Srinagar, Jun 4: During the past few months, there has been a surge in crimes perpetrated by minors and an alarming rise in drug addiction cases.
These distressing trends have stirred significant concerns regarding the collective responsibilities of the society and the profound social impact it bears. The recent incidents of a minor boy stabbing a 45-year-old man to death, a woman stabbing her fiancé, and a drug addict son killing his mother highlight the gravity of the situation.
J&K alone has nearly 10 lakh substance abusers, with a significant number of individuals consuming cannabis, opioids, and sedatives.
Activists, sociologists, doctors, and religious leaders have expressed concerns about the growing crimes. They believe that the increasing number of drug addiction cases and minors engaging in criminal activities is a worrying trend that needs to be controlled.
Professor at IMHANS, Dr Yasir Hassan Rather told Greater Kashmir that several factors contribute to the rise in crimes committed by teenagers and minors.
He cited media sensationalism, glamorisation of crimes, stereotypes, and the influence of movies that promote crime and violence as potential drivers.
However, Dr Yasir also highlighted the role of responsible journalism, media literacy programmes, and responsible filmmaking in countering these negative influences.
“Being in the teenage years itself is characterised by impulsiveness and high-risk behaviour, which can lead to criminal activity,” he said.
Dr Yasir said that if drug addiction starts at this age, it further impairs their judgment and impulse control, increasing the likelihood of engaging in criminal behaviour.
“Peer influence, the need for instant gratification, and a lack of moral guidance from dysfunctional families can also drive teens towards crime,” he said.
Professor of Sociology at Amar Singh College Aftab Rather told Greater Kashmir that there was a drastic change in the socialisation and the society in Kashmir had changed as the teenagers and minors were also now committing crimes, which was rarely seen in Kashmir.
He said that the reasons for increasing minor crimes were social breakdown, lack of parental attention, social media, misuse of technology, poverty, materialism, and drug abuse.
“We are losing the social fabric of the society. Socialising agencies like family, marriage, kinship, religious leaders, and law are not abiding by their duties. Ten to 15 years ago we used to have strong social institutions, which had a positive impact on the cognitive level of the youth. We had one means of socialisation, recreation and that was family. Now, in these years, especially post COVID-19 phase, we have given cell phones to kids of all ages,” he said.
Dr Aftab said that by using phones, they see different content and get addicted to it and do not prefer to sit among their families. “While spending time within a family, children and even adolescents used to learn norms, values, customs, traditions, and differentiation between right and wrong. This all is missing now and there is none for them to teach such things at their homes,” he said.
Dr Aftab said that consumption of drugs was another menace.
“Youth has been engulfed by the drugs in Kashmir. They can easily know about different drugs online, even make online transactions. They have an open domain. Parental attention is very important as is the right peer groups,” he said.
He said involving religious leaders, families, and Police and creating awareness among the youth was very important to curb the crimes.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, former chairperson of the J&K State Commission for Women, Vasundhara Pathak Masoodi expressed deep concern over the escalating cases of crimes committed by children in J&K.
She pointed out various reasons contributing to this disturbing trend, including increasing substance abuse among young children, peer pressure, jealousy, poverty, frustration, lack of exposure, opportunities, and broken families.
“Lack of employment opportunities and easy availability of contraband has added fuel to fire. Promotion of violence in the movies and especially on the OTT platforms has added fuel to fire. The unrestricted promotion of violent content in movies, OTT platforms, and other means on the internet has conditioned the youngsters having tender and pliable minds to believe in violence as the new cult or trend to establish and flaunt one’s worth and masochism. A juvenile indulging in substance abuse tends to commit crime and violence when run out of the substance and is easily exploitable to commit violence on behalf of someone who is ready to pay for it and in such cases, they even do it for peanuts,” she said.
Commenting on the increasing crimes in Kashmir, Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam told Greater Kashmir that everyone in the society including parents, religious leaders, and other stakeholders were neglecting their responsibilities.
“Before 10 years, the sermons used to be given on different topics. Now time has changed. I think the religious leaders should focus on the moral values, good behavior, and other things, which enhance positivity and humanity in youth and minors. There is a drug menace. Crimes are happening every now,” he said.
The Grand Mufti said that religious leaders were also focusing on other religious topics.
“It is high time for them to understand the society and educate people, especially youth and prevent them from committing crimes,” he said.
Mufti called upon Mohalla committees to monitor drug addiction cases, identify drug peddlers, and boycott them socially.
He advocated for the establishment of “Bait-ul-Mals” (charitable centers) in every neighborhood and Masjid to provide assistance to the needy.
The Grand Mufti said that more importantly it was the responsibility of the parents to watch the activities of their children.
“Mother plays a great role in raising her children. She can even start policing her children. But nowadays, both father and mother are occupied in their own fights and problems. They do all these things in front of their children which has a negative impact on their children,” he said.