A Social Crisis Unfolds As India Sees Increase In Suicide Cases |
This pertains to a report published in FPJ recently, “Suicidal tendency among youth on the rise”. This is a worrisome trend. On May 27, seven members of a family from Dehradun consumed poison and died by suicide in Haryana's Panchkula. In fact, suicide in all age groups is on the rise. Philosophising, even intellectualising, suicide is easy, but when the statistics show the rampant suicides in India, one understands the magnitude of it. According to data, 171,000 suicides were recorded in 2022, registering a 4.2% increase over 2021 and a jump of 27% compared to 2018. The rate of suicide per 100,000 population increased to 12.4 in 2022, which is the highest year for this data. Today, suicide is the largest public health crisis facing India and is the leading cause of death among youth.
There's no condescending or sermonising attitude towards the people who choose to commit suicide. Neither is there any pontification in saying patronisingly that they shouldn't have done this. They must have gone through some unbearable pain, predicament and turmoil in their lives, and their ordeals must have been overwhelming. All said and done, suicide, like war, is no solution to any problem, however daunting and insurmountable it may seem and sound. Like capital punishment, it is an irretrievable step.
When someone is engulfed in darkness, overwhelmed by their inner turmoil, the idea of ending their pain may seem like the only rational way out. The decision to die is not driven by a desire for death itself but rather by the immense struggle and anguish one feels on a daily basis. There's a yearning for relief from the pain that seemingly has no end. Though circumstances could be unimaginably depressing and woefully pathetic, there's always a silver lining to the cloud. Every life has a purpose, and that purpose can be realised........