Ashi Gaur & Ritwiz Gaur
When on 26 and 27 February, our Defence heroes were fighting a battle against the macabre of humanity -Cross-boarder Terrorism; We were equally engrossed with young children of MAMS around a cantonment area waging a war against another gruesome factor – Substance Abuse & Addiction- in collaboration with ex-servicemen and other important stake holders of society. The way the common masses were elated with heroic deeds of our Airforce so do the local inhabitants who saw the young students performing street plays, marching and submitting an earnest appeal to Director General of State Police against the horrendous problem of Substance misuse and dependence.
An eye opener-Addiction had made inroads in schools and households
Substance abuse and substance addiction in youth is no more a problem confined to a given region or locality rather it had transgressed all boundaries – physical or political. Moreso, it is so ” secular” in nature that it had inflicted the youth irrespective of colour, caste and creed. “Substance Abuse”, which like an epidemic is painstakingly seeping into the country’s social and cultural bearings, and more-so is, unfortunately, trickling down into our youth – a generation refusing to forsake, withstand and/or remain aloof from this menace. Further, micro analysis of any of our vicinity is no better in any terms whatsoever. Unfortunately, dark village or illuminated urban alleys, cross-ways, society’s hotspots and educational institution ironically seem to be turning into breeding grounds for addicts. In and out of the homes and school, teens and young adults are influenced by the social acceptance of addictive substances, including gravely harmful narcotics. This lack of personal responsibility and the general apathy surrounding this issue has filtered down to the youth – creating a “normality” and “indifferent attitude” towards drug abuse.
An unfortunate manifestation of Perpetration of Terrorism
The very fact that the Indian youth across our nation are allured and entangled -by perpetrators of terrorism- to wage a war within their own country; is not only alarming but also call upon all academicians, intellectuals, parents, educators, bureaucracy, judiciary, legislators and fourth state to seriously ponder over the crux of issue – “understanding, mentoring and meaningfully engaging our youth”. But the very fact that “our insensitivity” towards “axiomatic” truth has landed our youth – in e-Jihad; sponsored stone pelting; financed street rage; paltry crimes, anti-national slogan campaigns; taking up arms, creating anarchy and leading to lawlessness. Infact, unchecked drug addiction has accelerated the dark spectre of radicalised homegrown insurgency.
The media and reel life has highlighted “Udta Punjab” but the fact remains that across nation situation is soaring yet blissfully ignored. Consistent disclosures by the Indian Army and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the State’s health data, indicate towards Terrorist’s strategy of involving youth in drug addiction that not only generate funds from within India to finance terrorism and naxalism but it is also gnawing away youth from within.
For sake of case study, the fact remains that Kashmir has traversed through almost three decades of turmoil that had resulted in an increase of psychiatric illness and psychosocial disturbances. It has been observed that this conflict ridden region has a tremendous rise in substance abusers over the past more than two decades. Several studies conducted in the valley revealed that youth particularly between the age group of 17-30 involved in this menace of drug addiction. The Director of Drug De-addiction Centre, Srinagar Dr. Khan {Khan M (2011) Drug addiction in Kashmir. Physicians Academy} stated that “the trend of drug abuse is on the rise among school children as we have registered many such cases, where students of Class IX to XII are involved with drugs”. The common Substance used by Drug Addicts in Kashmir are Cannabis, Brown Sugar, Heroine, SP tablets, Anxit, Alprax, Inhalants like Fevicol, SR solution, Thinner, Shoe Polish, Paint varnish and dirty socks. Way back in 1993, M A Maqgoob and K Dutta (Drug abuse in Kashmir – experience from a psychiatric diseases hospital. Indian J Psychiatry 35: 163) stated that, “At that point of time, such an alarming rate of this menace in Kashmir leads the academicians and experts to comment that “We have lost one generation to bullets and we may lose another generation to drugs”. UN reports way back in 1993 highlighted that around 2.11 lakh drug addicts were in Kashmir valley; which has increased in geometric progression year by year. Various studies and researches reveals that – majority of students believe that people started to take drugs in the age group of 20-30; smoking often acts as a door way to drugs or at least a starting point; above 90 percent don’t have any awareness regarding the drug De-addiction process; about 90 percent drug abusers are poly abusers (one who takes two or more drugs at a given period of time); period of initiation of the drug is between the ages of 11- 20; Peer Pressure has been summated as the main reason of drug addiction.
Paradoxically but inevitably, this griming picture of drug abuse in the Kashmir valley has a direct correlation with youth being “vulnerable” and “easy prey” to be used as instrumental by the perpetrators of crime and terrorism.
Is Educational institution to be blamed
In today’s era of “Kentucky fried education’ (“cheap, quick, fast; you swallow it and you barely digest it and you excrete it”), there is no iota of doubt that Addiction stems from ignorance by some educational institution(s) on possible indicators such as behaviour pattern, absenteeism, flagging performance etc. Generally, it is the primary role of schools and colleges to teach skills (including life skills), to impart knowledge and to establish a sound value base with respect to health and drug use. But changing or altering behaviours that may be a result of factors beyond the influence of the educational institute (e.g: the casual attitude of parents and failure to launch a crackdown against peddler) makes this an arduous task for schools and colleges. Educational institutions should definitely be held accountable, if students do not gain essential knowledge and skills regarding health, and cannot articulate a value position. Notwithstanding, the aforementioned accountability, they should not be squarely blamed when students engage in unhealthy behaviour (eg: substance abuse) that is fairly undesirable and tantamount to lack of respect for the legal framework of our country. But astoundingly, the fact also remains that few of the bogus and dummy educational institution harbours substance abuse on campus to mint money through such admission and/or culture. People with such sinister design are more or less “Addict Brokers” that make easy but vicious profits as “addicted students” are treated like “pay-cheques”. Ipso facto, a human tendency exist to find vice more interesting than virtue; the prominence given the vices in The Castle of Perseverance becomes typical of later moralities, where the vices take up most of the stage time. Such nefarious adults, in today’s era of perplexity, are capable of making others believe in things which we know to be untrue, and then, when they are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that they were right.
Apathy of Society
Our experience of working with youth on this sensitive issue is a bouquet of evens. Unlike adults, no child ever has ever disowned his or her responsibility while participating in this mission of “A Healthy ME is DRUG FREE”. It is either the insensitivity of majority of adults or the vicious practices and vested interest of few of them which is working against this “unique innocence”. We had experienced that most of the adults have adopted the policy of “Ignorance is bliss” due to which the predicament has turned into a way of life. Students hailing from families whose male members, particularly fathers serving outside seem to be more vulnerable. Families of such youth seem to be helpless. Local shops: parlours, restaurants, Hukka-bars, video game parlours, cyber cafes and DJ units seem to be the source of supply. Venues are so prominent that adults and regulatory authorities of society are not oblivious. Children to meet out the procurement price for substance abuse get involved in petty and/or passion crimes viz. gambling, stealing petrol from vehicles, embezzlement, theft of school lab equipment, eve teasing, fights, drug peddling, etc. Subsequently, they also become vulnerable and turn instrumental to criminal or perpetrators of terrorism or naxalism.
Need of Stratified Approach
It’s a message that needs to go out to families, that quality of life depends not on how much you earn, but the amount of time that you spend with your family. With the younger generation more informed about drugs, “dialogue is the main thing; you have to listen to what the youth say, then respond”. Multi-systemic therapy – which is family-focused and community-based – is now the first line of defence. It should be a multi-agency effort to get parents more involved in their children’s lives, but with a caution “not to adopt wholesale what other jurisdictions do”. Prevention strategies such as drug education shall also be improved by incorporating it into the science curriculum as examinable material to “cast the net wide across to all schools”. A national knowledge centre for substance-abuse prevention among the youth is also the need of the day. Such centres are one of its many community partners – which include the police, schools and religious centres – in disseminating the substance-abuse prevention message. Rather than going straight to the children, a trickle-down effect is more preferred. Music, Arts and Sport teaches us how to live with differences, to learn the value of others, to respect others and to deal with frustrations daily.
Finally, Adult’s sensitivity and vigilant regulatory authority – under pin all other mission statements. If we do not rise to the occasion today, then we must remember, the citizens of a tyranny will, on the whole, be marked by the character of slavery as their wills develop in response to the stifling and overbearing will of the tyrant. As Socrates explains to his interlocutor: “Recall the general likeness between the city and the man, and then observe in turn what happens to each of them.” “What things?” he said. “In the first place,” said I, “will you call the state governed by a tyrant free or enslaved, speaking of it as a state?” “Utterly enslaved,” he said. “And yet you see in it masters and freemen.” “I see,” he said, “a small portion of such, but the entirety, so to speak, and the best part of it, is shamefully and wretchedly enslaved.”
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