WE THE PEOPLE
Social Evils, Particularly Juvenile Crime Continue to remain Unchecked in Kashmir Valley
Hence Senior Citizens urge Khatibs, Lawyers and Law-enforcing Agencies to meet the Challenge
By: MNS/ Uzair Khan
Srinagar: A cursory glance over the prevailing scenario reveals that Social Evils have raised their ugly Heads and rate of Juvenile Crime has assumed an upward trend in Kashmir Valley, the place that was known for its ethical and moral values. It had the fame of being an abode of Saints and Sufis, who had lot of their philosophical influence on the people of the Valley. The Crime rate had the lowest mark and communal harmony was of such a high order that Mahatma Gandhi was forced to say that Kashmir was the ray of hope when rest of the country was in flames at the time partition in 1947. But that very land has started registering gory tales of son killing father, another killing his mother and a friend eliminating his friend and what not. It is a sad tale of human heart and such incidents shall go on occurring until and unless Religious Scholars, Khatibs, Legal Luminaries and Custodians of Law and order rise to the occasion and wage a war against all Social Evils.
We must not forget that youths of today are the citizens of tomorrow and as such they should be capable of shouldering present and future responsibilities with a high sense of dedication and devotion. They need to be properly educated and moulded into such a frame of mind so that they play their role well and not get swayed away by present day allurements and other materialistic temptations.
Be it drug addiction, moral turpitude or revolt against elders, all these put together have wrought havoc and tarnished our traditional values. The social scientists too attribute it to lack of religious and moral education while economists call it the fallout of economic disparities. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear that narcotics and other evils have taken strong roots at the global level and such a phenomena has to be co-related with the situation prevailing in Kashmir Valley today.
According to a study, the Golden Crescent - an area involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and Eastern Iran is one of the world's most narcotic producing regions. Burma was the world's biggest growing area of opium producing over 2300 tones annually, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's supply. Afghanistan was the second largest producer and even now this country ranks second in this respect with tones of production per year followed by Laos which produces reportedly 275 tones. The heroin goes to Western Europe via land, sea and air routes to the Middle East, Africa, India and other regions of the former Soviet Union.
Co-relating global phenomena with our land, it is pertinent to say that it stands plagued by this disease in a big way. But we must not forget that Kashmir Valley has been a symbol of high moral values since times immemorial. It is the land of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani (RA), Lal Ded and scores of Rishies and Munies, who preached nothing, but human values. All such values have been witnessing erosion, particularly over the last three decades. Our youth seem to have failed to resist materialistic and satanic temptations and the result is obvious today.
Therefore, Senior Citizens urge Khatibs, Lawyers and Law-enforcing Agencies to meet the Challenge. It is high time that they put their heads together and wage a war against social evils that have pushed our Youth to the brink of a precipice!
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