Habib university, Private university in Karachi, Pakistan

Our enemy nations are making every possible effort to push our youths into the trap of drug addiction. We must eliminate these drug dealers completely.While travelling through various parts of Canada, I was astonished to see how deeply this country is in the grip of drug mafias! From marijuana, opium and cocaine to heroin, everything is easily available in the market. Just walking through those areas exposes you to the stench of narcotics. Even when homeless individuals are taken to shelter homes, they still have access to drugs. The substances go by coded names like ‘grass’, ‘wheat’, et al. In fact, in many European cities, drugs appear openly on menu cards -- whatever you want is available! Witnessing these conditions reminded me of the song from Dev Anand’s film Hare Rama Hare Krishna: “Dum maro dum...”As I was contemplating the miserable state of Canada and those European nations, I came across a report in the Internet edition of my newspaper. A large consignment of drugs had been seized in Punjab and Rajasthan. It revealed that the heads of this international smuggling ring are Tanveer Singh, operating from Pakistan, and Joban Kaler from Canada. These two smugglers were sending drugs into India through a local dealer named Gursaheb Singh. Even though Gursaheb Singh is imprisoned in a Punjab jail, he was coordinating operations through his mobile phone, instructing his nephew Jashanpreet Singh and associate Gagandeep Singh, who were running the racket. Naturally, a question arose in my mind, and surely in yours as well as to how did Gursaheb Singh get access to a mobile phone in jail? Clearly, jail staff must be involved! This cannot happen without internal collusion. There’s so much money in drug trafficking that smugglers wouldn’t hesitate to hand over hundreds of crores to any official.I’ve repeatedly warned in my articles that the drug trade is a kind of international conspiracy against India. This business is closely linked to terrorism. The great thinker Chanakya had once said that those who indulge in drugs not only destroy their own future but also become a danger for society. Our enemy countries want our creative youths to fall prey to drugs. That’s why drugs are being smuggled into India from every direction. Last year in Mahipalpur, Delhi, 562 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana were seized. In another raid in Delhi’s Ramesh Nagar, 208 kilograms of cocaine was recovered. The case gained attention because a politician’s name surfaced in connection with it. Meanwhile, in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, drugs worth Rs 7,000 crore were seized. In the tribal region of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, drugs worth Rs 168 crore were recovered. Going back a little further, 3,000 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore was seized at Mundra Port in Gujarat in 2021. This long list of seizures is merely a drop in the ocean. Globally, drug mafias are running a parallel economy, and the drug trade in India alone is worth hundreds of thousands of crores.Earlier, it was only the film industry and spoiled rich kids’ rave parties that were notorious for drug use, but now the drug trade has spread everywhere. Alongside metros like Delhi and Mumbai, youths from even villages and small towns in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have fallen prey to addiction. What’s most worrying is that drug peddlers are now targeting school children studying in classes 7 and 8. These children not only consume drugs but also act as couriers. Once they become addicted, it’s easy to use them to commit various crimes. And since they’re minors, strict legal action can’t be taken against them. The drug trade in Goa is already well-known. The northeastern states too have been severely affected by drug abuse. The situation in Punjab was so dire that a film named Udta Punjab was made on it. Now, the leader of Jan Suraaj Party Prashant Kishor says that soon a movie titled Udta Bihar may also need to be made.The question now is how are drugs entering India? There might be some clandestine marijuana cultivation in India’s hilly regions, but opium, cocaine and synthetic drugs are definitely coming from outside. In the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, opium cultivation and processing are done. Pakistani smugglers and terrorist organisations send these drugs into India via Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat. Drones are being used continuously to smuggle drugs across the borders of Rajasthan and Punjab. Our security forces are indeed intercepting and shooting down these drones. Pakistani handlers play a key role in sending drugs into these states. In Canada, handlers have already established a strong network that supports this operation in Punjab. One major drug route is through the Nepal border, which is controlled by Chinese handlers. In Myanmar too, insurgent groups are actively involved in drug trafficking.Smugglers benefit from the fact that people living on both sides of the border often look alike, making it difficult to identify them. The only way to counter this is to have an excellent intelligence network, highly alert security personnel and a policy of zero tolerance towards drugs without which success is impossible. A bitter truth is that India has still not developed a robust mechanism to stop drug smuggling at the borders. There are so many loopholes in the system that it’s hard to cover all of them. This is why accountability must also reach the topmost departmental heads and only then will the system improve.Well, I’ve written all of this but the question remains: Will our learned members of Parliament ever hold a serious discussion in Parliament on this dangerous conspiracy? The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.

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