The Punjab Government’s decision to conduct a drug and socio-economic census is a commendable initiative as it would help formulate an evidence-based policy on drug addiction and abuse. However, the census would have better equipped the government, had it been conducted immediately after it assumed power in 2022 or at least before launching the ‘yudh nashian virudh’. By taking the decision in the last year of its tenure, the government seems to be reaping political capital in the run-up to Assembly elections due in 2027. Nonetheless, it is ‘better late than never’.
There are three prominent objectives of the census: to assess the extent and impact of drug abuse; to understand the socio-economic conditions of households; and to evaluate the reach and effectiveness of government schemes to ensure better delivery of welfare schemes. The first two objectives are closely connected with the dynamics of drug use and abuse but the third one seems to be aimed at formulating a strategy for the 2027 elections.
Nonetheless, as per the government’s claim, the findings of the census would help in the following: formulating policies aimed at improved healthcare and de-addiction; better employment and livelihood opportunities; strengthening of education and social welfare systems; identification of gaps in existing schemes; and evidence-based planning for a stronger and more inclusive Punjab.
All these outcomes are important as reliable data and information is essential for formulating ‘evidence-based policy’, not only to dent the drug menace but also to address the other fundamental concerns of Punjab, such as unemployment, law and order, governance, financial management, investment climate and overall development.
Curbing the drug menace has been a prominent agenda of every political party since the 2012 Assembly elections. The prerequisite for any meaningful policy is a comprehensive study of the dynamics of the drug menace. But no such study has ever been conducted by any government. The situation has gone from bad to worse because not much was done to manage the demand and supply side of drugs.
The slogan of ‘ghar ghar naukri’ by the Congress government met the same fate because, before launching the programme, the government had not formulated any informed policy regarding the extent and nature of unemployment.
Unfortunately, the successive governments have been mainly dealing with the drug menace as a law-and-order problem and, hence, formulated numerous SITs and STFs. Arresting the small-time drug users and peddlers and putting them behind bars has been the focus of the SITs and STFs. The ‘yudh nashian virudh’ scheme is no different as it is being claimed that more than 30,000 drug users and peddlers have been imprisoned. Another part of ‘yudh nashian virudh’ has been giving a time-bound ultimatum to the drug smugglers to leave Punjab.
The moot question then is why, despite all these ‘measures’, the drug menace has not been dented? And if Punjab has been made drug-free, as claimed by the government, then what prompted the census on drugs?
The main reason is the absence of an evidence-based policy with a focus on addressing the fundamental reasons behind the drug use and abuse. In my article, “Address the fundamental causes of drug menace" (March 25, 2025, The Tribune), I advocated for the need to first diagnose the socio-cultural and politico-economic reasons behind drug use and abuse and then formulate appropriate policies. Regrettably, the government has not done so.
The dynamics of drug use and abuse are embedded in the socio-cultural and politico-economic ground realities. It is like a cyclical process where certain socio-cultural and politico-economic structures create an ‘enabling environment’ for the spread of drug use and abuse. Thus, the phenomenon is complex and needs to be understood and examined in the very structure of society, economy and polity.
The ‘drug & socio-economic census’, thus, is an effort towards examining the multi-dimensional complexities of the drug menace. But a census is a gigantic and time-consuming exercise as it involves a door-to-door survey. It would require a lot of financial resources and well-trained manpower — which seem to be scarce. Moreover, this is an election year and the political parties are already in the election mode. Hence, there will hardly be any time to get the findings of the survey and formulate and implement the appropriate policies.
The successive governments in Punjab have never addressed the basic reasons behind the spread of the drug menace in Punjab. They have mainly been concerned with winning elections. That is why the basic socio-cultural and politico-economic issues have remained unaddressed. This is what has been the fate of almost every basic concern of the people of Punjab. It seems that the governments are often in a great hurry to get the quick political mileage. Such an attitude is like putting the cart before the horse.
Competitive political-populism, under the garb of ‘welfarism’, is another serious constraint on mustering political will and mobilising financial resources to carry forward the development agenda. Not learning any lessons from the past, all political parties are promising numerous freebies without any roadmap for development or addressing the fundamental issues of Punjab. Their only agenda seems to be to win elections and prepare for winning the next elections.
It is high time that political parties came out of the myopic view of development and adopt a development agenda aimed at addressing the fundamental issues of Punjab. The people of Punjab, too, would have to choose between the ‘so-called welfarism’ and the development agenda.
