As we all hear day by day about the alarming increase of drug addiction in Kashmir but don’t take it seriously & carry on dealing with our day to day life & problems. A large number of people, whether male or female are taking drugs & have became addicted to them but no one is caring about their destruction of life. Many people don’t understand why or how why or how other people become addicted to drugs.
They may mistakenly think that those who use drugs lack moral principles or willpower & that they could stop their drug use simply by choosing to. In reality, Drug addiction is a complex disease, & quitting usually takes more than good intentions & strong will. Drugs change the brain in ways that make quitting hard, even for those who want to.
Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking & use that is compulsive, or difficult to control despite harmful consquences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self control & interfere with their ability to resist intense urge to take drugs. The brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a relapsing disease. People in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use after years of not taking the drug.
The use of drugs cause brain disorders. They affect functions like learning, judgement, decision making, stress, memory loss & behaviour etc. If further causes headaches, confusion, leprosy, loss of teeth & eyebrows, pshychosis, dry semen, bad breath, warming of blood, destroy body organs, weaken heart etc. Drugs also instigate oneslef towards forbidden practices & keep away from religious fundamentals.
Despite aware of these harmful outcomes, many people who take drugs continue to take them, which is the nature of addiction. Most of the young people use drugs because of curiosity & belief that it will reduce their problems like stress, trauma, anxiety, depression such as failed love relationships & failed exams. The people become addicted to these drugs because of the bad company they keep, too much pocket money they possess, lack of parental guidance, easy availability of drugs etc.
In Kashmir cases of drug abuse went from more than 14,500 cases in 2014 to 33,222 in 2016, a staggering increase of 130% in two years. In year 2017, alone up to April the number of drug addicts was 13,352. A United Nations International Drug Control Programme Survey in 2008 estimated 70,000 drug addicts in Kashmir out of which 4000 were women.
Before some days, when I was scrolling my feed on Facebook, a video caught my eye which was from Zakura area of Srinagar City in which a nice person was showing a Hookah(Jajeer) like structure which was used by youths to take different kinds of drugs. The person was appealing to all parents to take serious care of their childrens. My heart fell very much pained after going through this clip. The clip had got over one lakh views but it was all of no means. The people nowadays enjoy such clips & skip very quickly.
The people have erased the name of humanity from their lives. The people have lost the true means of Kashmiriyat. The Kashmiriyat is full of love, care, attention, support, brotherhood but unfortunately we are gradually losing each pillar of Kashmiriyat. I got really happy when people of Qazigund area of Kashmir blowed once again the candle of Kashmiriyat by adopting & bearing all the expenses of the children’s of a Pandit family whose father & mother had passed away.
I really appreciate & feel proud to such a good step but at the same time I really feel angry & disheartened to my Kashmiri people, when they see ongoing destruction of the future of Kashmir & act as mute spectators. The youths are the future of Kashmir. When the youths will get destroyed mentally & physically then obviously our future will also get destroyed. Our future generations would be drug addicted, how come this is possible that the future of Kashmir will be bright. Our silence & carelessness is leading us to a tale of destruction.
It’s the high time to save our future from destruction. Our Islamic organizations, NGO’s & common people should come forward & become united leaving aside all the idealogical differences to curb this ongoing drug addiction.
I really appreciate the step taken by Minhajul Quran International Anantnag by starting a campaign against Drug addiction. They are conducting programmes at different schools & tution centres to educate students about the ill effects of drug addiction. We all should come forward voluntarily & become a part of life saving of the youths.
Some families of Kashmir cultivate huge cannabies & poppy for money. They have made this practice as a source of money for them but they don’t know doing this will lead them to the severe punishment from Allah. This money is all Haram. Nodoubt, these people are rich in wealth & roam in luxury cars but they can never live a happy & peaceful life because they are killing & ruining the lives of others. Allah deprived these people of any blessings in their lives & will never leave such people unpunished who spoiled the lives of others.
The parents of youth have a special role & responsiblity in this regard. They should be very much careful about the activities of their childrens. They should be given adequate amount of money & should be enquired about the time they spent outside. They should check the company of their friends & also enquire about their friends.
I remember a famous saying about our companies i.e our friends & other people with whom we spend our time
“Sohbat E Saleh Turah Saleh Kunad,
Sohbat E Taleh Turah Taleh Kunad”
If we keep the good company then we too will become good, If we keep the bad company then we too will become bad.
I conclude with the words that drug addiction is gradually destroying the future of Kashmir & we need to prevent the future of Kashmir. The need of the hour is that all Islamic organizations, NGO’s & common people should come forward & organize awareness camps so that people know the ill effects of drugs. The police should also act strongly against drug peddlers & we too should guide those families who cultivate drugs in their lands & guide them about ill effects of drugs. The easy availability of drugs in market needs to be checked & we too should do our level best to prevent easy availability of drugs.
The author is a Freelance Writer & can be reached at Kaleemgeelani11@gmail.com
