Glut: The Untold Story of Punjab

2011, Drugs  -   59 Comments
8.78
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Ratings: 8.78/10 from 162 users.

73.5% of Punjab's youth is addicted to drugs. A multi million drug nexus operating under the noses of the Border Security Force, The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, The Narcotics Control Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau, leaving them as mere bystanders to Punjab's erosion. The yearly consumption of alcohol in Punjab is touching 29 Crore bottles making it one of the highest per capita consumers of alcohol in the world!

The scenario in Punjab is worsening at such a rapid rate, that experts have already begun to put an expiry date to the state.

The documentary focuses on the imminent threat of drug mania in Punjab. It explores in detail how the drug is trafficked in Punjab from India Pakistan border and this network spreads through the country.

Narrated by Rahul Bose and cited by many a important names. However at times it does try to build pathos to get the sympathies of the viewer, but mostly it stays rather bold. Really an eye opener.

Directed by: Sahil Bhagat, Smaran Sahu

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59 Comments / User Reviews

  1. na bezsenność

    Just simply wished to emphasize I am just ecstatic that i came in your web page.

  2. dudley stewart

    Fake documentary

  3. monty

    Indian govt doing this all,bcaz they genocide sikhs in 1984 but sikhs still survive now they genocide sikhs with drugs and trying their history finished

  4. ark nigam

    I am surprised to read the comments made by so many who blame the Indian Government, for all the atrocities committed in Pakistan, it reminds me of the conspiracy theory of how the "white man had invented aids to eradicate the black race from the earth" . These are the same people who agree that PoK Is a term created by the Central government of India. I wonder why? So Kashmir can secede from the Union and Punjab can follow. This way India would have a buffer zone created between India and Pakistan. So Pakistan can merge with these two states as a consolation for loosing East Pakistan and avenge the largest surrender of any standing Army in the History of modern warfare. The Sikh people are children of the Hindu Indians, The Pakistani's are recent converts to Islam. For those who do not know Islam is only a 1400 year old religion, and Sikhism is only a 400 year old religion.

    Those of you who believe in Conspiracy Theories, also are the very same people who believe in Honor Killings if their daughters ever married outside their clans, their religions. While Hindu India has silently seen the advent of Buddhism, Jainism. They saw the Mighty armies of Alexander the great turn around and walk away. Where Alexander failed the Moguls succeeded, only to be destroyed by the Sailors of the East India Company. While India saw the influx of the Parsee's and gave them a home in Gujarat to follow their religion. (The only people on the Earth who have promised never to bear Arms against India). While the rest of the pack are ready to turn on their Mother India, just because The Mogul Army succeeded, because the "protectors of India" failed India. Because one man went to Haj under pretense and felt Hindu India were 'kafirs and Idol worshippers" , because the winds of change came from Constantinople , and the locals loved everything that was 'phoren" to be better than anything 'domestic'. There are skeletons in everyone's closets, instead of rationalizing the concept of "untouchables" and the Hindu explanation for the same, they had to eradicate this age old philosophy with the absorption of these "god-forsaken men" amidst their own cult. It was incredible, Just like Dr. Ambedkar's Hari-jans (Gods Children).

    Seventy years later not much has changed, they are still looking for a handout, not many parents condone their children marrying them, there are exceptions, so what, we here in America after 250 years are still struggling with BLM.

    Race and Religion can bind people together, or divide them. We need to rationalize and intellectualize , isolate the problems and find solutions. Thus far, the later is winning everywhere in the world. That is the big problem, if we can solve that all these other excuses will go away and we as people of the earth can get together and take on social evils within us, such as religious differences, race difference, cultural differences, and yes this big problem called DRUGS which is causing more differences than Solutions
    God Bless the People of this Earth.

  5. Tee

    Where are they getting 73.5% from? It seems rather large. If in fact 73.5% of the youth in Punjab were addicted to drugs or alcohol, Why isn't this info being broadcast in the major us media sites?

  6. Shaw

    Dont blame Pakistan; Cuz Pakistani Punjab has NO problem of Drugs. Hindu want to destroy Sikh Youth to eliminate the Demand of Khalistan.

  7. Vijaya Sharma

    Fascist NaMo shall make entire India - Udta India. Modi is working for corporates similar to BADAL FAMILY which is working for Drug Cartel Corporates!

  8. Ts1

    Punjab always carried the worst part ?,when end our suffering?

  9. shashank yadav

    too many dramatic elements. no coveted interviews of the involved parties.

  10. Tapan Ray

    First pre independence punjab was massacred by jaliwanwala massacre and then by 1984 sikh riots and militancy and fake militancy when educated punjab youths looking for job were made suspects by the police and army and was massacred and now the punjab youths are addicted to drugs and alcohol as some miscreants want to destroy punjab youths as these punjab youths are great warriors for their own state and country. But when betrayed by countrymen in the name of 1984 sikh riots and fake militancy they are falling prey to money power and drug addiction or liquor consumption.

  11. ashley

    great doc very eye opening and interesting thanks

  12. anna miller

    Explains the movement of heroin from Pakistan through Punjab into New Delhi. Due to the dire poverty of the majority, 73% of Punjab youth are now addicted to drugs. Various theories are explored, such as the political and moneyed elite who benefit from status quo, the complete inundation of heroin from neighboring long-time enemy Pakistan, and their no bullets just heroin strategy for defeating India.

  13. anna miller

    Here is a drug they could take, some contraception. Perhaps less crowded
    habitat might ease the crunch.

  14. Jasmin Rai

    Interesting documentary.

    I think regardless of who is to blame or who is colluding with whom; we have a responsibility to do something. This is something that all Punjabis are familiar with and it takes place in our homes, villages and now cities.

    Information and education are vital. There is room for change and I think documentaries like this are a good starting point.

    Definitely a lot to think about.

    Peace x

  15. Mizaal Muaa

    Good documentary.
    However,
    Drugs need the Mao Zedong treatment.
    He put people caught in possession of opium up against the wall and shot them out of hand. The amount didn't matter.
    After a few thousand deaths the people of China woke up and quickly lost all interest in drugs.
    He saved millions of lives by sacrificing a few thousand in the beginning.

    Was it a good idea?
    I think so.

    1. Garry

      Of course not a good idea might a few thousand people were also someone's brother ,father,relative no body have the right to kill anyone

  16. Jaspal Singh

    Details of the problem are well known. However, awareness alone is not sufficient. Causal explanations and solutions must be adequate. Neither the parents nor the teachers are in a position to deal with these problems effectively. Provide facilities for active entertainment, like sports activities. Make the young men employable and provide them remunerative jobs. Control the availability of drugs and raise the cost of their affordability. Do not preach. Act. Moral appeals alone will not work. Some international organisation should buy all the opium produced in the golden crescent and the golden triangle and sell the same for production of medicines. This cannot be done in a country with weak social ties and lack of concern for others. Wait and watch.

    1. kuldeep

      i do feel the same Jaspal ji, only discussing the problem and not offering a workable solution, will only worsen the problem.

      As in my case i was a chain smoker (6 years), wanted to quit but all went it in vain & founded hard to quit.

      But some how hopefully i was introduced to meditation & shockingly it gave me the same high, which i got after having drugs & with no side effect. now it is nearly one and half year i quited smoking and doing Meditation daily for 20 mins.
      It WORKS !

      It is hearty request to all those who want to quit drugs, give Meditation a try.
      thank you
      Kuldeep
      Mumbai

  17. Sachin Sharma

    Also about those chillums shown in the first scene: only hashish or pot can be smoked through them. I don't think these two drugs are a very major problem. Heroin is the problem drug in punjab, so, again I'd say this documentary is like any other Indian documentary. Dramatic and Shite!

  18. Sachin Sharma

    The facts are unclear, the reasons are unclear and as usual every person wants something to be done, neither they know anything about the problem nor the drugs.
    Too dramatic, the music is not required. Not very well-researched. Basically it's a waste of time.
    Rahul Bose is hooked on coke himself man! what are you sayin'!

  19. Singh101

    Wake up Punjab and in particular Sikhs. This is part of the master plan being played out that was formed in the early 80's by the government of India to weaken and enslave the state of Punjab. This once proud and prosperous region of India, throughout its history, is being reduced to little more than rubble. As a Sikh I no longer have a passion to be in the Indian army, police or any governments post if this is happening to my home and my people.

    1. Singh101

      Me again...and the likes of this Bittu (president of panjab youth congress) who throws in pakistan, punjab terrorism for effect, are from the same central machinery working/being used by the indian government. He is trying to get to delhi like many other sikhs that are being bought and used against their own people by the central government to fool the world in to thinking things are being done to improve conditions in punjab. I realise I may come across too negative but it is my opinion and experience of punjab.

    2. Saad Usman Malik

      Great lands become small in larger countries like India. In Pakistan, the Punjab Province is the most advanced region of this small country.

    3. rtkaur

      Then go to Canada and drive a cab over there

  20. m_s_sangha

    soo short

  21. Alex Fernandes

    The documentary is badly researched. You have no actual footage of of what is happening. It is quite apparent you have used actors.
    lots of questions about authenticity of the statistics. Rahul Bose??

  22. Frankie

    This documentary seems like a poorly researched and poorly written piece of propaganda. I hate it when a documentary tries to portray real-life with dramatized (ie, script-driven) scenes with ACTORS without explicitly saying so. In the beginning of this documentary, they show two young men smoking something out of a pipe. The narration underlying this scene in particular speaks to the ills of drug use in the youth population in Punjab. Later they show a man in a field who is described as a "...farmer, bus conductor, father, drug carrier". This man is clearly an actor. Yet the filmmakers do not, at any time, describe any of the scenes with him as being 'dramatized'. That is a sin of omission for a documentary film maker.

    This film is not unbiased nor is it transparent as to the facts.

    1. Smaran Sahu

      You like everything spoon fed? Of course it's evident that the farmer sequence is a dramatization, but then just for people like you who would not tire themselves to interpret even the obvious, the disclamer is needed. I apologize for the ghastly confusion.

  23. crossborder

    One wonders if this was really a documentary or another bollywood propoganda film trying to deflect attention from the real causes of the 73 % problem by sensationalization.It all goes back to the cliched politics of sense of false pride and cross border blaming.

  24. Truthseeker420

    the perfect storm

  25. tron2

    I gurantee the indian government has a hand in this. After annexing half of punjab into pakistan the hindu majority will find any way they can to eliminate the sikh population. i gurantee if punjab successfully broke away from india in 1984 we would NOT have this issue.F*** you india im ashamed to share a country with such a blood-sucking majority. The only reason the government fought tooth and nail to keep punjab in 84 was because they knew without punjabi farms they would starve. Look at the south, its full of illiterate rats starving because they cant help themselves.

    1. buddah93

      yes, i'm sure indian gov't has a hand in the female foeticide that has led to skewed sex ratios in punjab as well. I'm sure the indian gov't has a role to play in fake NRI weddings in Punjab too (leading to abandoned brides). Why not blame all of Punjab's problems on Indian gov't?! I'm sure Punjab's proximity to Pakistan (where the same problem exists) has nothing to do with it. (Hope you noticed the sarcasm).

      If punjab had broken away from india in 1984 it would have had all the problems it has now, among other serious problems. extremism is rampant in punjab as it is. division of the land in the name of religion would just make the problem more severe. Just look at what happened to pakistan (divided from india in the name of Islam).
      as for south india, they are actually more educated, and economically better off than north india, including punjab.
      and nobody wants to eliminate the sikh population. what happened in 1984 was all politics. the same thing happened to hindus in kashmir, muslims in gujarat, etc. everybody has been a victim of this, not just sikhs.

      also indian gov't is in no way responsible for the division of punjab between india and pakistan. this was something that the muslims wanted, and what the sikhs had agreed to themselves. Muslims wanted all of Punjab to be in Pakistan. Sikhs then demanded Punjab to be divided and the eastern part to be made a part of India.

    2. Saad Usman Malik

      You are right, Sympathy to the Sikh leaders of that time1947 fooled by a false promise of Khalistan.

    3. mohnish

      people create nations. not governments. majority of indian population lack basic sense.

    4. Anonymous

      You are really misinformed. If Punjab did Seperate in 84. EVERYTHING WOULD BE CHANGED, poeple like the Babbar Khalsa who are labled as terrorists even thoguh theyre not would be control. Poeple like Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale would be there too keep Punjab and Sikhi alive.Also, The Partition to put part of Punjab in Pakistan was Bloody, The Punjabis fought but it still was given to Pakistan.

    5. Keu

      non-sense! India is a poor country and even Hindu dominated states have problem. Punjab has more per capita income compared to most of the states. Stop spreading hatred based on religion! ashamed to share a country with you :(

    6. Sachin Sharma

      there is no hatred based on religion. And who are you to be ashamed mate!

    7. Apurva Singh

      punjab is around 7th in per capita. punjab govt is in top three in loans. economic factors of punjab are v poor, wholly agriculture based.

      on the other hand, this documentary is not to convincing. things are much better there.

      finally, if you are ashamed of india, then just get the hell out of here. you are not needed. period.

    8. Saad Usman Malik

      What about sharing a country with Pakistanis?

    9. mohnish

      everything can change and get better. people can do it.

    10. Saad Usman Malik

      Are you a Punjabi? Want to become a majority? Then go to Pakistan where you will be one of the 52% Punjabi majority of that killer country.

    11. yogibaba

      You are so ignorant. Are you among those 73% on drugs?

    12. mohnish

      you dont know what you're talking about. everything can change. Help make a good change. This is not a new india where the youth can potentially define the future. join in. help make it a place free of bigotry and biases. start with yourself and me with myself.

  26. tkingsky

    Too short for such a serious problem. I really liked what the women at the treatment ctr said "...the target of these drugs is will power". I wonder if the border blame is accurate? The root of all mind altering substances is to be happy (to feel better than the current state of mind) and the addiction is the consequence--It is a simple and innocent beginning that cunningly justifies the means.

  27. Edward Richtofen

    The best part is very close to the end. A man tells of his life before and now. Very frank conversation he gives. Otherwise, its like a commercial. Too soft.

    1. Frankie

      how was your comment edited by the moderator?

  28. Lucifer Sam

    The music made me cringe.

  29. astanhope

    The 73.5% number is either a mistake or a lie.

  30. kiraak miabhai

    I have two suggestions for UN before it rubs in India:

    1) Take off the interest based loans on the poor farmers of India, stop sucking their blood, so that they don't commit suicide or drugs.

    2) If drugs originate in Afghanistan, I'm afraid that somebody has been running it for last ten years - Yup American Troops (drug traffickers). Drugs were banned under Taliban, and this shit took 4 years of American rule to travel to India.

  31. MatarD

    It's because India is the biggest democracy in the world.

    Hahahaha....

  32. Manu Hashidate

    Well put! This subject is serious and this documentary should have been longer!

  33. jonathon wisnoski

    "73.5% of Punjab’s youth ARE addicted to drugs."

    And, A crore is a unit in the Indian/Pakistani number system equal to ten million. how was anyone supposed to know that?

    "The yearly consumption of alcohol in Punjab is touching 29 Crore bottles making it one of the highest per capita consumers of alcohol in the world!"

    And I have a feeling that the beer is actually supposed to be in barrels, if it is in bottles then it would be like the smallest consumer of beer on the planet.
    And even with that number in barrels it is still almost 1/2 the consumption per capita of America, who with less then 1/3 the population gets around 208 million barrels drunken in a year.

  34. zantium2999

    would be nice to have subtitles for EVERYONE, not just random people. Couldn't understand it, so I didn't like it.

    1. Manu Hashidate

      You 'couldn't understand it' - Hesus Krishna! Who lifted the rock you live under? I don't speak Punjab either, but the few moments the English subtitles ran too fast, or had poor contrast against the background, or the entire interview without subtitles is hardly enough to exclude your self from 'EVERYONE'!

      (random person) - Manuhashidate

      P.S. NO SHOUTING!

  35. morsie2

    The whole globe has the same problem. Welcome to the world India. Yes, it does take willpower and a support network to give up addictions. I wonder if there are AA and NA groups in India.

    The music was kind of heavy in places. The man in the purple hat was speaking for about ten minutes before I realised he wasn't speaking in English.

    1. Red_Viking

      Agreed on the man in the purple head piece...his interview went on for quite awhile before I realized I had no idea what he was saying. The few words in English sprinkled in really added to the confusion....and me being very hard of hearing contributed, too. Still, the documentary shed light on a drug problem devastating yet another country.

      I just wonder what the tipping point will be.

    2. Jasmin Rai

      This video isn't for people like you! You clearly have a limited understanding of India and Punjab. Get out of here with your uninformed nonsense!

      This piece is dealing with something that you cannot connect with... culturally, socially, intellectually.

      On a brighter note, As a Punjaban I think this really needs to be shown to the Punjabi diaspora.. it has gone on for too long. Interesting comments about the Taliban. There is a definite correlation between US invasion and drug trafficking into the Punjab.

      As the documentary ends; we will definitely bounce back.

      We are a spiritual people and we will live in God's will.

      Peace xx

    3. morsie2

      Yes, you're correct I have no understanding of India and Punjab (wasn't that something to do with the British?). And I don't want to know anything about India either. I have enough trouble with their accents whenever I have to phone the call centre when having a problem with my mobile phone, then I have the problem of trying to understand Indian accents - like singing in my ear. Their tone of voice comes in waves - up and down.

      No, I don't want to know anymore of the paedophilia that has also erupted in that country, and just recently with a 5 year old girl by a gang of youths.

      You'll all have to do a lot of hard work to bounce back from all that sordidness. I pray for you.

      Shalom

    4. mohnish

      oh how considerate. you world-changer you. with your keyboard and s*it.