The news of Jamia student, Bharat Nagpal’s suicide a couple of months
ago, was so unexpected and so hard to believe that people thought it
was false in the beginning; it was only later it turned out to be true.
The news had left everyone shocked, for something like this was unheard
of in the Jamia community. He was too young to die and had a lot yet to
see in this world facing all the challenges of routine life that
everyone has to face at any extent. We don’t know his reasons
for ending his life. But even if we did, we could neither never truly
understand the burden he carried, nor the pain he must have felt.
Suicide remains the most serious of all the troubles found in our
society. It has eaten up millions of lives. Extinguishing one’s life is
considered a solution to all the miseries and problems of material life,
though nobody knows its fecundity.
It will be appropriate to quote here a couplet of Shaikh Mohammad
Ibrahim Zauq, the poet of Mughal Court and the mentor of Shah Zafar (the
last Mughal Emperor) in poetry, while elucidating the tragedy of this
unfortunate act taken as a solution in our society to escape from the
miseries of life. In this couplet he states his desire to end his life,
later refuting his own idea because of its bewildering outcomes. He
writes:
Ab to ghabra ke ye kahte hain ke mar jaenge
Mar ke bhi chain na paya to kidher jaenge
Suicide is one of the major unresolved problems of our society. It
has plagued us along with all the worldly problems that act as the force
pushing us into the cold grip of death.
Psychologists, anthropologists and sociologists are constantly
working to find concrete solutions and establishing assistive preventive
measures to prevent people from committing suicide. Several human
welfare organizations like SAVE, WHO and other NGOs having a similar
agenda and are working globally and locally to eliminate this malady out
of the society by spreading awareness among the masses.
According to the data provided by Suicide Awareness Voices of
Education (SAVE), nearly 40,000 thousand Americans commit suicide every
year. For the age group of 15-24, this is the second major cause of
death (www.save.org/facts).
Another report published in 2014 by WHO tells that about 800,000
thousand people end their lives by committing suicide on the globe every
year. Out of these cases about 75% are recorded in the countries facing
economical problems. Hence, poverty is one of the major reasons for
people committing suicide. The report also states a comparatively higher
rate of suicidal deaths in the age group of 15-29 years. This is more
than horrible. This means, every 40 seconds a person on the globe cuts
off the chord of his life with his own hands. Apart from the statistics
this report is also provides with some preventive measures to be applied
to subside possible suicide cases globally. (www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/en/)
Suicide holds equal importance with other national problems in India.
Seventeen percent of total cases of suicides registered globally come
from India. Statistical inferences help us to state that a majority of
the people committing suicide are either students or farmers. Major
problems in both the cases are more material than indigenous. The
problem of unemployment is one of the main reasons for suicide among the
youths. Other reasons are social relationships, family problems,
failure in love, and pressure evoked by school examinations; while all
other problems hold a secondary place.
In addition to these facts, the emotional aspect of this issue is
much more disheartening. We can understand how hard it is to cut through
the whole system of the living world, society, family and other social
relations. Psychological studies say that about 80 percent of the
persons who commit suicide or attempt to commit had some kind of
psychological problems, mainly depression. At times life brings some
moments that force us to lose our will to live, the eternal power
working behind that constant struggle to keep the pace up. On losing
this intense will to live, we start heading towards self destruction.
Talking about preventive measures of suicide, psychologists suggest
that it is possible to stop someone who is thinking of self harm if
certain behavioural changes in his routine are observed at the right
time of its occurrence. This is the most crucial time to monitor the
behaviour of that person. Parents have a major responsibility of
observing their children in this manner. They must have proper awareness
and should be trained to deal with such kind of situation following all
the preventive manners.
It can be prevented if preliminary observations are made about the
people considering suicide. There is a need for effective educational
programs to spread awareness about this social malaise. We must realize
that this is not the solution to any problem. Problems cannot be solved
by ending our lives. We have to live with them. We must have the courage
to face them. We should know – suicide is a permanent solution to a
temporary problem.
(Published @ http://jamiajournal.com/2015/01/20/tragedy-suicide/ )
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