Opinion | Marching Together for a Drug-Free Future

The Collective Voice of Baramulla under Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir Abhiyan.

Some events stay with you long after they are over. The Mega Rally and Padyatra in Baramulla was one of them. Thousands of ordinary people came out on the streets that day under the Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir Abhiyan, led personally by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. They were not there because anyone forced them. They were there because they were tired of watching their children, their siblings and their neighbours fall into the trap of drug addiction. They came to say enough is enough.

Drug abuse has been a growing crisis in Jammu and Kashmir for many years. Young people who should be studying, playing and dreaming about the future have instead been losing themselves to substances that destroy health, relationships and hope. Families have suffered quietly, often too ashamed to talk about it openly. But what happened in Baramulla showed that communities are finally ready to face this problem out in the open, together and without fear.

The rally started at Shaukat Ali Stadium, a ground that the people of Baramulla know well. It is a place where crowds usually gather to celebrate. But on this day the atmosphere felt different. The air was serious and full of purpose. Students arrived carrying banners. Social workers stood together in groups. Even elderly residents who rarely come out for public events made their way to the stadium because they knew this moment mattered.From the stadium the crowd moved through the streets of Baramulla and walked all the way to Dak Bungalow. In terms of distance it was not very far. But in terms of meaning it was one of the most powerful journeys this town has seen in a long time. Every person who walked that route was sending a message to families in pain, to youth at risk and to drug peddlers who profit from misery: this community is not going to stay quiet anymore.What made this rally truly stand out was the incredible mix of people who showed up. This was not a government function where attendance is arranged beforehand. The crowd was real and deeply personal. School and college students marched holding placards with messages in Urdu and Hindi. Many had personally seen classmates or friends lose their way to drugs. They did not come just to march. They came because they felt it in their hearts.

NGOs, civil society groups and social activists who have spent years on drug awareness and rehabilitation also joined in large numbers. Their presence alongside the administration gave the event real weight and credibility. One of the most touching moments came from members of the Gujjar Bakarwal Employees Association. This largely pastoral community, which often lives away from the main centres of civic life, came out in considerable numbers. Their participation was a reminder that the drug crisis has reached every corner of the Kashmir Valley including communities that rarely make headlines. It proved that when a cause is truly important, all social and cultural divisions fade away.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha could have attended by arriving at a stage and delivering a speech. That is how these things usually work. But he chose to walk with the people from the very beginning. That single decision made a powerful statement. It told everyone present that this cause is not just another item on a government agenda. It is personal. It is urgent. And it requires everyone from the highest official to the youngest student to be part of the solution.Sinha spoke about the Nasha Mukt Abhiyan as a social movement and not just a policy programme. He was clear that police action alone cannot end the drug menace. The real change, he said, has to come from within families, schools, mosques and local communities. Parents, teachers, religious leaders and neighbours all have a role to play. The administration can support but the people must lead.

Baramulla sits in the northern part of the Kashmir Valley, close to the Line of Control. It has lived through decades of conflict and the emotional wounds from that history run deep. Young people here have grown up in an environment marked by uncertainty, loss and stress. These conditions make them especially vulnerable to addiction. Drug networks have exploited that vulnerability with ruthless efficiency. Choosing Baramulla for this mega rally was a deliberate and meaningful act. It told the district’s youth that society sees them and that help is available. It also told those who profit from selling drugs that Baramulla is wide awake.For a long time, families in Jammu and Kashmir hid addiction as a private shame rather than treating it as a public health issue. That silence caused enormous harm. It stopped people from seeking help and allowed the problem to grow unchecked. When thousands of people march through a town holding banners about a drug free future, something shifts. Young people learn that asking for help is not weakness. Parents feel more comfortable talking to counsellors. Recovering addicts feel less judged. That change in attitude is not a small thing. It may actually be the most important thing any awareness campaign can achieve.

It is fair to ask whether a single rally can really change anything. The real test of this Padyatra will be in the months ahead. Will students who walked that day talk honestly with their peers about drugs? Will parents start having difficult conversations at home? Will local leaders push for more rehabilitation centres and better mental health support in schools? These are the questions that will determine whether this march was a turning point or just a moment.But dismissing the rally as only symbolic would be wrong. In a place like Baramulla where people have often felt powerless, thousands of residents choosing to march together and raise their voices is itself a transformation. It builds confidence. It creates solidarity. It reminds people that they have the power to shape their own future.The Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir Abhiyan is a long road and not a short sprint. Fighting addiction in a region with such a painful history requires patience, sustained effort and real resources. One rally cannot undo years of damage. But it can light a fire.

On that day in Baramulla, as thousands walked from Shaukat Ali Stadium to Dak Bungalow under a shared banner, a community found its voice. That is where every important journey starts. Not with a policy document or a press release, but with people standing up together and refusing to give up on the ones they love.

Sheikhnazirmehdi@gmail.com