Truth bites

CAPT Amarinder Singh’s campaign promised that it would sort out the drug problem in the state within four weeks. This unrealistic promise remains, naturally, unfulfilled just as the state remains awash with drugs. Earlier, DGP Suresh Arora said that there was no “big fish” involved in the state's drug trade, only to clarify later that they had fled the state following the police crackdown. His flip-flop has cost the Chief Minister's claims dear. These have been further punctured by party MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman who has asserted that there is no check on the sale of “chitta”, the colloquial name for drugs. Expectedly, he has been muzzled and a clarification by the party office issued, but it has failed to cut much ice, given the grim realities that everyone in the state is aware of.

Punjab, which has battled terrorism effectively, is now faced with a much more insidious threat of terror of narcotics. The problem is as widespread as is the network that provides drugs to people who have become addicts. It is widely accepted that no illegal trade, let alone one involving drugs, can last long without patronage from, or involvement of, political benefactors and corrupt officials. Such arrangements are resilient against political vicissitudes. It takes a committed and efficient administration to resist inducements and threats while performing its duty. The drug issue is complex, needs a nuanced and relentless approach.

Governments always concentrate on tackling the supply side of the drug problems and they must do so to effectively stem the flow of drugs. However, drug use has a demand problem, and that too must be addressed. Surveys have shown that unemployability, unemployment and frustrations because of lack of economic prospects, all contribute to disenchantment with the system which provides an ecosystem wherein drugs are used as an escape. Equipping youth with employable skills and improving basic education would channel their energy constructively. There is no quick fix and those who are in touch with ground realities must be allowed to air their views, more so if they are elected representatives. Let there be a war on drugs, not on those who speak out against them.