By Sahil Makkar
New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) More and more young people are committing suicide in the Indian capital, and experts are blaming a variety of factors: from the fast-paced lifestyle to family and professional demands.
According to Delhi Police statistics, 784 people, including 449 males and 335 females, in the age group of 15-29 took their lives in the city in 2006.
This was a rise from the 651 suicides (370 males and 281 females) in 2005 and 625 (342 men and 283 women) the year before.
A Delhi Police spokesman said that suicide by hanging was the most favoured method to die.
In 2006, 295 young men and 199 young women hanged themselves, up from 233 males and 146 females the year before.
A few days ago, a young woman hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her residence in south Delhi’s R.K. Puram area, apparently over her poor performance in exams.
Sunita (name changed), 27, was pursuing masters in business administration. Police said she was depressed for a few days, and this might have forced her to take the extreme step.
Earlier, a 24-year-old woman engineer working in a call centre in Noida, in suburban New Delhi, committed suicide, after possibly suffering from depression.
Namrata, who lived in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area, was rushed to a hospital after she collapsed in the washroom of her Tech Mahindra’s Noida office. Police said her post-mortem revealed that she had consumed poisons pills.
“Her family had fixed her marriage with a Bangalore boy and Namrata apparently was not happy over this,” a police officer said. “She had said so to some of her colleagues.”
Explains Sameer Malhotra, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist with Fortis Hospital here: “The social support system for youngsters has gone down drastically with the proliferation of more nuclear families and live-in relations.
“They (youths mainly form middle-income class) are finding it difficult to keep pace with the fast-moving metro life and growing demands made on them. Youth have created an undue pressure upon themselves. To cope with stress, they are also dragging themselves to alcohol and drugs.
“The rise in such cases among youth is an indication that we are persistently failing in our efforts to provide them a reason for a meaningful existence”, Malhotra told IANS.
Some other common factors blamed for suicides include family problems, illness, love affairs gone sour, dowry disputes, poverty and unemployment.
“Suicide has become one of the most common causes of death among the young and adolescent population. It’s a devastating tragedy that affects family, society and the country at large,” social activist Swami Agnivesh told IANS.
“Success, wealth and consumerism are worshipped in today’s society. India’s economic success story too has resulted in escalating aspirations. Young people feel they can achieve anything and want instant gratification. When they don’t succeed, they get impatient and frustrated. They find failures harder to handle,” he said.