Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, 15 May called for a unified global front against narcotics trafficking, delivering the keynote address at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)'s annual Rameshwar Nath Kao Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. Speaking on the theme 'Narcotics: A Borderless Threat, A Collective Responsibility', Shah warned that without coordinated international action, the world risks reaching a point of no return within a decade.

India's Zero-Tolerance Stance

Shah reaffirmed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has set a national goal of achieving a Drug-Free India by 2047. He stated that Indian security agencies have prepared a detailed roadmap to dismantle drug syndicates, and that the country's policy of 'zero tolerance' means not one gram of narcotics will be permitted to enter India or transit through its territory. He described drug trafficking as far more than a law-and-order challenge, stressing its lasting damage to society and future generations.

The Case for a Common Global Legal Framework

Shah argued that inconsistencies in national drug laws are being actively exploited by cartels. He called for a unified international legal framework covering a common definition of controlled substances, standardised penalties for trafficking, extradition protocols for drug kingpins, and real-time intelligence sharing. Without high-degree global alignment on these pillars, he said, enforcement efforts will remain fragmented and cartels will continue to exploit policy gaps across the world's 250,000 kilometres of international borders.

Narco-Terror and the Hidden Economy

The Home Minister highlighted a dimension that often goes unnoticed in public discourse: the direct link between drug money and terrorism. He noted that while awareness exists around narcotics funding terrorist networks and fuelling parallel economies, the permanent physiological damage caused by drug abuse to individual users receives far less attention. Shah stated that the world must simultaneously confront both narco-networks and narco-terror states, urging that this battle must rise above geopolitical differences and narrow national interests.

India's Extradition Record and the Call to Diplomats

Shah disclosed that over the last two years, India has successfully repatriated more than 40 transnational criminals with the support of friendly nations — a figure he cited as evidence of what bilateral cooperation can achieve. He directly addressed the ambassadors, high commissioners, and diplomats from more than 40 countries present at the event, urging them to join India's anti-narcotics efforts and treat the war on drugs as a matter of national security, public health, and preventing narco-states from emerging as alternative power centres.

About the Kao Memorial Lecture

The RAW annual lecture series was established in 2007 to honour the agency's founder, Rameshwar Nath Kao. This year's event was attended by members of the Kao family, former RAW secretaries, and senior officials from India's other security agencies, alongside the diplomatic community. The choice of narcotics as the theme signals a deliberate effort by the Indian government to internationalise its counter-narcotics agenda at the highest diplomatic levels.