People And Their Problems

New Delhi, 17 March 2007   

Growing Drug Addiction

Holi Hola Party: Oh Boy is this India?

By Dr. Syed Ali Mujtaba

The news flashed on the front pages of the major dailies on Monday, March 5, about the arrest of some 280 Holi party revellers at a Farm House on the outskirts of Pune city for drug abuse is an eye-opener to many Indians accustomed to reading about starvation deaths, farmer suicides, and female feticides in their newspapers.   

The revelations though a freak incident, undoubtedly point at three significant societal changes taking place in our country. One, India is moving on the path of high-end economic model. Two, drug abuse and alcoholism is on the rise among the youth. Three, certain sections of the youth, especially the yuppie crowd, is looking for promiscuous life style.

All these things come out glaringly if we recap the happenings at the rave party on the Sunday night. The participants had contacted the organizers through a website, www.isratrance.com that  was promoting the event from February 27.  They had received invitations via SMS, e-mails and through Orkut chat, paying hefty sums through credit cards. Some of them travelled from far off places like Kolkatta, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad to attend the party.

Allegedly organized by suspected international drug peddlers from Pune and Mumbai, the party had the guests served some 3000 `California drops, an acid that is put on a stamp and chewed. Each drop costs between Rs. 350 and 500. The party peaked at about 2 a.m and the crowd was in high spirits dancing to high voltage music, when a team of 100 policemen in plain clothes swooped on the venue and rounded up the revellers on charges of drug abuse and other crimes.

This was the first incident of such a high number of persons rounded up for such offences in the country. Those arrested were mostly youth aged between 22 and 30, including 29 girls. There were ten foreigners---three Africans, three Palestinians; two each from Germany and Iran. The girls ranged from students to air hostesses to Naval officers' daughters.

The items recovered from the spot included 2.5 kg of marijuana (ganja), 100 grams of hashish (charas), seven bottles of phenylfine hydrochloride, 15 crates of beer, 17 cheelams, cigarettes and condoms, all valued around Rs. 5 lakh. The police also seized a Dolby Music System, 45 four wheelers and 29 two-wheelers from the venue.

The big picture about the Sunday’s party is that too much money is going into the hands of a very small section of our people. This symptom has been evident since the liberalization of our economy some 15 years ago. The trickle down impact of the economy that was much touted really has not taken place. Instead, a small section of people has cornered a large portion of our wealth and resources. The kith and kin of such neuve riches are loaded with money and they look for spending opportunities. Such rave parties to them are tempting propositions no matter what these may cost.

The second noticeable trend is the mushrooming of IT offices, BPOs, and call centres in urban India. These places mostly thrive on outsourcing of jobs from abroad and provide tremendous opportunities for the urban youth. Young persons working in such offices are taking home hefty pay packets. With little expenses to bear, they have plenty of money to spare. Such people look for non-traditional source of entertainment. The rave parties are one hell of a place to spend the money and satiate one’s various desires. 

Such parties are also in demand for breaking the boredom of the insipid jobs that these flashy call centres, BPOs and IT offices offer. The jobs get on the nerves of the youth that are stuck there in the lure of big money. Many are forced to work for long hours and some even find themselves reduced to being slaves of their key boards and the monitor screens. Such persons, at the first opportunity, want to break their monotony and look for outings to unwind themselves.

The other fall out of the high-end economy is growing drug addiction among certain sections of the youth. Recently, we had the high profile case of Rahul Mahajan, son of the BJP’s late leader Promod Mahajan, who had to battle for his life after taking drugs. The incident took place at a private party in his home where his father's secretary lost his life due to overdose of the drugs.

The Sunday Holi party confirms that Rahul Mahajan’s case was not an isolated event to be brushed under the carpet. Such parties for drug consumption are regularly taking place in some urban centres among select circles of friends without anyone knowing about it.

The other offshoot of the high-end economy is that youth is increasingly getting attracted towards alcoholism. It is common to see youth these days revelling in the company of friends with alcohol and drugs. Come any festival, Diwali, Dusherra, Holi or New Year, such activities are fashionable among the urban youths. 

The high-end economy is also triggering promiscuity among sexes, particularly among the neuve riches. Recently, there was the high profile case of teenagers making pornographic video through the cell phone camera and sending it on the SMS to their circles of friends. This, in turn, made rounds of many handsets in the country and even hogged the limelight of the media. The public was shocked and asked: “Oh Boy is this India?”

In the mad and reckless race to catch up with the West, the things that are least admirable are being aped by our young generation. The movies, the TV serials, the pictures on the dailies and the tabloids are all pushing the youth towards  promiscuity.

Even though the Holi party was a freak incident of some adventurous people caught off guard seeking fun, it certainly hints at the societal changes taking place in our country. It is also indication of the fact that Indian values that hold high moral ground are losing their sheen due to the onslaught of the Western influences. This underlined the need to cultivate the right family values among our young so that when they become adult they don’t go wayward like the Holi Hola revellers at Pune.---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)