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Guest column | Sensationalising Aryan Khan case will not root out drugs
The drug issue may remain in news even after the 24/7 television and social media burn out because the “victim” happens to be a high-profile entity; the core issue may be lost as the public remains confused due to different versions of the event.
The blinding glitter of electronic media has predictably made Aryan Khan a household name. However, it has failed to cause the only reaction that could be useful to society, especially the youth: introspection.
The drug issue may remain in news even after the 24/7 television and social media burn out because the “victim” happens to be a high-profile entity. However, the core issue may be lost as the public remains confused due to different versions of the event.
Sadly, we seem obsessed with only two aspects of the problem – the legal and the sensational, forgetting that the problem is much closer to home and more rampant than we like to think. There may be an Aryan in our own neighbourhood or even in your own home. Therefore, it is important to look at the problem as a parent would were his own child a victim .
All solutions begin with a change in social attitudes and the willingness to see drug addiction not as a stigmatic menace but a disease. Treating it as a newspaper and TV item is quite different from having to deal with it as a stark reality.
It does not matter what the addiction is: drugs, alcohol or smoking. The difference is only in the intensity. The stigma associated with smoking and alcohol is lesser, and thus they are relatively easier to deal with. This shows us that the drug menace should be must be destigmatised. An addict must not be seen as an isolated, individual case but as an integral part of the organic whole that is society. After all, the infection in one organ may also take over the entire body.
Contrary to popular belief, drug menace is not just an elitist luxury, but cuts right across layers of society, affecting the rich and poor, urban and rural alike in varying degrees of intensity. Fortunately, help is at hand. What is lacking is awareness of both the nature of disease and the availability of help. For instance, help is available in dedicated centres in institutions such as the PGI and support groups such AA, NA , Al-Anon. It is important to spread awareness on how to reach these help centres.
As a first step, the tendency to be judgemental about victims must be overcome. Help begins with acceptance and willingness to admit and own the problem and seek help. But society must act to make it easier for the ‘patient’ to move in that direction
It is important to resist the Aryan syndrome, which is treating the issue as a titillating sensation. A mere escape from the boredom of reality. It must be seen as an opportunity to face and solve a a major social challenge .We need to go beyond the actual victim and focus on the menace as a potential epidemic. We need to focus not just on victims of the menace but also on those affected by it. Their number is alarming .
Empathy is the most important tool. Empathy can alone destigmatise a patient and it must begin from the family. As one who has often been involved in support groups helping the hapless victims start new lives, I feel that everyone must empower ourselves and one another through empathy, awareness and willingness to give and receive help from one another.
(The author has been an active volunteer with social awareness and support groups including Sahayta )
