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By:

Dr. Kailash Atkare

24 June 2025 at 1:30:23 pm

From Dreams to Drugs: Silent Epidemic

Student drug addiction is real and rampant and needs more than blame—it calls for treatment, counselling, and compassion that restore...

From Dreams to Drugs: Silent Epidemic

Student drug addiction is real and rampant and needs more than blame—it calls for treatment, counselling, and compassion that restore belief in recovery. I recently attended a meeting convened by the Commissioner of Police, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he appealed to representatives of various institutes on the urgent issue of rising drug addiction among students. A student is typically associated with curiosity, energy, dreams, and ambition — a life dedicated to learning and building a bright future. Yet this foundation is being silently eroded by the grip of addiction. Drug addiction among students has become one of the most pressing social and educational challenges of our time. At a stage in life when young people should be concentrating on studies, personal growth, and shaping their future, many fall prey to the lure of drugs. Curiosity, peer pressure, academic stress, family issues, and the easy availability of narcotics often drive this problem. Once ensnared, students suffer not only physical and psychological harm but also setbacks in their academic performance, relationships, and overall well-being. This growing menace affects not just the individual but also weakens families, institutions, and society as a whole. It is therefore vital to understand the causes, consequences, and remedies of student drug addiction to safeguard their health, education, and future. Drug addiction is not merely a personal problem; it is a social disease, a national challenge, and a human tragedy. Addicts are not born but shaped by curiosity, bad company, peer pressure, ignorance, and despair. Tragically, students — who ought to be the torchbearers of progress — often fall into this dangerous trap. Studies show that drug use often begins with experimentation — a puff at a party, a pill from a friend, or the thrill of trying something new. Young people cite exam stress, fierce competition, family expectations, and loneliness as common reasons. In today’s world of constant pressure, they search for escape, and drugs offer only a fleeting illusion of relief. What starts as an escape soon becomes a prison without walls. The reality is harsh: once caught in addiction, breaking free is rarely easy. Drugs ruin health, drain finances, destroy families, and shatter dreams. A student who might have become a doctor, engineer, teacher, or leader instead wastes his potential — sometimes even his life. Behind every addict stands a heartbroken parent, a broken family, and a society robbed of another bright star. The dangers extend far beyond the individual. Drug addiction fuels crime, violence, and disorder. It weakens the moral fabric of society and drags nations backwards. When a country’s youth are at risk, so too is its future. Yet every dark tunnel still holds a light at the end. Remedies for students struggling with drug addiction lie not only in treatment but also in care, support, and an environment that encourages healthier choices. Professional counselling can help address the emotional pain, stress, anxiety, and competitive pressures that often lead to drug use. Families must provide a safe, non-judgemental space for open conversation and emotional support. Students, teachers, and citizens alike must become torchbearers of awareness. Many young people who experiment with drugs have little idea of the dangers they invite into their lives. Schools, colleges, and families must speak openly; silence only deepens the problem. In the end, a strong mind and will are the best shields, and students must learn to say no. Saying “no” means resisting peer pressure, unhealthy temptations, and shortcuts that promise pleasure but deliver pain. Society must offer positive alternatives—sports, art, music, and culture provide students with joy, excitement, and companionship. A person with a drug problem is not merely a criminal but also a patient, a victim, a fellow human being in need of help. Mockery, isolation, or punishment alone won’t resolve the issue. What’s required is treatment, rehabilitation, counselling, and support that instils the belief in recovery. Parents and teachers play a vital role in the education of children. Parents should stay watchful and compassionate; teachers must guide not just academic learning but also impart values, ethics, gratitude, and moral clarity. Society must also enforce strict action against drug peddlers, improve rehabilitation services, run awareness campaigns, and establish student-friendly helplines. Yet even the firmest laws fail if students don’t take responsibility for their choices. In the struggle against drugs, the pen is mightier than the syringe, knowledge stronger than intoxication, and hope more powerful than despair. We all can raise our voices, spread awareness, and support one another. Drug addiction is not merely the fight of a student, parent, or government—it’s the fight of all of us. We must build a world where no student feels compelled to escape through drugs; where everyone feels valued, supported, and inspired; where education leads to enlightenment, not entrapment. Our lives are precious, our dreams priceless, and our future worth safeguarding. Say no to drugs. (The writer is an assistant professor of English literature. Views personal)

"PM Modi can run away from special session, but not from monsoon session": Jairam Ramesh


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New Delhi: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he can "run away" from a special session of Parliament being demanded by the opposition parties, but not from the monsoon session, which will be convened on July 21.



Expressing reservations over the central government not convening a special session to discuss many issues, including the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and developments following Operation Sindoor, Ramesh accused the government of "diverting attention".



"We've been demanding a special session of Parliament. Yesterday, 16 political parties also wrote. In order to divert attention from the special session, the government suddenly announces the monsoon session of Parliament. The Prime Minister can run away from a special session, but he cannot run away from the Monsoon session," Ramesh told ANI.



He said that the INDIA bloc parties are demanding a special session to be convened immediately since the issues that need to be discussed are "agitating" people in the country now. Ramesh raised concerns about the sudden halt on Operation Sindoor and the revelations made by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan in Singapore about India's losses and gains during the recently concluded conflict.



"We are demanding a discussion on these issues now because these are the issues agitating the people of India now. Why was Operation Sindoor stopped after four days? What has the CDS said in Singapore? Why has Trump, in the last 20 days, repeated 12 times that it is because of him that a ceasefire happened between India and Pakistan? These are the issues the Prime Minister doesn't want to answer," the Congress leader said.



He further argued that this was the first time in the parliamentary history of India that a session had been announced 47 days in advance, and this came despite the continuous demands made by the opposition parties to convene a special session.



"The parliament session is always announced a few days in advance...maybe a maximum of one week or 10 days in advance. Never before in India's parliamentary history has a session been announced 47 days in advance. The object(ive) is very simple. There is a continuing demand from Congress and INDIA parties for a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack," Ramesh said.



He highlighted the concerns regarding the "hyphenation" of India and Pakistan and the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump that he was responsible for a "ceasefire" between the two neighbouring countries.



"The fact that terrorists themselves haven't been brought to justice, the repeated claims of (US) President Trump...the Narendra ka Surrender to Trump. The hyphenation of India and Pakistan, the growing nexus between China and Pakistan, the failure of our diplomacy and foreign policy and the revelation of the Chief of Defence Staff that has been in Singapore and not in our country. These are the real issues," Ramesh said.



Earlier in the day, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the Monsoon session of the Parliament will commence from July 21 and run till August 12. Both Houses of the Parliament are scheduled to convene on July 21 at 11 am, after a break of over three months.



The upcoming Monsoon session will be the first Parliament session following Operation Sindoor, which India launched on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.

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