In response to the escalating drug crisis in Nagaland, the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups (WC, NNPGs) has taken a firm stand to identify and combat drug kingpins and middlemen operating in the region. The increasing prevalence of drug addiction, particularly among the adolescent school and college-going population, has raised serious concerns within the community.
“In Nagaland and other Naga areas, every parent’s nightmare is palpable. Thousands are losing their children to drug addiction. Nagaland’s young generation is sliding into an opiated generation once again as in the 80s,” it said.
It also said the sunflower drug, widely available in Dimapur city and various towns in Nagaland, has become a major cause for alarm.
A drowsy and addicted youth, warns the WC, NNPGs, is a generation unable to comprehend its history or actively engage in the defense of Nagaland against various threats, including political manipulation, economic exploitation, social injustice, and the erosion of cultural traditions. The WC, NNPGs suspect a deliberate targeting of Nagaland’s indigenous attributes, essential to its historical and political identity, with potential ties to a larger scheme aimed at demographic destruction.
The WC, NNPGs, representing seven Naga political groups, has unanimously endorsed a robust initiative to tackle individuals within their ranks involved in drug use or peddling.
“Those national workers indulging in drug use or peddling will be dealt stringently,” it warned.
Commending the efforts of Nagaland Police Chief Mr Rupin Sharma and his team in combating the drug menace, the WC, NNPGs urged a comprehensive approach to unearth and eliminate the entire network involved. “The idea must be to dig and cut the roots, then branches instead of plucking the leaves,” it said.
The NNPGs also appealed to Tribal Hohos, Apex civil societies, and the general public to actively support and cooperate in this uphill battle against the drug menace.
(Read original statement by WC, NNPGs here)