It is shocking to notice that the youth in Kashmir are falling prey to drug abuse at an alarming pace. The youths, who should have been on the forefront of nation building, are becoming victim to killer drugs and thus not only ruining their own lives but that of their families too besides doing disservice to the society. The parents can’t escape the blame. Hazrat Ali (RA) said: “Surely the heart of the youth is like the uncultivated ground – it will accept whatever you throw upon it (and that is what will grow from it).” In the backdrop of this wise saying, youth taking to drugs is a question mark on us as a society. There is something wrong within the society. Need is to find out what makes our youth to choose this path and why they are doing so. Unemployment, some people suggest, as the root cause. But unemployment is a world-wide phenomena and not everywhere the jobless youth take to substance abuse. Fundamentally it is the responsibility of the family to ensure that their wards move in a right direction. For that, parents need to have extra ordinary communication with their children. Of late, one could say without any fear of contradiction, that parents are too busy with their own affairs that they don’t spare even a minute to sit with their children, listen to them and try to understand them and that is why the children look elsewhere for such kind of a support and sometimes, in this quest, fall in bad company. It is therefore responsibility of the parents to develop friendly relations with their children and be there to share their frustrations.
Youth is an important resource for social, political and economic advancement of a society. They have the capacity to foster the social cohesiveness by serving as a link between very societal groups. A country cannot prosper without the contribution of every citizen, youth being the most important component. The youth should seize possibilities in all areas of the nation’s advancement and development, Tomorrow’s leaders would be from amongst the pool of young people, thus it will be upto the youth to use everything they have learned and experienced to grow as individuals. One must accept responsibility for the knowledge already acquired and determine the extent to which knowledge has been utilized. There is a need to promote and practice a growing entrepreneurial culture among the youth. The social media and technology can also be best utilized by youth to stay focused and explore opportunities for their future.
On its part, the law enforcement agencies should launch a sustained crackdown on drug traffickers to ensure that the deadly substances and no longer in circulation. Though almost everyday police comes out with statements wherein they claim to have arrested some drug peddlers and confiscated some substance, the very fact that it is happening every day indicates that there is some flaw in counter-drug operation. The authorities need to take this issue very seriously and ensure that none within the ranks is involved in aiding and abetting this nefarious business. That said, the religious leaders, instead of creating unnecessary controversies during their sermons, should focus on social issues like the drug abuse. They should speak frequently about ills of using drugs and explain to the youth how this has been condemned by Islam.
