Sometimes, the most powerful statement is just two letters: “NO”. At HSNC University’s Nasha Mukt Bharat programme, that word rang out from a packed auditorium as students came together to take a collective pledge against drug-abuse in the presence of Maharashtra Governor and HSNC University Chancellor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma. The programme, organised jointly by HSNC University, Mumbai and Lok Bhavan, Mumbai, also saw the launch of NoToDrugs.in portal by Governor Shri Varma.
The programme was also graced by Anil Harish, Provost, HSNC University; S. Ramamoorthy, IAS, Joint Secretary to the Governor of Maharashtra; Seema Singh, Founder, Meghashrey Foundation; Dr. Sumedh Chavan, Trustee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Seva Bhavi Trust; actor Ravi Dubey; Dr. Bhagwan Balani, Registrar, HSNC University and Prof. Tejashree Shanbag, Principal, K.C. College.
The programme went beyond a conventional awareness campaign and opened up a more difficult conversation: How does addiction begin? Why do young people sometimes find it difficult to say no? And what responsibility do we have when someone around us is already struggling?
In an address blending personal anecdotes with a direct message to the young audience, Anil Harish spoke about how addiction can sometimes begin almost casually: with a friend’s suggestion, curiosity, a dare, peer pressure or simply the reluctance to be the one person in a group who says no. Drawing on deeply personal examples of young people whose lives and families were devastated by addiction, he underlined how a seemingly small choice can eventually take control of a person’s future.
He then shared an unexpectedly memorable anecdote from his own life. When someone offered tobacco at a gathering, his response was a four-letter word: “SURE.” Fortunately, his experiment ended with him throwing up rather than developing an addiction. But the experience carried a larger lesson: sometimes the pressure to say “yes” can overpower the instinct to pause and consider the consequences. “Yes” has a place in life, he told the students, but we must also learn when to say “no”. Mr. Anil Harish then put a question to the students: What would you say if someone offered you drugs? The auditorium answered with one emphatic word: “NO!”
Addressing the students, Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma highlighted three interconnected dimensions of the drug problem supply, demand and rehabilitation. While enforcement agencies and authorities have an important role in tackling the supply of drugs, he emphasised that society has a significant role to play in stopping demand and supporting rehabilitation. His message to the young audience was particularly direct: “Drug is not cool; it is cruel.”
He challenged the increasingly familiar response of treating addiction as somebody else’s problem. “It’s his life” or “it’s her life”, he said, cannot become an excuse for indifference. “No person can live in isolation.” Addiction may affect an individual, but its consequences can travel through families, friendships, neighbourhoods and communities.
The Governor therefore urged students to rethink what it means to “interfere”. Reaching out to someone battling addiction, he said, is not interference, it is help. If someone is caught in substance abuse, that person may be “crying out for help” and young people have the ability to notice, reach out and stand by them.
His appeal was therefore not simply to speak about change, but to become part of it. “It is not about giving speeches; it is standing by someone,” he told the students, urging them to build awareness within their circles and help create the support systems that increasingly matter in a rapidly changing society.
Shri Varma also pointed to the weakening of traditional support structures and the need to recreate that sense of community through friends, relatives, acquaintances and social networks. The underlying message was clear: a healthier society cannot be built by individuals living in isolation from one another.
Giving the campaign a digital dimension, Governor Shri Varma launched the NoToDrugs.in portal, providing a dedicated platform to carry the message of a drug-free India beyond the auditorium, even as he administered the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge to the students present. The combination of a digital platform and a physical, collective commitment underscored the need to carry the message beyond a single event and into the everyday spaces where young people live, study and interact.
Emphasising the importance of youth-led choices, Col. Dr. Hemlata K. Bagla, Vice Chancellor, HSNC University said “A drug-free India cannot be built through awareness alone; it must be built through the choices young people make every day. When a young person chooses to say no, that is not merely a refusal, it is a choice for health, dignity, ambition and a future with possibilities.” Dr. Bagla has been the driving force and has supported the entire ‘Say No To Drugs’ campaign at HSNC University.
“A University prepares students for more than examinations and careers. It also gives them the knowledge, confidence and support to navigate the choices that come with adulthood. In that sense, the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge is as much about education as it is about awareness,” Dr. Bagla said.
The program builds on HSNC University’s sustained youth-focused engagement towards a Nasha Mukt Bharat. Since June, students have participated in digital Poster Making, Slogan Writing & Reel Making competitions, followed by a ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat’ (Drug-Free Youth for Developed India) awareness programme in July which brought together students for interactive discussions on addiction, its impact on physical and mental health, recovery and the importance of seeking support. This was followed by the live screening of the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s address on the Drug-Free Mumbai Campaign in July, where students were encouraged to recognise their individual and collective responsibility towards building a drug-free society. In August, HSNC University hosted the Mumbai city district-level competition which saw 116 participants across eight categories, using poetry, theatre, music, dance and digital media to turn awareness into youth-led social action.
The event was held as part of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan to mark the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
