PM on Kashmir drug abuse
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to Sheikhgund village in south Kashmir during the latest episode of Mann Ki Baat was, on the face of it, a heartening story. By highlighting how a single concerned resident mobilised an entire village to curb the sale of tobacco and confront substance abuse, the Prime Minister underlined an important truth: community resolve can make a difference. In a region often discussed only through the prism of conflict and politics, Sheikhgund was projected as an example of social responsibility and collective action.
But the larger picture beyond this inspiring anecdote is far more disturbing. Even as the Prime Minister spoke of a village pushing back against drugs, official data and recent admissions by the administration reveal that drug addiction in Kashmir has reached alarming proportions. The Valley’s divisional commissioner Anshul Garg has already conceded that the number of addicts has tripled in the last three-and-a-half years. Heroin use, in particular, is rising sharply among young people including students in colleges, coaching centres and educational institutions. A parliamentary panel had earlier estimated that nearly 13.5 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir were consuming drugs, with about five lakh using opioids. These are not marginal numbers; they point to a public health emergency.
This reality sits uneasily alongside the government’s narrative of post-2019 stability and development. If anything, the surge in addiction suggests deep social stress, unemployment, trauma and lack of opportunity—factors that cannot be wished away by arrests alone or by framing the problem narrowly as “narco-terrorism”. While cross-border trafficking may be one dimension, the demand-side crisis within Kashmiri society is undeniable. Drugs are no longer confined to the margins; they are now in homes, classrooms and neighbourhoods.
The response so far has been mixed. On the one hand, there have been many arrests under the NDPS Act and an expansion of de-addiction drives monitored at the highest administrative level. On the other, the scale of the problem suggests that enforcement-heavy approaches are insufficient. Addiction is not merely a law-and-order issue; it is a health, social and psychological crisis. Without adequate rehabilitation facilities, trained counsellors, community-based mental health support and sustained follow-up, many addicts relapse even after treatment.
What is needed is honesty about the scale of the problem, sustained investment in public health, and a long-term strategy that treats addiction not as a stigma or security threat, but as a human tragedy that demands urgent, compassionate action.
