Sikhism: Why are so many Sikhs drug abusers?

 "they (Sikhs) were the worst abusers of alcohol and opium"

- Defence of Europe by Sikh Soldiers in the World Wars By Mohindra S. Chowdhry · Published:2018 https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781788037983/Defence-Europe-Sikh-Soldiers-World-1788037987/plp "Ranjeet Singh consumed alcohol and opium" Great Kings in The World By Manoj Dole

https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/opium/ Opium is a depressant drug, which means it slows down the messages travelling between your brain and body. A changing market: the second ‘Opium War’ to independence In terms of revenue and exports, the Indian opium trade peaked around 1880, after which it gradually declined until 1897, when it unevenly increased before sharply declining after 1911 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/repealed-act/repealed_act_documents/A1950-33.pdf 12 Mar 2018 — Although among the gangs of drug smugglers there are dozens of Punjabi Sikhs Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, were arrested in connection with the cocaine. https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/guest-column-drug-smuggling-has-become-a-problem-for-canadas-punjabis https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/gang-jailed-for-smuggling-drugs-from-canada-286328/ Kuran Gill, 32, of Sun Marsh Way, Gravesend, organised the importation and onward distribution of the cannabis, as well as facilitating the sale of a kilogram of cocaine. Gang jailed after drugs found hidden in chickens Mohammed Shabir, from Small Heath, used his meat business to receive one of the importations. Manjinder and Davinder, both from Smethwick, were involved in the transport, moving raw chicken around in unrefrigerated vehicles. https://www.itv.com/news/central/2020-01-24/gang-jailed-over-chicken-drug-run https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/news/derbyshire/news/news/forcewide/2022/january/east-midlands-gang-who-used-encrypted-criminal-phone-network-to-import-165m-of-cocaine-into-uk-jailed-for-170-years/ The gang had two “offices” in Luton and Derby where millions of pounds flowed through from their cocaine sales – with an estimated £18.6m being made by the gang between 16 March and 30 April 2020, a daily total of £400k which officers used to estimate the gang’s total earnings over the 408 day conspiracy to be a staggering £165,208,208. Harvinder Sanghera: Drugs gang kingpin jailed for importing £11m of cocaine and ammunition into Britain https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/harvinder-sanghera-drugs-gang-kingpin-5386616 https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/organised-crime-gang-dealt-up-24277129 Organised crime gang dealt up to £5m worth of drugs and bought firearms The south Wales based drugs enterprise, led by Kuldip Singh Dhillon, of Cardiff, and his lieutenant Jay Abdul, of Barry, were discovered by the infiltration of their Encrochat devices https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/taxi-driver-drugs-gang-brought-1272967 The gang brought almost a ton of drugs worth more than £9 million in taxis from London Why has India's Punjab fallen into the grip of drug abuse? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38824478 https://kaurlife.org/2014/11/03/addiction-shatters-lives/ A young Kaur, barely 20 years old, in Punjab, India, looks thin and pale, “…her eyes glazed and vacant with the habit accumulated through her short life, of suffering without hope or end. Her father succumbed to drugs when she was a small child. Her mother was forced to marry her husband’s younger brother. He too fell to drugs, and died a few years later. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11925617 Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar suggested that as much as 70% of young Punjabi men were hooked on drugs or alcohol. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-45637288 First Sikh turban-wearing guardsman fails drugs test https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/4/5/amritpal-singh-a-rebel-on-the-run-seeking-a-separate-country-for-sikhs Amritpal Singh: A Rebel Seeking A Separate Country For Sikhs In Drug-Plagued Punjab State Comment on: President of Surrey Sikh Gurdwara killed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys33bUeyWrY The Canadian Sikh population is the second largest in the Sikh diaspora, after the British https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4_110 https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/diaspora/over-5-lakh-passengers-travel-annually-from-india-to-toronto-majority-of-punjabis-453894 There are approximately 950,000 Punjabis in Canada, accounting for roughly 2.6 per cent of the country's population, as per the 2021 census. Many of these families have direct ties to family, friends and businesses in Punjab. https://www.sherepunjabradio.ca/punjabi-fourth-most-extensively-spoken-language-in-canadian-houses/ There has been a 49 per cent increase in the number of Punjabi speakers this time compared to the 2016 census. In Canada, the number of Hindi speakers has been recorded at 92,000 and the number of Gujarati speakers is also recorded at 92,000 https://www.sikh24.com/2019/10/22/18-sikh-mps-elected-in-the-canadian-general-election-2019-see-who-won/ Canada's House of Commons has 18 Sikh MPs. Canada Parliament has 18 Sikh MPs, five more than India https://singhstation.net/2019/10/canada-parliament-has-18-sikh-mps-five-more-than-india/ https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/gang-who-murdered-sikh-rival-14819152 Gang who murdered Sikh rival on Southall street jailed for a total of 104 years Gang network who stole mobile phones on Tube uncovered by police https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/gang-network-who-stole-mobile-10684917

Opium and tea

The roots of the Opium War (or First China War) lay in a trade dispute between the British and the Chinese Qing Dynasty. By the start of the 19th century, the trade in Chinese goods such as tea, silks and porcelain was extremely lucrative for British merchants. The problem was that the Chinese would not buy British products in return. They would only sell their goods in exchange for silver, and as a result large amounts of silver were leaving Britain.

In order to stop this, the East India Company and other British merchants began to smuggle Indian opium into China illegally, for which they demanded payment in silver. This was then used to buy tea and other goods. By 1839, opium sales to China paid for the entire tea trade.

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842