New Delhi, October 21: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has set a target to free the country of drugs by 31 December 2029, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday as he paid tribute to police personnel killed on duty, at the National Police Memorial on Police Commemoration Day.
Shah asked police forces across the country to put into practice the roadmap for a ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ (drug-free India) drawn up under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said drug abuse and trafficking damage the future of the next generation, put an unnecessary burden on the economy and often fund organisations with anti-national aims.
Anti-drug motorcycle rally
At the ceremony he flagged off a nationwide motorcycle rally carrying the message “Fight against Drugs”. It has about 90 riders from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi; from the CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and NSG; and from the RPF, NDRF and NIA. Riders from all states, Union Territories and central forces will reach Ekta Nagar in Gujarat to take part in the Ekta Parade-2026.
Naxalism and internal security
Shah called 2026 an extremely significant year for the Indian police, saying the country was freed of Naxalism on 31 March 2026. Between 1981 and March 2026, he said, more than 3,600 security personnel and nearly 13,700 civilians lost their lives to Naxal violence. He thanked the CRPF and its CoBRA battalion and praised the Chhattisgarh Police.
He said peace had now been established in the three areas that were the main internal security hotspots for decades: Kashmir, the North-East and the regions affected by Left-Wing Extremism. He credited the Central Armed Police Forces with the recent West Bengal Assembly elections being completed without a single fatality.
Why 21 October
On 21 October 1959, 10 CRPF personnel were killed resisting an attack by Chinese troops at Hot Springs in Ladakh, and the date has been observed as Police Commemoration Day ever since. The National Police Memorial, inaugurated by the Prime Minister in 2018, honours 36,852 police personnel who have died on duty, the minister said.
Shah described police work as one of the most demanding government services, pointing out that personnel stay on duty through Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Diwali and Eid while others celebrate with their families.
The ceremony was attended by MPs Krishna Prasad Tenneti and Rajiv Kumar, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau Director Mahesh Dixit, ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Kapoor and the heads of other central armed police forces.
Related: Amit Shah sets December 2029 target to free Punjab of drug trade