Statistics show resolve; real victory lies in saving a lost generation
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s participation in the “Nasha-Mukt Jammu Kashmir Campaign” in Ganderbal on Friday, after having walked in marches across every district of the Valley, marks more than just another stop on an official itinerary. It signals that the fight against narcotics and narco-terrorism is finally being acknowledged as a defining struggle for Jammu and Kashmir’s future; one that demands consistency, transparency and deep social partnership. The numbers cited by the LG are striking: 1,036 FIRs in 55 days, 1,128 smugglers arrested, over 100 properties attached, nearly 700 driving licences cancelled and recommendations to cancel 130 passports. Such an aggressive legal and administrative push is bound to send a strong message to those who profit from addiction and fund terror with the proceeds. When narco-networks blur the line between crime and conflict, the state has little choice but to act with urgency. Yet numbers, by themselves, are not victory. Deterrence cannot substitute for detoxification. Families who bring a child to a de-addiction centre should encounter a humane system, not social stigma or bureaucratic apathy. Equally important is the repeated framing of this campaign as a “people’s movement” and “social revolution”. Mothers, sisters and daughters, as the LG rightly underlined, are often the first to see the signs of addiction at home; their role in vigilance, early intervention and moral persuasion is indispensable. So too is the role of youth as guardians of schools and colleges, refusing both the lure and the silence that allow drug culture to spread. If narco-terrorism is indeed a question of national security and societal survival, then accountability must cut both ways. The state must show the same resolve in monitoring corruption, plug leaks within its own institutions, and ensure that every attached property and cancelled licence stands legal scrutiny. Drugs are ravaging a generation in Kashmir, scarring families and silently hollowing out communities. When narcotics intersect with terror financing, as the LG underlined, the poison seeps into the very foundations of security and governance. In that sense, the administration’s “three-pronged strategy” of breaking supply chains, building awareness and rehabilitating victims is, on paper, the right framework. Yet the real test lies in implementation and in the balance between deterrence and dignity. A young person struggling with addiction needs to encounter the state first as a caregiver and counsellor. A society trapped in unemployment and anxiety becomes fertile ground for both drugs and the networks that profit from them. The administration’s promise to “not rest” until narco-terrorism is wiped out will ring true only when every panchayat, mohalla and school has the tools, trust and space to reclaim its youth from the edge.