High incidence of suicides in recent times has become a cause for serious concern. Hardly a day passes now without the media not reporting on someone who opted to take his or her own life. Society is suffering from a deep disorder and thus drives people to commit suicide. A World Health Organisation (WHO) report finds eight incidents of suicide among every 10,000 people in this country. This is particularly worrying that of the 10,000 people taking their own lives a year, 74.61 per cent are in the prime of their youth aged between 21 and 30. According to another report, the prevalence of suicides is highest in the 14-24 age group.
Both observations show that of all the groups, the largest number of young people give in to the irresistible urge of bringing an end to their lives prematurely. It is the time when life should unfold in many layers and colours before them. It is the time to chase dreams. Many obviously do so. But then here are some who find going tough or their innocence and sensitivities are rebuffed rudely by the mundane practical world. The shock they receive is beyond their capacity to absorb and they decide to take their own lives.
For the average person keeping oneself out of harm's way is instinctive. Then how does the suicidal tendency become so compulsive that an increasing number of young people rush for self annihilation? History of not all who kill themselves is likely to be same. But one thing is common among all of them - they think they will be relieved of what ails them.
The WHO report is two years' backdated. Now the tendency of suicide seems to have been on a still higher trajectory. Sociologists have identified various reasons behind the rising trend of suicide. That young people cannot adapt themselves to the socio-economic environment is part of the problem. If they are misfit, it is not their fault. The social order has been so set that sharks on the prowl reign supreme here. The susceptible minds are misfit because families and society are not caring enough. Some of them are more sinned against than sinning. It is not their fault but the fault lies with society which is on a break-neck journey in order to maximise profit and income.
Children are forced to chant the mantra of obtaining the highest grade in examinations right from their tender age. They are deprived of their childhood and normal growth. With no physical exercise, running on their own, playing games and coming in close contact with Nature, they go through an artificial process of growth. Gradually, they become lonely, withdrawn and morose and channelize their frustration to some alternative retreat. For some not living up to the expectation of parents, the sanctuaries may be drug or video games. They are the most vulnerable groups who at some point give in to the temptation of ending life prematurely.
The malady with society has become even deeper under the influence of alien cultures, courtesy of the advanced technologies such as internet, cable TV and smartphones. When the education system is brutal leaving no time and facilities for play and extra-curricular activities for the majority of students, the psychological impact cannot but be adverse. If some of the students from insolvent families go off tracks, they cannot be blamed. After all, they see how their friends from well-off families are taken care of. The neglect they suffer leads them to do things they know they should not do. No wonder that a good number of students failing to do well in exams are among the suicidal victims.
So the devious commit crimes and take recourse to intrigues. The unsuspecting -usually girls harbouring rosy dreams in their bosoms --fall victim to their schemes. Many discover they have been cheated and some of the jilted lovers end their lives under circumstances they think they have no power to get rid of. Rape victims, pregnant girls and girls scandalised have little option but to take the ultimate decision. Subjected to physical torture in husbands' families either for dowry or for some other reasons, newly married women also follow suit.
By all accounts, it is a hostile environment for many young people, children and women to survive here. If they need correction of their ways of life, social order needs far greater correction. This is no way of nurturing young minds. Children must enjoy sports and fun and if these are considered as good as education, they will not be found wanting in attention to learning lessons. Then of course, there is the need for special care for students from poor financial background.
This country is not an affluent one but it is poised to graduate to the next level of a developing country. It is an appropriate time to take on social discriminations and aberrations. If the yawning gap between the wealthy and the poor cannot be narrowed down, crimes including suicides among the youths will continue to rise at a much faster rate.
