The figures in the northern state are alarming, with more than 15% of the population addicted to some substance. After alcohol and tobacco, heroin use is high due to the proximity of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Many start using at an early age due to underemployment and alienating working conditions. There is no trust in police officers, who are seen as accomplices of big traffickers.
Milan () – Last month, during the first conference of the heads of the anti-drug teams of all the Indian states, the Interior Minister, Amit Shah, called on the national agencies to be “ruthless” against drug traffickers, explaining that his ministry set the goal of a “drug-free” India by 2047, the year the country will celebrate the centenary of its independence: “Drug dealers are the main culprits, while drug users are the victims. ruthless against traffickers and take the strongest possible action against them,” Shah declared, who called on political leaders in all states to move beyond “partisan politics and ideology” in this effort. He then explained that the registration of new criminal cases increased by 181% during the nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule: “While between 2006 and 2013 only 1,257 cases were registered, the figure increased to 3,544 between 2014 and 2022. During the same period, the number of arrests increased by 300%, to 5,408, compared to the previous 1,363. During 2006-2013, 152,000 kilograms of drugs were seized, which doubled to 373,000 kilograms between 2014 and 2022.”
India does indeed have a problem with drug abuse: according to a survey conducted between 2017 and 2018 and published in 2019, more than 30 million people consume cannabis-based products, to which around 2.5 million people are addicted, while at least 22.6 million people use opioids, and 7.7 million of them need help. There are 15.8 million children between the ages of 10 and 17 who are addicted, according to the National Drug Dependence Treatment Center study, which coincides with UN figures, according to which 13% of people involved in drug use in India are under 20 years of age. The study adds that three out of four people do not receive treatment, but for health experts the figures are much higher. In the case of minors, human trafficking, child labor and exploitation by criminal gangs result in poor mental and physical health that leads to the abuse of alcohol and other substances.
The northern state of Punjab is experiencing particularly alarming levels of drug use: in the last six months of last year, the number of patients admitted to opioid treatment clinics doubled, from 400,000 to 800,000. But according to other studiesAt least 3 million, more than 15% of the state’s population, use drugs, with alcohol in the first place. More than 75% of the young population struggles against some type of drug addiction, and one in three is related to substances other than alcohol and tobacco. It is also estimated that around 30% of Punjab prisoners are detained for illegal possession of narcotics, whose annual traffic is estimated at 75 million rupees (836,000 euros).
Young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are the main victims of drug trafficking, active due to the proximity of the Punjab to the “golden crescent”, the region between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The town of Maqboolpura, in particular, is known as the town of orphans and widows, because almost every family there has lost a relative to an overdose. After alcohol and tobacco, the high consumption of heroin stands out, or “chitta“, a synthetic derivative of it, which reaches the Punjab from Afghanistan via Pakistan, according to experts point out.
Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman, responsible for a study commissioned by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, pointed out that “the age of drug addicts is a cause for serious and worrying alarm, since 76% are in the age group of 14 to 35 years old, between the ages of 14 and 45 this percentage is 93% Approximately 5% of drug addicts began using at an early age, between the ages of 7 and 14. Most of them have a very low educational level. Compared to other Indian states, unemployment and poverty rates, especially in rural areas, are slightly higher percentages in the Punjab. However, according to Professor Ghuman, “underemployment, subhuman working conditions, poorly paid work (the phenomenon of working-poor or working poor) and economic hardship” play a key role.
Despite the political statements and the growing number of arrests, which Minister Amit Shah also boasted about, the population does not trust the government when it comes to curbing drug trafficking: “Regarding the role of the police,” for example , commented Ghuman, “91% of those surveyed have serious apprehensions and reservations. Their perception is that, due to widespread corruption and political pressures, the police lack seriousness in acting and only take selective action against small dealers. , consumers and street vendors. In his opinion,” he continued, “the police often do not dare to catch the ‘big shots’, mainly due to political patronage of big smugglers and the nefarious nexus between some political leaders, some police officers and big drug dealers.
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