Suicides in India

a.      India has the highest number of suicides in the world.

b.     1.71 lakh people died by suicide in 2022 in India.

c.      The suicide rate has increased to 12.4 per 1,00,000 in 2022.

d.     Suicide is the largest public health crisis facing people, both young and old in India.

Or

• There is no person in this world who has not attempted suicide or thought about it.

Or

• Attempted suicide is decriminalised under the BNS.

2.     Men | Women | LGBTQ

3.     Failures | Successful

4.     Married | Un married | Live ins

5.     Educated | Uneducated

6.     Illiterate | Well literate

a.      Work

b.     Finances

c.      Relationship issues

d.     Unemployment

e.      Financial instability

f.      Huge amounts of debt

g.     Family conflicts

h.     Marital discord

i.       Hopelessness

j.       Medical and health conditions

2.     Mental health problems (54%)

3.     Negative or traumatic family issues (36%)

4.     Social and lifestyle factors (20%)

5.     Violence (22%)

6.     Economic distress (9.1%)

7.     Relationship factors (9%).

2.     Ragging in the colleges

3.     Physical and sexual abuse

4.     Academic stress

5.     Examination failure

6.     Intergenerational conflicts

7.     Parental pressures

8.     Love failure feeling

9.     Self-expectations from the exam

10.  Caste discrimination

11.  Alcohol and substance abuse.

12.  Suicide by challenge – blue whale

13.  Sensational media reporting of suicides by the celebrities.

14.  Inability to handle extreme stress.

15.  Death of family or friends.

2.     Arranged and early marriages

3.     Low social status

4.     Domestic violence

5.     Economic dependence

6.     Rigid gender roles

7.     Gender discrimination

8.     Ragging by the seniors in the schools and colleges

9.     Sexual harassment at the work places.

2.     Inter-caste and inter-faith love marriages leads to culture variation.

3.     Decrease in joint families makes young housewives more vulnerable to mental health issues and suicide.

4.     Young motherhood

5.     Forcing the marriage as a compulsion by sacrificing education and career.

6.     Marital rape

7.     The trauma of physical, emotional and sexual abuse in marital homes leads to mental health issues and suicidal tendencies.

8.     Child marriage remains widespread with 23.3% of Indian women aged 20-24 married before age 18.

9.     Excessive social media use leads to unrealistic comparisons, cyberbullying and isolation – increasing depression and suicidal tendencies.

10.  Dowry harassment

11.  Clash between modern perspectives and traditional societal norms.\

12.  Husband behaviour:

a)     Not allowing to meet her female friends

b)     Insisting to know where she was all the time

c)     Jealousy or anger if she talked to other men

d)     Not trusting her if she is doing a job.

2.     Lack of family care due to –

a.      Children settling abroad

b.     Conflict with daughter in law

c.      Conflict with children

3.     Terminal illness

4.     Sallekhana

5.     Mental trauma

6.     Contagion effect

2.      Consuming rat poison

3.      Self immolation

4.      Self stabbing

5.      Silting wrist veins

6.      Sarco pods

7.      Lying under a vehicle

8.      Fire arms

2.     Devastates the family, friends and loved ones left behind.

3.     Survived may commit suicide

4.     The children of people who die by suicide are more likely to later die by suicide.

5.      Family members may face legal consequences.

6.     Enemies will be happy

7.     Affects the clients in case of suicide by a professional

8.     Creates suicidal thoughts who you do not know.

2.     Target: Reducing suicide by 10% by 2030.

3.     Collaborative policy: It recognised that collaboration between the Ministries of Health, Education, Information and Broadcasting, and Social Welfare is essential.

4.     Focus of the strategy: Leveraging educational institutions and youth organisations to promote mental health and reduce substance and behavioural addictions through school health ambassadors and youth clubs.

5.     360⁰ approach:

a.       Surveillance: Establishing effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next three years

b.      OPD: Establishing psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all districts within the next five years

c.       Curriculum: Integrating a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years.

d.      Media: Developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides

e.      Access denial: Restricting access to means of suicide.

f.        Community participation: Stressing on developing community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention.

The strategy is in line with the WHO’s South East-Asia Region Strategy for suicide prevention, it says it will remain true to India’s cultural and social milieu.

2.     However, this provision is discontinued under the BNS 2023.

3.     Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHCA). Section 115 of the MHCA states that attempted suicide is to be considered the result of severe stress, and the individual is not to be prosecuted. Instead, it places an onus on the government to ensure that a person has access to support services.

4.     Section 224 of BNS:

If any one attempts suicide, with an intention to prevent a public servant from discharging his duties, shall be punished with simple imprisonment of one year.

a.      Problem solving behaviour

b.     Impulse control skills

c.      Emotional intelligence skills

d.     Help seeking behaviour

B.     Healthy life style:

a.     Good diet

b.     Physical exercises

c.      Yoga and meditation

d.     Supportive friendship

C.    Family support:

a.      Aboding domestic violence

b.     Avoiding alcoholism and substance abuse.

D.    Educational reform like alternative assessment methods

E.     Societal changes to reduce stigma and discrimination based on caste, religion and sexuality need to be addressed.

F.     Political will, intersectoral collaboration and commitment, and community participation.

2.     Expanding counselling services to men about gender equality.

3.     Women’s helplines

4.     Promoting female education

5.     Financial independence

6.     Social liberty for women.

a.      Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide

b.     Create healthy organizational policies and culture

c.      Reduce substance use through community-based policies and practices

2.     Improve access and delivery of suicide care

a.      Cover mental health conditions in health insurance policies

b.     Increase provider availability in underserved areas

c.      Provide rapid and remote access to help

d.     Create safer suicide care through systems change

3.     Promote Healthy connections

a.      Good Friendship

b.     Good family relations

4.     Poverty eradication programs.

5.     Prevent suicides as a public health priority.

6.     Concerted and collaborative efforts from individuals and the community at large.