Suicide: A Daunting Challenge before the State of Sikkim

Binod Bhattarai
Despite economic development and progress in the serene Himalayan region, the state of Sikkim is crippled with the rise in suicide cases. Every second day, one or two cases of suicide is reported in the local dailies on a constant basis. The latest report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2010 has divulged that, Sikkim is the only state in the country which has the highest suicide rate (the number of suicides per one lakh population has been widely accepted as a standard yardstick for measuring suicide rate) of 45.9 per lakh of population, which is four times as high as the national average of 11.4 percent (NCRB report 2010: 173) and more than thrice of the national average during the last three years.  In the series, Sikkim is followed by Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh and Kerala with the suicide rate of 45.5, 36.1, 26.6 and 24.5 per lakh of population respectively. On the basis of the data available with the Sikkim Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the state Health department has come out with a report stating that about 124 suicide cases were reported in 2007, 287 in 2008, and 241 in 2009, which are obviously alarming figures for a state like Sikkim with a small population. Due to the constant increase in number of suicides, Sikkim is amongst the front runners and it has also been regarded as a public health problem.
In the opinion of various experts, increasing suicides in the state is the result of substance abuse, narcotics and alcohol use, mental illness, anxiety and depression followed by family problems, drug addiction, prolonged illness, failure in examinations and love affairs etc. The reasons which they suggest are enormously true however it only manifests the individualistic suicidal behavior of individuals. Apart from that there are other important reasons (sex, age, occupation, level of income, geographical region, marital status, number of children, health care and so on) as well which is social in nature. To some, the rising suicide rate in Sikkim could stem from the disparity between the level of education received and the lack of commensurate job while to others it is the loss of tradition and its accompanying moral and spiritual fortitude through media and modernizing influences (such as proliferation of satellite TVs and the breakup of the extended family) or the effect of urbanization. The rate of psychopathology is also believed to have multiplied through similar influences according to mental health professionals in Sikkim.
If we talk about the current development scenario of India, Sikkim is one of the most politically stable and generally a peaceful state. In addition to this, it has maintained one of the highest economic growth rates in the country during the Ninth Plan and as mentioned in the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-2007) draft document published by Planning Commission, New Delhi, with a growth rate of 8.3 percent for which Sikkim is second only to Puducherry, Chandigarh and Delhi. In this regard Sikkim is far ahead of many well performing states. However, despite the peaceful environment and a good economic growth rate, the increasing suicides rate is a matter of apprehension and concern for the planner and policy makers in Sikkim. It directly poses the vital question of why this trend of suicide is occurring with such a high economic growth rate?
If we take a close look at the economy of Sikkim, it is basically a rural based one. More than 80 percent of the state’s population is directly or indirectly, dependent on the natural resources of the state (Sikkim Development Report 2008). For most of the people, agriculture is one of the most important occupations. Mixed farming and animal husbandry are also widely practiced. With the difficult mountainous terrain in the hilly state, cultivable land is very scarce. People cultivate around 16% of the total (7,096 sq km) land area of the state (Chakrabarti 2010). Since land is scarce, food security is the major issue of concern. A large portion of the state area comes under forest area. Consequently, there is very little scope for increase in land area under agriculture to augment the food production in the state. With growing population, unemployment and underemployment in the state, a direct consequence of which is poverty. Though the percentage of poverty line in Sikkim has fallen drastically from 50.86 percent in 1973-74 to 36.55 in 2000-01, the state has not been able to escape from the vicious circle of poverty (Sikkim Development Report 2008). In this connection, we cannot repudiate poverty as one of the important causes of suicide in Sikkim.

With a population of nearly 6.1 lakh, the state has seen a dreadful rise in suicide cases in recent years. In view of the fact that Sikkim has been slowly moving up the development ladder with multiple hydel projects leading to public-private enterprises, a boom in eco-tourism, and the information technology and hospitality sectors. Society in Sikkim is in a state of transition. Ironically, the Centre dubbed Sikkim as the “Safest Greenest Small State in India” in 2008. Today, the state has a large band of unhappy youth. 45 per cent of suicide cases reported between 2000 and 2008 were of people less than 25 years of age (National Crime Record Bureau Report 2009). The experts say that in Sikkim, the effects of modernization have led to sweeping changes in the value system in the socio-economic, socio-philosophical and cultural arenas of people’s lives, which envelops several developments — including the breakdown of the joint family system, which add stress in the life of the minds of the young. Parents have high expectations of children, which often go unfulfilled, leading to discord. Depression is also caused by unfulfilled aspirations among the young who believe their life is not changing as much as they want it to. People who move from rural areas to urban zones find there is no upward mobility, for life in rural areas is not very different from that in the city. This leads to low self-esteem which in turn leads to alienation, depression and finally leaves people vulnerable to suicidal behavior.

Opportunities to the Youth
In terms of opportunities to the youth in the state it is not very favorable as compared to other parts of the country. Being one of the hilly states in India’s North East, difficult geographical landscape and unfavorable climatic conditions, the issue of connectivity (in terms of road, rail, and air) is always a matter of concern. With the growing population in the state, unemployment has become an escalating problem of the youth. As compared to the national average, unemployment among the youth, who are between 15 to 29 years of age, in Sikkim is rapidly increasing. If one compares the unemployment data of Sikkim with the national average it is surprising to observe that unemployment rate at national average stood at much lower level particularly in 2007-08 for both the youth and in general. It was 2.9, 4.0 and 4.4 percent in 1993-94, 2004-05 and 2007-08 respectively for youth and 1.2, 1.7 and 1.6 percent in the respective periods for general at national average in rural areas. Similarly, in urban areas, it was 10.8, 10.1 and 10.0 percent in the respective periods for youth and 4.5, 4.5 and 4.1 percent in the respective periods for general. Further, the problem is very sharp in urban than rural areas for youth and general in both the state and national average. It is also true for both the genders in both the state and national average throughout the periods. Except for the male youth in Sikkim in 2004-05 where unemployment rate was higher by about one percent in rural areas (8.0) than urban areas (6.7) (NSS Report 2007-08 No. 531).

This is bound to happen simply because of the fact that employment avenues and other opportunities are not growing at the same pace with educational development.  If we look at the nature of Indian educational system, it is undeniably, too literary, theoretical, lacking aptitude and techniques and largely not job oriented or employable in the present labour market structure.  Employability, the question, depends not only on the type of labour supply irrespective of acquired type of education whether theoretical or practical, but on the nature of market structure and the development levels of the economy as well as education which is mostly specialised resulting in the increase of educated unemployed.

Though the Government of Sikkim is giving utmost importance to the education sector, there is no avenue for exposure to the youth regarding higher education, employment and other basic prospects of life. For higher education none of the central universities or institutions of national importance apart from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Sikkim University has its entrance centre in Sikkim. For entrance exams, students have to go either to Guwahati or Kolkata. It is very difficult for a student especially of lower or middle class who does not have the resources and where there is no surety of cent percent successful result to travel 600 kms for one entrance examination.  More severe situations may arise in the near future if immediate attention and response is not delivered by the government.

What Next?

Rapid urbanization, industrialization and emerging family systems are resulting in social upheaval and distress. The diminishing traditional support systems leave people vulnerable to suicidal behavior. Hence, there is an emerging need for external emotional support. The enormity of the problem combined with the paucity of mental health service has led to the emergence of NGOs in the field of suicide prevention. The primary aim of these NGOs should be, to provide the support to suicidal individuals by befriending them. Apart from befriending suicidal individuals, the NGOs should also undertake education and raising awareness in the public and media. Enhance the physical interaction between government functionaries and village society by insisting on more tours, night halts and Gram Sabhas by officers at all levels of the administration. Active monitoring through NGOs should be there in every village for the signs of social, economic and psychological distress and provide time to time social, psychological or spiritual counseling. Such monitoring and counseling on village level should be made on a regular and routine basis. Increase efficiency of various services that are delivered by the government in the name of people’s welfare, namely, improve the infrastructural development in the  villages, increase the number of primary health centres, provide better roads, safe drinking water, sanitation, nutrition and family planning etc.
For the long term change, it is important to improve the condition of education in the state. Although, Sikkim has a literacy rate of 82 percent but the real erudite in the state are very few. In this case, it would be fruitful if it would provide value as well as vocational education, at least at the school level to the students to understand and utilize it for their own benefit in the complexities of present day production and marketing techniques.
Ironically, Sikkim is a state where most of the people are heavily dependent on the Government for fulfilling their basic needs. So it would be better if the government makes its citizens self – dependent by opening various boulevards in the field of social and economic development in the state. An important mechanism in generating a suicide epidemic is the constant highlighting of instances of suicide. Therefore, it is important to counsel the media to stop highlighting suicide since the fact of highlighting suicide itself adds fuel to the suicide fire as it were.
Despite significant advancements in science and technology and material wealth, it is a sad indictment that we are not able to control suicides in our society. Suicide is a multifaceted problem and hence suicide prevention programmes should also be multidimensional. Further research into this area would be more helpful to determine the relationship between suicide and its related physiognomies. Collaboration, coordination, cooperation and commitment need to be developed. It is high time that the civil society and intellectuals espouse proactive and leadership roles in suicide prevention and save the lives of thousands of young Sikkimese.
 
( the writer is a Doctoral fellow at Department of Sociology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry and can be  reached at bhattaraibinod3@gmail.com)