-weaning the youth and taking the local suppliers head on is their domain, where we seem to be lacking in the strategies. ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ campaign may have helped in focusing on the issue and guiding the young generation, especially the students, but the vulnerable are still in abundance and the suppliers are spreading the tentacles by choosing new markets in rural and semi urban areas, where policing is minimal and the populace is still unaware about the physical, cognitive, economic and other consequences of the Narcotic substances use.
After a thirty five days long unique and innovative, Attitudinal & Personality Development (Mass Behavior Engineering Programme) [APD (MBEP) in short] which is part of Yogic Crime Theory, campaign in a District Jail in Jammu, along with visits to several prisons all across the country, where the majority of the persons chosen for Criminal behaviour modification campaign were present, the author has learnt, to his dismay, that there are no programs for behaviour modification of prisoners, though prisons are the only place where the state has control over those who transgress the law and pose threat to the society, its fabric and the integrity of the country. The program was a huge success, as per the Pre and Post analysis of the inmates, but there was no scope for its extension or continuation in other prisons and the status quoits mindset has put in peril the entire efforts to make the drug peddlers as law abiding citizens.
It may be emphasized that Prison population has effect on many aspects of life of commoners of any country. Indian population is 17.7% of the total world population and at present India is the most populated country in the world. In total, the country has over 488,500 prisoners held across 410 district jails.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has noted that under trials in India are far higher than in other democracies around the world.” As of 2017, the country had the third highest number of undertrial inmates in Asia and a large number of them are Drug Suppliers.
These prisoners, and many others, who may not have been booked or may have come out of prisons, affect the life of a vast majority of the population of India and the Central government’s spending on prison inmates has increased by 24.3 per cent in the past five years: from Rs 1,694.32 crore in 2017 to Rs 2,106.86 crore in 2021, according to the latest Prison Statistics in India report. Prisons, and their administration, is a state subject covered by item 4 under the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The management and administration of prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State Governments, and is governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 and the Prison manuals of the respective state governments. Thus, the states have the primary role, responsibility and authority to change the current prison laws, rules and regulations and the functioning of the Prisons department, which has a huge bearing on the life of the commoners of that state or UT and our focus should be to modify criminal behaviours, including those of Drug suppliers, from the prison premises, but this can’t be achieved in a few days or weeks, as Behaviour is neither acquired in a few days, nor it can be modified in a few weeks. Sustained and continuous efforts, with right strategies, is the key.
But the most important component is the student community, who can be tackled with relative ease but for that matter, a different module is required as many sub-components like teachers, parents and students have to be trained for the purpose. The unemployed, those in transport sector, labourers and many other sectors are in the problematic category, as they are not to be found in large numbers in one place and educating and guiding them, in local parlance, with right inputs from psychologists, Criminologists and many others in language easily understood by them requires lot of effort but in all these processes, the right kind of atmosphere, adequate funding and security for the protagonists is required which requires the attention of the mandarins of Home Ministry and PMO, if we really want a “Nasha Mukt Bharat” ready to take the giant leap of developed country by 2047 and a world spiritual leader, ready to provide lead to the degenerating world.
(The author is the President of Criminologist Society and a practising Advocate of J&K High Court.)
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