Fight Against Drugs

March 30, 2026

Abhishek Vij

News reports regarding the spread of narcotics across various states of the country—and the tragic deaths of young people who fall victim to them—continue to surface regularly. The prevalence of drug abuse is particularly high in border regions. When hostile enemies stand poised at the borders, and the very generation tasked with confronting them begins to lose its way in the dark abyss of addiction, the consequences are bound to be precisely what we are witnessing today.

Who could have imagined that a handful of traitors, driven by the lust for money, would begin spying for enemy nations and actively assist in the onward distribution of drug consignments entering the country? Consequently, young people—stripped of their moral compass and trapped in the dark pit of addiction—are often found lying prostrate in utter ruin. This is not an issue confined to a single state or city; rather, its prevalence is widespread across every state, and particularly acute in the border states. Powerful mafia syndicates, built upon the foundation of the drug trade, ascend to such dizzying heights that they even begin to harbor ambitions of manipulating the country’s political landscape.

The solution to this crisis does not lie solely in the “bulldozer culture”—a tactic first employed by Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, and which now appears to be gaining traction in states like Haryana and Punjab as well. However, standing in contrast to this approach is another development—one that vividly demonstrates the enduring vitality of human values and underscores the fact that, in states like Punjab, the government’s anti-drug awareness campaign has successfully penetrated every village.

This development unfolded recently in Nangal Kalan, a village in Punjab’s Mansa district, where a young man suffering from drug addiction passed away. Typically, parents—despite the profound anguish of losing a child—eventually find a way to come to terms with their grief through mourning and lamentation. Yet, in this instance, the narrative reveals distinct signs of a heightened public awakening. The family of the young man who died from drug abuse leveled accusations against another local family, holding them directly responsible for their son’s death by alleging that they were involved in selling narcotics. Responding with a keen sense of civic responsibility, the village Panchayat took decisive action; they passed a resolution to banish the accused family from the village.

The administration has been issued a two-day ultimatum to demolish properties acquired through drug trafficking. It was explicitly stated that if the police and the administration fail to take this action, the villagers will carry it out themselves. The police have registered a case against five members of the accused family involved in the drug trade. We would like to point out here that, for the past year, a highly encouraging campaign—titled *’YudhNasheyanViruddh’* (War Against Drugs)—has been underway in Punjab to combat drug abuse. Through raids, the police have apprehended hundreds of drug traffickers.

They have successfully secured convictions for 80 percent of these individuals, and thousands of kilograms of narcotics have been recovered. Nevertheless, much work still remains to be done. This situation is not unique to Punjab; it applies to almost all states, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In several states, criminals have set up illicit liquor distilleries within their homes.

No matter how vigorously drug abuse is eradicated, its seeds inevitably resurface somewhere or other; however, times are now changing. Public awareness campaigns are no longer confined merely to speeches delivered from public platforms. In Punjab, the government has not only launched a direct assault on drug trafficking but has also actively worked to raise awareness among people in schools, colleges, and villages regarding this issue.