Urgent Steps Needed To Check The Alarming Rise Of Suicides In The Country

India has the highest youth suicide rate in the world; 35,000 students died by suicide between 2019 and 2021.Meanwhile, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), one student died every 42 minutes in 2020

Hardly a day goes by without a heart-wrenching media reports about a young person preparing for a competitive exam dying by suicide. This is an extremely serious issue and the entire country needs to think about it. A further blow is that of late the number of people taking such extreme steps due to business losses is increasing. A few days ago, the billionaire owner of a famous bicycle manufacturing company also committed suicide.

Recently, a discussion on the topic "Defeat Despair" was held at St. Stephen's Cambridge School, located on the Delhi-Haryana border. Psychiatrists, doctors, children, teachers, and parents participated.

Dr. Vinay Agrawal, former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that despair has no meaning in life. A multi-faceted approach is needed to save people from contemplating suicide.

It is important that other schools, colleges and educational institutions across India also organise similar seminars as a measure of spreading awareness about this critical subject.

Spreading awareness about mental health in schools and colleges is crucial. Students, teachers, and staff need to be educated about the signs of suicide, risk factors, and how to get or extend help. This could include workshops, motivational seminars and classroom discussions on suicide prevention.

Young people need a completely relaxed environment so that they can study without any pressure or do whatever they want to do.

Brother Solomon George, president of Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS), points out, “We conduct classes for our teachers and urge them about not asking any child about their caste or their father's income in class. Some irresponsible teachers have a negative impact on a student who has been proven inferior. Such children often sink into despair and depression. See, raising a child is a twenty-year plan. Who doesn't want their child to achieve a high position in society, earn fame and name?”

Go to Kota or any other city in the country where coaching institutes for medical, engineering and civil services are running. There, students are in a state of great psychological distress due to excessive pressure and fear of failure. We must not just express concern over the increasing cases of suicide; we must prevent it. Meanwhile, some coaching center operators are making such efforts so that students do not remain under excessive pressure. The head of a coaching centre in Delhi said that they continuously counsel students and remain in touch with their parents. It is said that India has the highest youth suicide rate in the world. Meanwhile, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2020, one student died every 42 minutes. This figure is truly frightening.

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that in 2020, when the COVID wave devastated businesses, 11,716 businessmen committed suicide, which was 29% more than in 2019 when 9,052 businessmen took their own lives.

In Karnataka, the highest number of deaths (1,772) due to suicide by businessmen was recorded in 2020, which was 103 per cent more than in 2019. In Maharashtra, 1,610 businessmen committed suicide, which is 25 per cent more than the previous year, and 1,447 deaths occurred in Tamil Nadu, which is 36 per cent more than in 2019.

Everyone knows that a large part of India's business community is associated with micro, small, and medium enterprises, which cannot withstand major shocks. Due to this, many businessmen committed suicide after falling into losses and debt-traps.

Brother Solomon George says that it is imperative to effectively curb the increasing incidents of suicide among youth and businessmen, as well as other people in India.

(The author is Delhi-based senior journalist and writer. He is author of Gandhi's Delhi which has brought to the forth many hidden facts about Mahatma Gandhi)