Drug Crisis in IIOJK: A Deliberate Strategy to Weaken the Freedom Struggle?

A recent report by Al Jazeera highlights how drug addiction has reached unprecedented levels in IIOJK, surpassing even Indian Punjab, a region long struggling with narcotics abuse.

A devastating drug crisis is engulfing Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), with nearly two million people battling heroin addiction. This alarming situation has been largely attributed to India’s ongoing occupation, which has fueled despair, economic instability, and a deliberate attempt to weaken the Kashmiri resistance.

A recent report by Al Jazeera highlights how drug addiction has reached unprecedented levels in IIOJK, surpassing even Indian Punjab, a region long struggling with narcotics abuse. Sikh and Kashmiri intellectuals have raised concerns that this crisis is not coincidental but a calculated strategy by the Indian state to suppress the ongoing freedom movements in both regions.

The Indian Parliament itself acknowledged the gravity of the situation, estimating in August 2023 that 1.35 million of Kashmir’s 12 million people were drug users. This marked a shocking rise from the previous year’s estimate of 350,000, according to a study by the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) at the Government Medical College in Srinagar. Even more concerning is that 90% of these drug users are aged between 17 and 33, the prime years of youth productivity and activism.

The crisis is vividly illustrated by the story of Afiya, a 24-year-old Kashmiri woman whose dreams of becoming a flight attendant were shattered by India’s draconian policies. She had been selected for an airline job and moved to New Delhi for training, only for her aspirations to collapse when India revoked Kashmir’s special status in August 2019, imposing a months-long lockdown. With no communication access and her homeland under siege, Afiya returned home, only to spiral into heroin addiction. Today, she battles the devastating effects of substance abuse, a tragic representation of Kashmir’s youth being lost to drugs.

Hospitals in IIOJK are overwhelmed, unable to cope with the increasing number of drug-related patients. In 2023 alone, Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital treated over 41,000 addiction cases—an average of one patient every 12 minutes, representing a staggering 75% increase from 2021. Dr. Yasir Rather, a leading psychiatrist at IMHANS, warns that the crisis has escalated beyond control, with treatment facilities struggling to meet the demand.

The roots of this crisis can be traced back to the economic and social turmoil following India’s unilateral abrogation of Article 370. Chronic unemployment, coupled with the mental strain of constant military oppression, has driven Kashmiri youth towards drug abuse. Many experts and activists believe that India’s security agencies and intelligence networks are directly involved in the spread of narcotics, using addiction as a weapon to cripple Kashmiri resistance.

The situation demands urgent global attention. The Kashmiri people are not only fighting for their political rights but also battling a silent war aimed at eroding their future. The international community must intervene to address this crisis and hold India accountable for the systematic destruction of Kashmiri youth under its occupation. The struggle for Kashmir’s freedom cannot be subdued by drugs, and the resilience of its people will ultimately overcome every oppressive tactic imposed upon them.