Amit Shah's tough posture against drug dealers
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: March 21, 2025 -

REGARDLESS of Union home minister Amit Shah's assertion after a consignment of methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 88 crore was seized, and four members of the international drug cartel arrested in Imphal and Guwahati recently, that there would be no mercy for drug cartels, it would be an uphill task for crime busting agencies to completely eradicate the scourge of drug smuggling in the northeast region, which shares porous borders with restive Myanmar, from where prohibited drugs are manufactured and exported to all parts of the world, as well as complicity of specific communities in drug smuggling and poppy plantations.

If any community does not oppose illegal poppy cultivation than it is obvious that the said group of people is also endorsing illegal drug trading. Notably, prior to outbreak of the Kuki-Meetei clash in May 2023, almost all the drug consignments seized by security forces and anti-drug agencies were either in Manipur or sourced from the state.

While Manipur used to be the primary transit route for transportation of various psychotropic drugs, the ethnic conflict seems to have forced the drug smugglers to relocate their operational bases in neighbouring Mizoram if one takes into account seizure of huge consignments of heroin and other psychotropic drugs at regular intervals.

In fact, in the backdrop of security forces apprehending drug peddlers and recovering drugs in huge quantities, Mizoram chief minister Lalduhoma recently expressed concern over providing safe haven to the fleeing Chin-origin Myanmarese nationals, and allowing freedom of movement in the border villages, thereby signifying that his government is aware as well as wary about the threat from proliferation of narcotic drugs.

Lalduhoma's apprehension about Mizo youths' susceptibility to fall prey to the drug menace is not without substance if one accords importance to a recent report by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on scale of substance abuse in the country.

As per the ministry's report, 16 crore people (14.6 per cent) aged 10 to 75 years are current users of alcohol, and 5.2 per cent of them are alcohol dependent.

About 3.1 crore individuals (2.8 pc) are cannabis users, and 72 lakh (0.66 pc) people suffer from cannabis problems.

It is also mentioned that 7 per cent of children and adolescents use inhalants, while the rate is 0.58 per cent among adults. About 18 lakh children need help for inhalant use.

The report estimated that about 8.5 lakh people are injecting drugs, along with highlighting that the most worrying category of drugs in India is opioids, with the prevalence of opioid use in India being three times the global average (0.7 pc vs. 2.1 pc).

Of all drug categories, drugs in the opioid group (particularly heroin) are associated with the highest rates of disease, death, and disability, elaborates the report.

With a sizeable population craving for narcotic drugs, it is but natural that the drug cartels would resort to all available means to push drugs into India via the north-eastern states, mainly Manipur and Mizoram, taking advantage of the landlocked region lagging behind in economic development and availability of substantial number of able-bodied individuals willing to take the risk of serving as human-mule transporters of narcotic drugs.

Thus, the declaration by Amit Shah to crack down on drug smuggling will fructify if the government takes measures to strengthen law enforcement agencies involved in drug control, such as Customs, Narcotics Control Bureau, and state police forces; provide them better training, technology, and resources; eradicate poverty; create employment opportunities; and most importantly encourage communities involved in or abetting drug smuggling and poppy plantations to at-least lend support to the war on drugs.