How Punjab's drug addiction is fuelling a Khalistan
My once prosperous state, the land of green revolution, is now confronting the serious issue of drug abuse among the youth. More than 70 per cent of the youth in Punjab are addicted to drugs. We lost one whole generation of youth to the Khalistan militancy and are now going to lose another to the drug menace. Punjab's deteriorating economy and hopelessness, bred by rising unemployment in the once-rich and prosperous state, are also some of the key reasons for the high demand for drugs.
At one point, it was a matter of pride for every Punjabi that we belonged to one of the most prosperous regions of India that contributed the most to the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. However, today it's a matter of shame as Punjabis are being looked down upon because of the stigma associated with drug addiction. The highest number of recruits to the armed forces are from Punjab. Are we in a position to produce healthy soldiers who are capable of taking care of their motherland when they are not in a position to take care of themselves? Whose loss is this anyway?
Who is to be blamed for the devastation of Punjab? The scenario in the state is worsening at such a rapid rate that experts have begun to put an expiry date on the state's future. The SAD-BJP alliance is ruling the state for the past last eight years and prior to that Congress was in power. We have seen the rise of the drug menace in Punjab in the last 15 years, but in the last five years alone, the condition has worsened three to four times as much, and we can say that Punjab is badly hit by the drugs epidemic. Who will be its saviour? SAD - whose deputy chief minister is trying to shield his brother-in-law, one of the key agents of the drug mafia in Punjab, or the octogenarian chief minister, who has been an incapable ruler - neither he can manage his home nor the state.
Even though the state has been hit by the worst economic downturn in the last decade, Badal's personal wealth has increased manifold. The BJP, which came to power at the Centre with a thumping majority, couldn't win the trust of people of Punjab inspite of the Modi wave, because the state is not ready to forgive the ruling government in the state and unfortunately BJP is part of the government and cant shy away from the responsibility now. The party had closed its eyes all this while and allowed its ally to ruin the state.
It will now be a challenge for them to win the trust of the people of Punjab, should they decide to break the alliance with SAD and reach out to the state's electorate on their own. Let's talk about the Congress - a 125 year-old party almost decimated at the center and going through various internal leadership challenges. Can the Congress save Punjab when they have a negligible say at the Center and seem to be slowly losing their grip over the states amid a decline in vote share? Surprisingly, when the rest of the country, including Delhi, which is the karambhoomi of AAP, rejected them and their leader Arvind Kejriwal during the Lok Sabha elections, Punjab gave them four seats in the Assembly. This only reiterates how desperately the state is waiting for a messiah to come and save their land from destructive politics.
However, reactive politics will not work in the state now and such parties can no longer fool voters. Instead of working together for the welfare of the state, every party is pointing fingers at the others. Who will be its messiah?