Lieutenant Governor pitches community vigilance and strong family engagement as key tools against addiction
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s decision to take the Drug-Free Jammu and Kashmir campaign Padyatra to Baramulla and launch two fresh initiatives gives the anti-narcotics drive a sharper public face. The real question is whether Jammu and Kashmir is finally ready to confront the drug menace with seriousness, continuity and honesty. That menace is no longer hidden. It is visible in broken homes, frightened parents, drifting youth and neighbourhoods where addiction has quietly moved from the margins to the centre of social concern. This is why the two new initiatives: the Community Immunisation Program against drugs and the Family Fortress Initiative deserve attention. They attempt to push the fight beyond official meetings and police action, and into the society where this battle must ultimately be won. The idea of community immunisation is both timely and relevant. Drugs do not spread only through smugglers and peddlers. They spread through silence, fear, weak social vigilance and the failure to intervene early. If religious institutions, schools, civil society groups and local communities are drawn into a structured weekly effort, vulnerable pockets can be identified before they collapse into addiction zones. That is the strength of this approach: it treats society not as a spectator, but as the first line of defence. The Family Fortress Initiative is equally important because addiction often enters homes long before it enters official records. Families notice the first cracks: withdrawal, anxiety, aggression, secrecy, despair. Yet many remain silent, either out of shame or helplessness. A campaign that encourages open conversations in schools, colleges and places of worship can begin to break that silence. Without strong families and alert communities, no anti-drug policy can succeed. The administration has presented impressive numbers: awareness events in lakhs, thousands of inspections, arrests of peddlers, property seizures, suspended licences and tighter surveillance over drug stores. These figures indicate seriousness, and seriousness is badly needed. The narcotics economy is entrenched, profitable and ruthless. It must be hit hard. But statistics cannot become a substitute for outcomes. Seizures and arrests are necessary, not sufficient. The deeper test is whether addiction is reducing, whether treatment is accessible, whether rehabilitation works, and whether young people are being brought back from the edge. A successful campaign must strike both the cartel and the crisis. The most important part of the Lieutenant Governor’s message is his call to treat addiction through science and compassion rather than stigma. That is where many societies fail. Shame does not cure addiction. Fear does not rebuild lives. If Jammu and Kashmir wants a genuinely drug-free future, it must combine relentless enforcement with humane rehabilitation and sustained public participation. The fight against drugs cannot be won unless it becomes a long-term social commitment. Only then will this campaign rise above optics and become a genuine defence of the Valley’s future.