Indians may dream to become the world super power one day, and may want to have an unparalleled economical presence on the globe, but a nation who wants to such heights also needs a strong mind set, and the ability to deal with pressure and crisis, be it economical pressure, social, domestic, or political. In the current situation where India seems to be doing far better than 10 years ago economically, Indians seem to be losing the ability to deal with the hardship of life. When the going gets tough, the Indians are increasingly turning to suicide as a solution. Times of India reported a staggering 336 suicides EVERY DAY during the last year (more than 1 suicide every 5 minutes), based on the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau of the Incredible India. With this astonishing number of suicides taking place every few minutes, one can not stop wondering if this suicidal nation is in a fit state of mind at all to possess nuclear arms. After all, those in govt seats are also from this suicidal nation !!
Another sad factor that came out of this report was that more Indian men were ending their lives compared to the women, whereas traditionally in the Indian macho image, men were supposed to be mentally and physically stronger, and be able to support their families and the country, through rough times.
In addition, out of every three cases of suicides reported every 15 minutes in India, one is committed by a youth in the age group of 15 to 29. Even in Kerala, the country’s first fully literate state, some 32 people commit suicide in Kerala every day. Many questions arise about the education system, parenting, social system, govt actions and the current political situation which seems to be more of a dog fight to be fair. Politicians are at each other throats, using every dirty trick on the innocent common man in their fight. To be honest, it seems more like a jungle, where the fittest survives, and a common man, well, suicides.
A wise man once said, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” Every problem has a solution, and every good and bad time passes by. As this cowardly act is on the increase, especially amongst the educated, I am hoping that the Indian Govt is not ignoring the problem still. And along with the numbers from my other article about 7000 baby girls being murdered every single day in the “Incredible” India , now the numbers look even higher with one suicide every 4.2 minutes!
Welcome to the “Incredible” India.
Although National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data confirm an appalling 1.5 lakh (150,000) farm suicides between 1997 and 2005, the figure is probably much higher. Worse, the farmers’ suicide rate (FSR) - number of suicides per 100,000 farmers - is also likely to be much higher than the disturbing 12.9 thrown up in the 2001 Census.
In the five years from 1997 to 2001, there were 78,737 farm suicides recorded in the country. On average, around 15,747 each year. But in just the next four years 2002-05, there were 70,507. Or a yearly average of 17,627 farm suicides. That is a rise of nearly 1,900 in the yearly averages of the two periods. Simply put, farm suicides have shot up after 2001 with the agrarian crisis biting deeper. On average, one Indian farmer committed suicide every 32 minutes between 1997 and 2005.But now there are 48+ suicides by farmers EVERYDAY after this increase. That’s one suicide EVERY HALF HOUR by a farmer in the “Incredible” India”.
The main causes of farmers’ suicides are:
- absence of adequate social support infrastructure at the level of the villages
- uncertainty of agricultural situation in India
- indebtedness of farmers
- rising costs of cultivation
- plummeting prices of farm commodities
- lack of credit availability to small farmers
- relative absence of irrigation facilities
- repeated crop failures (largely blamed on GM crops)
Some Horrific Statistics from the “Incredible” India:
2007 saw More than one lakh (100,000) persons (1,22,637) in the country lost their lives by committing suicide during the year 2007. This indicates an increase of 3.8% over the previous year’s figure (1,18,112).
The graph below shows the total number of suicides committed from 2003 to 2007, indicating an ever increasing weaker Indian mind, to escape from what life throws at us every day.
Although suicide was a nationwide phenomenon, five states - Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka - registered consistently higher number of suicidal deaths during the last few years.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of suicides (15,184) accounting for 12.4% of total suicides followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,882) accounting for 12.1%. The other States which have reported higher number of suicides during the year were West Bengal (14,860), Tamil Nadu (13,811) and Karnataka (12,304) accounting for 12.1%, 11.3% and 10.0% respectively. These 5 States together accounted for 57.9% of the total suicides reported in the country. The remaining 42.1% suicides were reported in the rest of 23 States and 7 UTs. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous
state (16.6% share of population) has reported comparatively lower percentage of
suicidal deaths, accounting for only 3.2% of the total suicides reported in the country.
Mass/Family Suicides in the “Incredible” India:
A cowardly act as some may consider it, was traditionally done as individuals, but it seems to have entered its advanced shape in the “Incredible India”. A Mass or Family suicide is when family members have committed suicide jointly under a common pact 264 deaths at the national level under common pact of Mass/Family suicides consisting of 118 males and 146 females were reported as per the information available. The available statistics reveal that there were 25 mass suicidal deaths consisting of 13 males and 12 females in mega cities.
The highest number of cases were reported from Kerala (39) followed by Andhra Pradesh (34) and Madhya Pradesh (12) out of 100 cases.
Causes of Suicides in the “Incredible” India:
The number of suicides due to ‘Dowry Dispute’ showed a sharp increase of 34.8%
as compared to previous year, followed by ‘Unemployment’ (26.6%), ‘Not having children’ (24.8%), ‘Professional/Career Problem’ (16.7%), ‘Suspected/Illicit relation’ (14.6%), ‘Cancellation/Non-settlement of marriage’ (13.8%). Ten States/UTs have reported higher percentage share than the All India average in suicides with causes such as ‘Illness’. Similarly, Eleven States/UTs have reported higher share than the all India average in suicides caused due to ‘Family Problems’ during the year.
The States/UTs which reported higher share of suicides due to ‘Family problems’ after Puducherry (50.3%), were Chandigarh (47.6), Kerala (42.3%), D & N Haveli (42.1%), Meghalaya (34.5%), Maharashtra (34.3%) Tamil Nadu (31.4%), Himachal Pradesh (28.4%), Orissa (27.4%), Tripura (25.5%) and Uttarakhand (24.2%).
8.4% suicides in Kerala were due to ‘Bankruptcy or Sudden change in Economic
Status’. 22.9% in Punjab, 17.0% in Goa and 16.7% suicides in A & N Island were due to ‘Insanity/Mental Illness’. Similarly, 9.6% in Uttar Pradesh and 9.3% suicides in Madhya Pradesh
Teens of the Incredible India:
According to a study conducted by the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, teens have the world’s highest suicide rate.
Globally the suicide rate stands at 14.5 deaths per 100,000, with suicide being the fourth leading cause of death in the age group of 15 to 18. However, in the CMC study, suicide was the number one cause of death among Indian adolescents.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, about 2,555 adolescents ended their lives in 2005 in India - among them 1,328 boys and 1,227 girls. The suicide rate went up by 175 percent from 1967 to 1999, the figures said. According to the current statistics in 2007, it has now gone above 300 percent.
Diamond Suicides of the Incredible India:
Nine suicides in 15 days: depressed diamond workers in grip of death wish!!
There has been a recent surge in the diamond mines in India, and 9 Indian miners have committed suicide in 15 days when this report was published on 30th December 2008. According to the report, no official statements were made regarding the suicides, and the authorities were even bracing for more death in what the Indian press called the “Diamond Suicides”.
The diamond industry provides employment to over 10 lakh people in Gujarat.
“The average age of diamond cutters and polishers is between 15 and 30 years. Most of them are school dropouts and have no other skills,” said Gaurang Jani, a social psychologist and professor in Gujarat University.
It seems incredible that this suicide phenomenon is so common and advanced amongst Indians that they have even named for different classes of suicides.
Only in the INCREDIBLE INDIA.
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