The 100-day Nasha Mukt Abhiyan, led by Manoj Sinha, has shifted the conversation in Jammu and Kashmir from concern to action. What began as a government drive has taken firm root across society. Clerics are speaking from pulpits, teachers are flagging early warning signs, and neighbourhood groups are openly resisting peddlers. This is what a serious campaign looks like—clear intent, visible enforcement and public backing.
Law enforcement has moved with purpose. Targeted raids and intelligence-based operations have put drug networks under pressure. For years, these networks operated in the open, feeding on fear and silence while quietly expanding into localities and campuses. That comfort has now been broken. The message is direct: drug trafficking in J&K will invite swift and certain consequences.
Yet arrests and seizures alone will not define success. The real measure lies elsewhere—fewer young people entering addiction, and those already trapped finding a path back. Families have paid a heavy price: school dropouts, petty crime, declining health, and a steady erosion of dignity. Every dismantled network must result in safer schools and stronger homes. Without that shift, enforcement risks becoming a statistics exercise.
The timing of this campaign is critical. With organised unrest largely absent, a dangerous space had opened—one that narcotics began to occupy. Drugs do not make headlines the way conflict does, but their damage runs deeper. They weaken communities from within. Treating this purely as a policing issue would be short-sighted. It demands a coordinated response that combines enforcement, healthcare and community vigilance.
Priorities are clear. Supply chains must be squeezed through tighter border checks and financial tracking of handlers. Cases against repeat offenders should move quickly. Treatment infrastructure must expand beyond token facilities to fully equipped de-addiction centres with trained counsellors. Schools and colleges need early-warning systems and active engagement with parents. Most importantly, communities must remain alert—peddlers succeed where silence protects them.
There is uncommon political consensus on this issue, and it must hold. Drugs do not recognise party boundaries, and neither should the response. Those who have witnessed the region’s most difficult years understand what is at stake. Their support strengthens the campaign’s resolve.
Momentum has been created, but it cannot fade with timelines. Consistency will determine the outcome—steady enforcement, steady rehabilitation and constant vigilance. Jammu and Kashmir has stabilised its security landscape. The next challenge is clear: protect its youth and secure its future.
