War on Drugs, a collective responsibility
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After the Government of Manipur’s War on Drugs, neighbouring Mizoram launched a campaign for “Operation Against Trafficking and Use of Drugs and Narcotics in Mizoram” on September 1, 2025. Media reports say that as many as 115 people from 14 states of India were arrested in Manipur between 2017 and 2023 on charges related to drug trafficking and 42 per cent of them hail from the neighbouring state of Assam. Among all the States of India, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam are at the top of the list along with Punjab when it comes to drug abuse. The menace of drug abuse is often all pervasive and disastrous. All these are unmistakable indications of how the North East region has been entangled in a vicious web of poppy cultivation, drug trafficking and drug abuse. International watch dogs on drugs trade affirm that Manipur is the opium producer for the infamous Golden Triangle. Some of the important factors cited include fertile soil, vast economic disparity and availability of cheap labor in the remote hilly areas of Manipur. Given its proximity to the Golden Triangle, drug trafficking particularly heroin is no longer a local trade. In fact, it is a multi-national, cross-border trade. There are reports of involvement of (apart from local elements), drug mafias from foreign countries such as China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal. They are said to not only have contacts in many remote villages where poppy cultivation are being taken up on a massive scale, but are also investing huge amounts. Lure of big, easy and quick money is the main force behind drug trade. The value of heroin per kilogram in the local market is put in the range of Rs 10 lakh whereas the same quantity could fetch up to Rs 1 crore in the international market. It was this prospect of huge and easy money from illicit drugs that has lured many traffickers from across India to the country’s Northeastern state of Manipur.
If militancy forms one side of the coin called Manipur, drug abuse and unemployment constitute the other side of the coin. Drug abuse and unemployment are inter-connected somewhere and these are two socio-economic phenomena which go hand in hand. Unemployment or idleness often push a large number of people, particularly youth, to the jaws of drug abuse which in turn sprawls multiple socio-economic and health issues as is witnessed in the state since many decades back. Proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle is often cited as one major factor for proliferation of different forms of banned drugs into the society. This issue has been further compounded by massive poppy cultivation within the state. It was in the backdrop of these extensive poppy plantations in the hill areas and the all pervasive menace of drugs that the Government of Manipur launched the War on Drugs. Some observers asserted that the large scale violence and aggression launched on May 3, 2023 is directly linked with the Government’s War on Drugs. They went on to suggest that it was drug money that funded the sustained aggression which subsided only with the imposition of President’s Rule. If this is the case, one can safely assume that powerful drug cartels are operating in the state and they are challenging the state authority. It is these drug cartels which the Government and its agencies must deal with a strong hand and firm conviction. The illicit business of drugs is a multi-crore business and any attempt to check such a highly profitable enterprise demands concerted efforts of citizens, particularly civil society organizations and strong political will on the part of the Government. Arresting some drug transporters will never be able to give any substantial blow to the thriving drug cartels. If Manipur is facing an existential crisis because of the all pervasive drug menace, Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and for that matter, all other neighbouring states cannot remain insulated for long. In another word, fighting the drug menace cannot be the sole responsibility of Manipur. All the neighbouring states as well as the Government of India must fight this war on drugs collectively. The drug menace has already transcended state borders.
If militancy forms one side of the coin called Manipur, drug abuse and unemployment constitute the other side of the coin. Drug abuse and unemployment are inter-connected somewhere and these are two socio-economic phenomena which go hand in hand. Unemployment or idleness often push a large number of people, particularly youth, to the jaws of drug abuse which in turn sprawls multiple socio-economic and health issues as is witnessed in the state since many decades back. Proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle is often cited as one major factor for proliferation of different forms of banned drugs into the society. This issue has been further compounded by massive poppy cultivation within the state. It was in the backdrop of these extensive poppy plantations in the hill areas and the all pervasive menace of drugs that the Government of Manipur launched the War on Drugs. Some observers asserted that the large scale violence and aggression launched on May 3, 2023 is directly linked with the Government’s War on Drugs. They went on to suggest that it was drug money that funded the sustained aggression which subsided only with the imposition of President’s Rule. If this is the case, one can safely assume that powerful drug cartels are operating in the state and they are challenging the state authority. It is these drug cartels which the Government and its agencies must deal with a strong hand and firm conviction. The illicit business of drugs is a multi-crore business and any attempt to check such a highly profitable enterprise demands concerted efforts of citizens, particularly civil society organizations and strong political will on the part of the Government. Arresting some drug transporters will never be able to give any substantial blow to the thriving drug cartels. If Manipur is facing an existential crisis because of the all pervasive drug menace, Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and for that matter, all other neighbouring states cannot remain insulated for long. In another word, fighting the drug menace cannot be the sole responsibility of Manipur. All the neighbouring states as well as the Government of India must fight this war on drugs collectively. The drug menace has already transcended state borders.