On June 10, 2016, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) launched the first of the two 105m Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) destined for the Sri Lankan Navy.1 These vessels, the largest India has exported to date, mark the latest in a series of naval sales which, though not heavily publicised, have made India an emerging exporter of patrol vessels. Combined with the emergence of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) as the L1 or the lowest bidder for the supply of frigates to the Philippine Navy, India has the potential of becoming a significant exporter of naval vessels.2 However, to date, India has adopted a somewhat cautious approach to marketing its naval products, confining it to neighbouring or friendly countries in Asia. Though India has built several warships and has a largely indigenously built navy and coast guard, its exports were, until recently, limited to refurbished ex-navy and coast guard ships being transferred to the Seychelles, the Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. India had not sold a single new-build naval vessel until March 04, 2011, when a contract to supply Mauritius with a 74m OPV was concluded with GRSE.3 This vessel MCGS Barracuda was delivered in December 2014.4 Mauritius followed up this order with the purchase of eleven 14.5m fast interceptor boats and two fast attack crafts from GSL in April and May 2014, respectively.5 Delivery of the former has been completed6, while the first of the latter craft has been launched with delivery due in September 2016.7 India’s sales to Mauritius should not be surprising given the strong links between the Indian Navy and the Mauritian Coast Guard (to the extent that an Indian naval officer is its commander) and that India has supplied helicopters and maritime patrol aircrafts to Mauritius in the past. However, India becoming the primary supplier of naval vessels to Mauritius is a significant step as previous purchases by the island nation have been from sources as diverse as the former Soviet Union and Canada (the MCGS Vigilant – now inoperable – was purchased from STX Marine of Canada but built at Chile’s ASMAR shipyard). With the recent GRSE and GSL sales, Indian vessels will form a major part of the Mauritian Coast Guard fleet. With monopoly over the Mauritian helicopter squadron and the coast guard maritime patrol aircrafts, India is well positioned to exercise considerable influence over the Mauritian security policy. The supply of OPVs to Sri Lanka is again an interesting development. Though India has supplied two OPVs to Sri Lanka in the past (the SLNS Sayura and the SLNS Sagara), but both were direct transfers from the Indian Navy and Coast Guard of second-hand ships. By signing a contract in 2013 to build two 105m OPVs for Sri Lanka, GSL has in one stroke established India as the key supplier of Sri Lanka’s most modern surface assets. It has also established GSL as the shipyard with contract for the largest ships that India has exported to date.8 Given that China (with its Shanghai and Lushun classes) has so far been the single largest supplier of large patrol vessels to Sri Lanka, India securing the OPV contract assumes certain significance. India has also sought to enter the Vietnamese market and has extended a $100 million line of credit to that country for the procurement of patrol boats.9 To possibly operationalise the said arrangement, GRSE has made a bid to supply Vietnam with 14 patrol boats worth US$ 212 million.10 It remains to be seen whether the contract will be awarded to GRSE but India’s readiness to provide a line of credit for naval procurement is a novel step. It shows India’s increasing willingness to use its growing economic prowess to support its foreign policy objectives. However, whether similar facilities were offered to either Sri Lanka or Mauritius or will be offered to the Philippines is not known.
While the contracts with Mauritius and Sri Lanka and the one that seems to be in the offing with Vietnam are in line with India’s strategic partnerships with those countries, GRSE’s bid to supply frigates to the Philippines is remarkable in that not only did GRSE compete against three highly proficient and internationally renowned shipyards – Navantia S.A. of Spain and the Hyundai Heavy Industries Inc. and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. of the Republic of Korea (or South Korea), but that it also emerged as the lowest bidder (L1).11 Should GRSE succeed in securing this contract which is worth more than US$ 321 million, it would mark a major milestone for Indian defence exports. The deal is not yet a certainty as GRSE will need to meet the post-qualification requirements to ensure compliance with the technical specifications of the project.12 It is possible that South Korea may seek to use its considerable diplomatic and financial clout with the Philippines to affect the final award of the contract, but GRSE must not allow such a scenario to emerge. To date, India’s warship sales and offers have been limited to Mauritius and few Asian countries (south, south-east and east). It has not yet made serious efforts to penetrate the African and Latin American markets. Given that India is a relative newcomer in the warship export market, such cautious approach is justified as Indian shipyards need to establish a track record for satisfactory project management (in particular with respect to timely delivery) and effective after-sales support. At present, it is not known how well Indian shipyards will fare in respect of these factors. However, should GRSE and GSL deliver satisfactory services to their export customers, there is considerable potential for India to position itself as a competitive supplier of small and medium warships and patrol crafts in the international arena. It is thus for the respective shipyards to rise to the occasion.
Proximity to the largest producers of heroin and hashish-the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran) -has made India's border vulnerable to drug trafficking.
Indigenous production of low grade heroin as well as various psychotropic and prescription drugs and their growing demand in the neighbouring countries and international market have added a new dimension to the problem of drug trafficking.
Trends and patterns of drug trafficking in the country demonstrate that there is a gradual shift from traditional/natural drugs towards synthetic drugs that are being trafficked. Trafficking of drugs takes place overwhelmingly through land borders followed by sea and air routes. Given the vulnerability of the borders to drug trafficking, India has tried to tackle the problem through the strategy of drug supply and demand reduction, which involves enacting laws, co-operating with voluntary organisations, securing its borders and coasts by increasing surveillance, as well as seeking the active cooperation of its neighbours and the international community.
Location of Punjab in India. Source: Wikipedia Commons.
February 18, 2016
Punjab has to struggle with the serious problem of drug addiction that is now reaching epidemic proportions, and has now become a key poll issue. -By Dr Gursharan Singh Kainth and Dr Rajinder Singh Bawa
Western media in the recent past has given increased attention to the Punjab drug epidemic, which is not a new problem. But things are getting worse as almost a whole generation of young people is being lost to recreational drugs. If effective action is not taken to deal with the problem mean dark days ahead for this part of the world.
Drug addiction is not a Punjab — one of India’s most prosperous Indian Union; the fertile land of the five rivers and nation’s bread basket — specific problem, though social, cultural and economic patterns over several years encouraged its proliferation because of lack of discouragement. It is an affliction that’s been allowed a firm footing in the border state, becoming almost an accepted way of life as those who could make a difference looked the other way.
Now that the political class does seem to be looking at the mess, is it the right way? Punjab has to struggle with this serious problem that is now reaching epidemic proportions. Now drug addiction has now become a key poll issue. The nexus between terrorists and drug smugglers in Pakistan has come under a harsh spotlight after the Pathankot airbase attack.
The state government had estimated way back in 2009 that two-thirds of all rural households in Punjab had at least one drug addict. Things have had become much worse. All sectors of society have been affected, including the ones least expected. There was a time when there was prosperity here; people were so energetic doing things, trying new things. But it is now in such a sad state as the
State is sitting on a time bomb ready to explode at any time.
The drug menace has of late reached alarming proportions in the state, even becoming a key poll issue and engaged the Opposition Congress and the SAD-BJP government in bitter war of words.Expressing serious concern over the acute drug menace in Punjab, the Supreme Court warned that peddlers of various narcotics substances were destroying the career of the youth of the state. No mercy can be shown to them. You are destroying the youth of Punjab. Courts have to send across a stern message, only then there can be some deterrent. The apex court’s comments come four months after Punjab High Court, which too has initiated an all-out war against the drug menace, directed the state government to ensure that those who visited the de-addiction centres did not relapse and were counseled and monitored. But drug smuggling in border areas has increased. From heroin and opium to alcohol, there has been an alarming rise in the number of teens addicted to drugs, which are freely available.
DRUG ABUSE STATISTICS FOR PUNJAB
The scale of the problem can be disputed in Punjab, not its existence. Drug use in the state has since long taken the shape of drug misuse, then abuse and increasingly, the worst form: Addiction – classified as a disease calling for medical treatment. The World Health Organization prefers an over-arching term: Drug Dependence. The body politic has not stopped sparring over the issue, but the body’s rotting. It needs help a forceful and forced correction.
The scale of drug abuse in the state became public in 2009 through a submission to the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Harjit Singh, Secretary Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development in Chandigarh. Singh said more than two thirds of the state’s rural household has at least one drug addict – a proportion that in 2014 may now be even higher. Today an estimated 66 per cent of Punjab’s youths are thought to be taking medical or synthetic drugs.
He wrote: “The vibrancy of Punjab is virtually a myth. Many sell their blood to procure their daily dose of deadly drugs, even beg on streets for money to continue their addiction.”
"The entire Punjab is in the grip of drug hurricane which weakens the morale, physique and character of the youth. We are in the danger of losing the young generation.”
The extent of drug addiction in Punjab is alarming.
Near border areas the rate of heroin abuse among 15 to 25 year olds is as high as 75 percent – the percentage is 73 percent in other rural areas throughout the region.
Department of Social Security Development of Women and Children suggested that as many as 67 percent of rural households in Punjab will have at least one drug addict in the family.
There is at least one death due to drug overdose each week in the region.
Further, it is estimated that four out of ten men are addicted to some or other drug and that up to 50 percent of those are young farmers. While 15 percent of those are addicted to poppy husk (known as bhukki), 20 per cent are addicted to synthetic drugs churned out by pharma companies in neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh.
A new study by AIIMS has found that opioid worth Rs 7,500 crore are consumed in Punjab every year with a massive heroin’s share of Rs 6,500 crore. This is a startling revelation given that almost all the heroin that comes to Punjab is through the Pakistan border, pumped in by smugglers allegedly aided by ISI. It is this smuggler network that the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase are believed to have used. Security agencies, however, have so far insisted that Pakistani heroin is not consumed in Punjab; it merely passes through to bigger cities like Delhi. But this study — a first of its kind conducted by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) at AIIMS — busts the myth. It says that in a population of around 2.77 crore people, there are more than 1.23 lakh heroin-dependent people. Based on the previous studies, Punjab’s opioid dependents are four times more than the global average. In fact, not only are the drug smugglers being used to push jihadis into India, they are also creating an army of heroin addicts in Punjab. The study has found that 0.84 per cent (around 2.3 lakh) of the entire state’s population is opioid dependent. It takes into account both opium derivatives as well as artificial substances that have the same effect as opiates on the nervous system.
Previous studies conducted in select districts of Punjab had shown widespread use of synthetic or pharmaceutical opioid drugs. The survey reveals that opioid-dependent people are spending approximately Rs 20 crore daily on these drugs. On an average a heroin-dependent individual spends about Rs 1,400 per day. Though the figure of Rs 20 crore per day is doubtful, but the government is seeing this as a warning sign which aims for drug-free State. Around 2.3 lakh people are opioid-dependent in Punjab and around 8.6 lakhs are estimated to be opioid users. Heroin-dependents are the highest at 1, 23,414 based upon the survey, NDDTC collaborated with Delhi based non-profit organization Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses.
The study was conducted between February and April 2015. Data was collected from 3,620 opioid dependents from 10 districts. Among the men aged between 18 and 35 years, four in 100 are opioid dependent; while 15 in 100 could be opioid users. This survey estimated a much higher number of injecting drug users in Punjab (around 75,000) as compared to the existing estimate (under 20,000). Apparently, there is a clear threat of explosive epidemic of HIV among injecting drug users in Punjab. In this survey, interviews were conducted mostly at the drug-dependence treatment and rehabilitation centres at the government civil hospitals of Punjab. Each respondent interviewed was asked to send three more people whom he knew and who were also opioid dependent. The respondents thus came voluntarily to participate in the survey and were interviewed in government hospitals.
It isn’t just people from the fringes of society that are addicted; students from “good families” are often caught in the toils of drug addiction.Guru Nanak Dev University study suggested that 70 per cent of young Punjabi men could be addicted to the drugs that are easily available, particularly in areas close to the borders. Even children as young as 12 years of age are seen to be involved in the drug trade which is openly sold and easily available.
CAUSE OF THE PUNJAB DRUG EPIDEMIC
Widespread drug addiction in Punjab is due to paraphernalia of factors which inter alia includes unemployment and frustrated economic expectations. Green revolution in Punjab which has led to a food surplus is blamed too for this malady. This has meant that young people have been overindulged with nothing to do as there is not the same urgency to till the land.
It is easy for young generation to begin experimenting with substance abuse because of the ease by which they can get their hands on bhukki. This plant grows wild in the region and it is difficult to prevent young people from using it. Furthermore, heroin is easily available throughout the region that is relatively cheap encouraging people to experiment with this substance.
Some of those living in the region fear that it may be a form of Narco-terrorism and those groups in bordering countries are deliberately trying to turn the Punjabi youth into addicts. The location of Punjab means that most of the heroin will pass through this area on its way to India. Heroin smuggled in from Afghanistan and Punjab is a part of the transit route for drugs. This fact is evidenced by frequent seizures of illegal drugs by the authorities. Just before the Lok Sabha polls, Rs 800 crore worth of drugs, liquor and other narcotics were seized by poll authorities.
This is also the fact that pharmaceuticals such as pain relieving opioid and sedatives are easily available from chemists; without prescriptions. Punjabi culture, for heavy drinking and partying as well as the habit of landowners supplying raw opium to farm labourers to encourage them to work harder, has contributed too to the problem. Most rural households in the state are thought to have had one addict.
Steady supply of drugs from across the border is another reason. It was the transition from poppy husk and opium and its usual suspect users to the lethal heroin or smack, and later synthetic drugs, that rang alarm bells because of the heavy flow of heroin through the then unfenced border with Pakistan in the 1980s. Narco-terrorism’s push came after 2000, and the impetus was in 2007 when China and Japan cracked down on heroin smuggling and India emerged as one of the biggest markets with the entry point: Punjab. In fact India was sandwiched between the “Golden Triangle” of drugs — Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand — and the “Golden Crescent” of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where opium was produced and smuggled. The year 2007 saw a 10-time increase in the recovery of heroin in Punjab.
With more heroins, popularly known as chitta or white powder, being pushed into the state from across the border and trucks full of poppy husk and opium reaching the state from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the trade assumed large proportions.
Just 2km from the centre of Amritsar, the city of Golden Temple, is Maqboolpura, a closely packed settlement where flies, muck and night soil fill the gutters. Maqboolpura, a congested colony first pricked the conscience of the region when The Tribune in 1999 reported about the death of 30 householders in three years who had fallen prey to addictive substances. Notorious as a haven for criminals, what makes Maqboolpura more infamous today is that most households in this neighbourhood are occupied by a drug addict’s widow or orphans – earning it the nickname, “Village of Widows and Orphans. There are active drug addicts in at least 384 families in the neighbourhood and nearly 100 local boys are held in Amritsar Central Jail on drugs related cases.
Railway barrier in Angarh – another symptom of a monstrous crisis; is a locality in the border city of Amritsar in Punjab signals the end of too many things: The rule of law; the reign of sense; the fear of crime; the signs of normality and even the divisions of caste. Walking down a street in Angarh, littered with the implements of death — empty Coaxil bottles, dirty syringes Drug and crime infested as the area is, people dread having to wait at the barrier for a goods train to pass. Here, 13-year-olds are killed in Diwali gambling brawls; 20-year-olds run amok looting shops in a drug-crazed haze; illegal explosive factories abound near LPG godowns; and Kashmiris peddling ‘sulfa’ — an inferior quality of brown hashish — share the streets with young intravenous drug users (IDUs). From smack, heroin and synthetic drugs to over-the-counter drugs like Buprenorphine, Parvon Spas, Codex syrup and spurious Coaxil and Phenarimine injections. This is a state where 30 per cent of all jail inmates have been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the DGP has kicked up a political storm by saying it is impossible for him to control the flow of drugs into his prisons. But the sharp irony is this matter little because, like Angarh, scores of other towns and villages in Punjab are more notorious than any prison cell.
“Drugs have killed many across the state of Punjab, except that in Maqboolpura the problem is marked. Taking shelter on a garbage dump, a group of teenage boys share a Bhooki, a cigarette rolled with poppy husk seeds, while listening to Punjabi songs. Youth claimed that “It’s not difficult to get nasha (drugs) here. We use code words like badam (almonds) or nuts.”The youth claimed that he could easily obtain injections and even ice (crystal meth) from a local chemist shop.
Deadly drugs like heroin and synthetic tablets have made it into an organised crime, consuming lives, destroying families and damaging the image of a people and the state. Add to that the growing evidence of pharmaceutical opioid abuse where addicts are graduating to injecting formulations with opium-like qualities (hence called opioid).
Among pharma opioid are buprenorphine, pentazocine and dextropropyxyphyne. Over-the-counter cough syrups like Corex and Benadryl too are much in demand. In recent years there has also been a sharp increase in the rate of HIV infections in the state. This is because the rate of injectable drug users (IDUs) is far higher here than in other states.
The national prevalence of HIV is 9 per cent but in Punjab this proportion is 26 per cent.
RURAL CONTEXT:
Does easy supply lead to addiction, or does the demand result in increased supply? Why did Punjab so easily fall into the drug trap? Studies point to some striking aspects of Punjab’s drug addiction problem. It has a predominant rural context and the users are relatively affluent, unlike in the rest of the country. The drugs used are mostly injectable, which are commonly associated with urban settings. The intensity and extremity of the addiction too is a unique Punjabi occurrence. Such scenario is explainable in terms of the deep-rooted cultures of consumption and masculinity, the declining growth rates of the rural economy, the influx of migrants, the impact of unemployment on educated rural youth, and the culture of aspiration and expectation, which quickly swerves to depression when things don’t fall in place.
Research studies also point to the failure of Punjab’s industrial sector to absorb the increasing number of employable youth from rural areas, and the cultural attributes that inhibit educated youth from taking up certain jobs, especially in the farm sector. There’s also a clash between unemployment and the culture of aspiration among the many affluent young men in rural Punjab, who are at the centre of the problem. Frustration, boredom and laziness are all experienced simultaneously. Migrate who can but who are unable feel easy prey. No one exactly knows the extent of the drug problem in the state; the varied figures that are often quoted are based on sporadic studies and anecdotal instances. Now that it’s taken shape of a political slugfest, the core issue of the huge battle against drugs is still lost in the war of words.
CORRUPTION
An analysis of the factors responsible for this death trap and debt trap for the people of Punjab reveals that it has been rooted in several factors – economic, political, geographical and social, each contributing in their own way to destroy the fabric of the state. But one thing that surprises:
That the rulers who are responsible for the welfare of the State and its people, are patronizing the poisonous business and ruining the lives of millions. Political patronage given to drugs during elections is shameful. At a time when drug abuse should have been a raging social issue, the leaders from the ruling parties use it to swing votes.
Official corruption has worsened the problem. Anecdotal evidence indicates Indian police and lawmakers are complicit in drug smuggling and distribution, netting millions of dollars in ill-gotten proceeds. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 is not being implemented in Punjab to control drug abuse.
In the last General Elections, candidates across the State had faced uncomfortable questions over the perceived involvement of the political machinery in the distribution of drugs. The fact is: Drug use is rising, especially in the case of heroin and narcotic injectable due to easy availability. What is required is vigorous anti-drug strategies must be deployed by government and other stake holders.
Politics is a part of the drugs problem in Punjab. Police investigations have uncovered links between political leaders, businessmen and drug smugglers. From the manner in which politicians were scurrying for cover from the anger of the people in the general elections over the drug problem, it’s clear that the tough and aggressive Punjabi has had enough. The same hopelessness is among Punjab’s youth today.
SENSITIZATION
In the interest of Punjab’s people, the government must recognise the need to intervene in this area and back it with Strong Political Will. There is a need for lobbying, pressure groups and advocacy forums, which can place drug abuse higher on the agenda. Sensitization of key individuals in the policy-making process is of great importance. As yet, there is little evidence of any organised effort in this direction. Government must have to focus on the socio-economic variables and their impacts on increase number of drug crime, opium cultivation etc.
AWARENESS
Drug awareness programmes, job opportunities, educating the people regarding the effects of narcotic drugs may create the prosperous future of the nations. Steps should be taken by the government to provide best health care services to the citizens at affordable cost. Awareness of every sphere should be within the reach of each and every person. Children should be made aware about their rights and strategies to escape being victimized. The education system should be such that it can meet the challenges of a fast-developing world. People should be made aware of their responsibilities towards their family so that a congenial environment is created within the family. The Akali-BJP government should wake up to the fact that Punjab is on the verge of losing an entire generation to drugs like it lost to terrorism, before it is too late.
TYPES OF DRUGS BEING ABUSED:
The recreational drugs that users in Punjab are most likely include:
Bhuki is similar to a type of wild grass that can be found throughout Punjab. It is possible to get a mild intoxicating effect from Bhuki, and it is considered a gateway drug because it encourages young people to begin experimenting.
Heroin addiction is getting the most attention in the media. It is believed that this narcotic is flooding in from Afghanistan via Pakistan.
Opium and morphine are other types of opiate that are commonly abused.
Many brands of toothpaste in the region contain nicotine. There are reports of people consuming excessive amounts of toothpaste because it is a relatively cheap way to experience nicotine high.
HEROIN IN PUNJAB
Heroin is the drug that is causing most concern in the region. Authorities take a tough stance on borderline security, but despite this the drug continues to flood into the area. The profits to be made are high and corruption is believed to be rife. Most of the heroin going through Punjab ends up in the rest of the continent, but the fact there is such a high appetite for the drug locally means that smugglers have an easy market to exploit.
DANGERS OF HEROIN ADDICTION
Heroin addiction not only hurts the individual but also their family, community as well as the society as a whole. The dangers of such abuse to the individual include even Death which is common from its overdose. It can be hard to judge the purity of this opiate and if people get it wrong it can cost them their life. One becomes addicted to heroin in a relatively short time period. Once the individual becomes addicted they can lose interest in everything else. Maintaining a heroin habit is expensive and in many instances the individual will need to resort to crime to feed their habit. Heroin abuse is damaging to almost every organ in the body. The longer the individual remains addicted to this drug the more they will lose. Everything that they cherish in life will be taken away including their self respect. As the individual develops a tolerance for heroin they will need to use more to get the same effect. Young people who abuse this drug risk destroying their future. Addiction means that the individual becomes unemployable. Family and friends suffer because: They have to watch their loved one self destruct. The addicted family member will usually steal off the rest of the family. Money that could be spent on improving conditions for the family is wasted on drugs. The addict may become violent and cause physical harm to family and friends. Loved ones may have to suffer shame as they are judged negatively for having an addict in the family. Society suffers due to heroin abuse because: It means lost productivity as so many young people will not be fit for work. Health care costs of treating addiction are a tremendous drain on resources. Some parts of the region become unsafe because of the rising levels of crime due to heroin addiction. The greatest asset that any country has is its young people. The high numbers of young people in Punjab addicted to drugs is a national disgrace. The cost of policing the drug problem is a drain on resources. There’s a perception in Punjab that the politicians of all hues and even the police is part of the problem and beneficiaries of the drug trade. Apparently, new Narco-political elite used drug money to fund elections. Punjab Police have tried to shed the image with huge recoveries, busting of drug gangs and sustained crackdowns. But more drug recoveries show the security agencies are more alert and serious about the issue, but undoubtedly the media and the opposition say it means an increase in smuggling and higher consumption! The politicians have chosen the easy way out: sparring and what sounds more jarring, dharnas.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS:
Historical evidence points that banning only leads to smuggling and expansion of drugs in society. Setting up rural industries and proper “evening management” can keep away youth from drugs. But governments were working on the model: ban drugs, smuggle drugs and then promote drugs which should be stop immediately. Need of the hour called for a radical solution to the drug problem, which has assumed alarming proportions in the state such as decriminalization of the use of drugs in the state; to break the criminal-politics nexus by radically altering the NDPS Act that tends to promote smuggling by putting a wholesale ban on drugs and treating them as patients needing medical treatment. Drug smugglers act as “sleeper cells and agents of ISI” who were working to destabilize India. Dimension of the drug policy, stressing stringent drug laws be implemented as done by the USA to destabilize revolutionary regimes in South America by promoting drug cartels, who thrived on smuggling due to bans. “The stringent NDPS Act established in 1985 has led to proliferation of mafia, strengthened criminal-police-political network and filling jails with drug edicts has overburdened criminal investigators and judiciary. Families and societies should show more consideration and understanding towards drug victims, who are ostracized by larger society. Society is mobilized at the grass-roots level as well as actively involving women in this effort.
The problem (drug menace), however, could not be solved by the police or with stringent laws like NDPS Act because of Ban, Smuggle and Promote syndrome. The nexus of various forces promoting the sale of and distribution of drugs as a source of earning easy money while taking advantage of ban on simple drugs like Bhukki and opium etc have to be broken. The need of the hour is to break the criminal-mafia-politics nexus by radically altering NDPS Act which tends to promote smuggling and its promotion by wholesale ban on drugs and legalization of certain common mans recreational drugs like Bhukki, bhang etc. The use of the dangerous and chemical started only when the Bhukki and post were banned. Drug addicts and drug users be treated as patients and victims rather than criminals and adopt an integrated approach and longtime multi-pronged strategy check the drug addiction. The scale of the problem can be disputed in Punjab, not its existence. Drug use in the state has since long taken the shape of drug misuse, then abuse and increasingly, the worst form: addiction. That is classified as a disease, calling for medical treatment. The World Health Organization prefers an over-arching term: drug dependence. The body politic has not stopped sparring over the issue, but the body’s rotting. It needs help a forceful and forced correction. Drug addiction is not a Punjab-specific problem, though social, cultural and economic patterns over several years encouraged its proliferation because of lack of discouragement. It is an affliction that’s been allowed a firm footing in the border state, becoming almost an accepted way of life as those who could make a difference looked the other way. Now that the political class does seem to be looking at the mess, is it the right way? Drug use — primarily the intake of opium — had been part of the social and cultural compass long before Punjab was partitioned and then divided. That said, drug abuse was always considered an exception, not the rule — it was lampooned in comic characterization and looked down upon. “In folk literature, songs and movies, we always had a drug addict in the plot. But he was never the hero. He was always made fun of. Those who took even liquor avoided meeting the parents and even one’s spouse. It was even considered healthy, and people in the Malwa belt still feel small doses of opium are good for health. The influence also comes from the prevailing culture in neighbouring Rajasthan where opium was, and still is, served like paan in weddings.” The use increased with the advent of the Green Revolution in the state. More work in the fields brought more labourers and the demand of poppy husk and opium increased manifold. It was common for big farmers to supply opium and poppy husk to labourers, “since it served like machine oil”. Similarly, industrialization in the country opened more routes for Punjabi truck drivers and they took to poppy husk and opium as they felt it helped them in driving for longer hours.
Islamic State's Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Photo by Al-Furqān Media, official media arm of Islamic State terrorist group.
July 1, 2016
It has been two years since the self-styled Islamic State (IS) announced the establishment of a “Caliphate”. How will this construct evolve and what form would it take? After 23 months of war the determination of the Islamic State (IS) Caliphate is being put to the test, with a significant decline of its revenues and a total combat casualties estimated to exceed 26,000 fighters since 2014. The United States reported in January 2016 that the group would have lost respectively around 20% and 40% of the populated territories it used to control in Syria and Iraq. IS has the potential to fight back, especially as its strongholds in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Deir ez Zour have not been reconquered yet. However, should the erosion of the Caliphate continue over the coming months, it would be more and more difficult for IS to defend the entity it created against the assaults of its enemies and ensure governance at the same time. Retrospectively, the first two years of the Caliphate might thus be seen as a period of transition leading to the reconstitution of the “state”. It is an open question how the latter could evolve and which forces might benefit from that process.
Loss of Popular Support?
IS, also known as ISIS, based the legitimacy and the credibility of the Caliphate on the Sunni-Shia divide and the power vacuum plaguing large parts of Iraq and Syria. The IS organisation is used to present itself as the defender of Sunnis against the Shia-led regimes of Baghdad and Damascus. It remains dependent on the active or passive support of Sunnis living in areas under its influence and control. These local populations stand at a crossroads. The Caliphate provided them with basic services, the administration of “justice” and an embryonic welfare state, but it also brought disillusionment among its “subjects” and exposed the latter to the risks associated with a state at constant war. According to political scientist Myriam Benraad, “[IS] pledged to hand power back to the Sunnis and secure their prosperity … not only did it not keep its promise but it took civilian populations hostage”. Territorial losses are likely to lead IS to intensify its “indirect strategy” that aims at forcing enemies of the group to reconsider their military involvement in Iraq and Syria by targeting their civilian populations. The domestic cost of this approach may nonetheless be high. Sunnis living in the Caliphate are primarily interested in ensuring their security, improving their conditions of life and increasing their political influence. Terrorist activities led or claimed by IS will not meet these expectations and could widen the gap between locals and the “state”. IS might enforce stricter policies of coercion and repression to reassert societal control, which would further expose the dictatorial nature of its rule and make the Caliphate lose more of its appeal.
Hammer and Anvil
Such a scenario would have positive implications over the long term if a viable alternative to the Caliphate had emerged from the war. This has not been the case so far. Arab Sunni populations are caught between IS on the one hand and different actors they still consider to be hostile to their interests on the other. In Iraq, feelings of mistrust shared by a majority of Sunnis towards the Iraqi central government as well as their fear of indiscriminate attacks from the Iraqi army and retaliation from Shia militias make a shift of power from IS to Shia forces doomed to failure. The challenge is even greater in Syria, where a potential but unlikely reimplantation of the Assad regime in governorates it used to control before the civil war would face considerable opposition from Syria’s Sunni majority. In both countries, growing resentment between Arabs and Kurds might sow the seeds of new ethnic clashes. The campaign against IS is over focused on the objective of military defeat, with little attention paid to post-conflict peacebuilding efforts. This is a shortsighted policy. To be sustainable, territorial gains that are made by anti-IS forces need to be followed by reconstruction, governance and inclusive political processes. This agenda is severely jeopardised by sectarian cleavages and, in the immediate future, displacements of population who fled fighting. Political scientist Gilles Dorronsoro noted that “the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and other Sunni bastions passed under the control of IS are falling one after the other, but they are almost depopulated. Return of inhabitants is very limited”.
From Caliphate to Emirate?
Three factors suggest that al-Qaeda (AQ) and its Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) would be likely to take advantage of a new balance of power. First, the conflict between IS and AQ/JN has been a major bone of contention within the Jihadist community since the two organisations split in 2013. Setbacks suffered by IS would be an ideal opportunity for JN and its parent organisation to attempt to restore the leadership of AQ. Second, any failure of the Caliphate as a “Sunni project” could entice JN to portray itself as a more authentic and effective defender of Sunni populations. The group aims at establishing an Islamic “Emirate” that would rely on a harsh interpretation of Sharia law. To this end, JN developed a dense network of rebel alliances and a genuine base of local support in the North-western Syrian governorate of Idlib where it established a low-key but influential presence. These assets could be used to gain further traction and expand JN’s outreach, provided that the group would be able to overcome internal disagreements as well as feelings of suspicion and animosity expressed among militant factions and parts of the population that are opposed to its objectives. Third, a protracted loss of momentum of the Caliphate might be used by AQ and JN as a decisive argument in support of the long-term methodology favoured by their respective leaderships. JN took great care in gradually entrenching itself in the opposition and the social fabric of Syrian communities, as opposed to IS who adopted a strategy for immediate action. The latter approach may well be much frailer than initially thought.
*Romain Quivooij is an Associate Research Fellow with the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Mumbai’s first garden-under-flyover was finally inaugurated on Monday after the dedicated hard work of many Matunga residents. Named Nanalal D. Mehta Garden, it is located under the Tulpule Flyover on Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Road.
The garden is the brainchild of ‘One Matunga’ group, which consists of residents in the area who came together to protect this stretch from encroachment and misuse.
Soon after the flyover was made open to the public about four years ago, it started turning into a hangout zone for hawkers, gamblers, drug addicts, etc. It was then that the residents of Matunga took over the responsibility to prevent this from happening.
“A few residents informed me about the encroachers and we took it up with the F/North ward (Municipal Corporation Of Greater Mumbai), requesting them to barricade the entire stretch,” Nikhil Desai, a Matunga-based activist toldDNA. Once the area was barricaded, about 40 people crowd-sourced funds and hired 24X7 private security to look after it for two years. They also used to get 10-12 BMC sweepers to clean the stretch and ensure that it does not become a dumping ground. In 2011, they started approaching various government authorities with the idea of developing a small garden in that space and got the final approval in 2014. After successful petitioning, the BMC began to redevelop the area in June 2015. Today, this is the only encroachment-free flyover in Mumbai.
The garden has been designed to look like the Narmada River. Engineers and architects studied the flow of the river and tried to replicate it on the garden pathway. The 600 metre pathway is blue in colour with a replication of rock formations as found on the banks of River Narmada. A granite block in the garden carries information about the landmarks on the way to the river, such as temples, and the region halfway through the stretch has been designed to look like the Narmada ghat where people can sit. The garden has 300 lights and 11 rotatable CCTV cameras to ensure safety. “To get a space in such a crowded area is a boon. It’s also fun as I meet my building friends here and we finish our walk together,” Kritida Patel, a resident of Kapole Niwas told The Times of India. The garden is open from 8 am to 1 pm and 4 pm to 9.30 pm .Have a look at the amazing work:
Indian Navy Ship INS Kochi during Sea Trials. Photo: IDRW, Wikipedia Commons.
