Punjab's Drug Menace: A Sustained Policy Needed

Punjab’s drug menace has outlived a dozen crackdowns and three governments. It returns now, as it has before successive elections, to the centre of the state’s politics. On Friday, the BJP, which says it will contest all 117 seats on its own, flagged off the first of four “ Nasha Mukt Punjab ” yatras under the slogan, “ Bhajpa Da Naara, Nasha Mukauna Saara ”. The party’s president Nitin Nabin launched the campaign, which will cover nearly 4,000 km before culminating in Jalandhar on September 30, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to address a rally. The Congress has responded in kind. Its Punjab in-charge, Sachin Pilot, led a protest in Chandigarh over the death of labourer Gulzar Singh, who had questioned state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the availability of drugs and later died by suicide. Last month, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) leaders also made drugs the centrepiece of their campaign at the Rakhar Puniya rally, promising a white paper on the scourge. Geography has long been cited as one reason for the problem. The state lies at the edge of the Golden Crescent and shares a roughly 550-km border with Pakistan. But the trade has outgrown the border. Drones ferry consignments, other states have become relay points, and pharmaceutical drugs — cheaper, more accessible and harder to trace — have become an important part of the trade. The AAP government’s “Yudh Nasheyan Viruddh”, launched in March 2025, has produced arrests and seizure figures in abundance. But there’s been no visible slowdown in the contraband flow. Families are destroyed, while many young Punjabis leave the state in search of a future abroad. The role of families in prevention and recovery is important, but the state cannot abdicate its responsibility. It must dismantle the networks controlling the trade, prosecute those who finance and supply it, and ensure treatment and rehabilitation for those caught in addiction. Punjab has heard several promises of a drug-free state. It does not need another slogan or another round of statistics. A serious response must go beyond arrests and seizures to examine the money trails, supply routes and institutional failures that allow the trade to survive. The government must also provide accessible treatment, sustained rehabilitation and opportunities for young people to rebuild their lives. As the 2027 election approaches, the persistence of the drug trade will put the AAP government’s record under scrutiny. But the larger test is for Punjab’s political class: It needs to turn a recurring election promise into sustained policy.