Chronicles Of Death: Suicide is a rising trend in India, including among the young

National crime data for 2022 is grim reading. Among the grimmest statistics is that the national daily average of suicides was nearly 500. What does this say? Chronic levels of stress remain unaddressed. The three big gaps are poor mental health infrastructure, grey areas in relevant laws, and taboos that stop people from seeking help.

A public health crisis | In 2022, a third of all who died by suicide were farmers, daily wagers. Over 13,000 students form the other large group. Mental health experts say ‘suicide clusters’, such as in Kota, need niche tactics with continuous psychiatric evaluation and care. Yet as we saw in Kota, where 23 youngsters have died by suicide this year, authorities opted to put springs in ceiling fans, and nets below balconies. How is that a solution?

The law was righted | Attempt to suicide, IPC Section 309, was decriminalised with the mental health law in 2017. The new bill BNS, to be tabled in Parliament soon, has rightly dropped the legal provision altogether. The updated BNS retains abetment, notoriously difficult to prove.

Conviction’s tough | On Monday, SC again said that to convict a person for abetment, his criminal intent and instigation must happen close to the time of the suicide. Quashing a case, SC said prosecution without such evidence would be “nothing but an abuse of the process of law”. The problem often is shoddy police investigation.

Where’s the support | Survivors need support, long-term help. Where do they go when home circumstances push them to the brink? After all, the data says cause for 32% suicide cases was “family problems”. Residences can be unsafe places, for both men and women. Prior attempts are a predictor for more attempts. Who does the surveillance?
Governments must invest | Indians fall back on family-community support for most needs – financial to personal, yet a mental health issue is a no-go area. Addressing the taboo on mental distress is a task beyond the capacity of India’s network of suicide helplines and support networks – still largely privately run, by psychiatrists and NGOs. Government networks, where they exist, are often inaccessible and understaffed.

One more data point. Nearly 35% of suicide deaths were in the 18-30 age group. That’s part of the demographic dividend pushed to the edge.

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