Written on: Nov 19, 2012
Give me some sunshine,
Give me some rain!
Give me another chance.
I wanna grow up once again!
Just after this song, the actor mimicking it in the movie “3 Idiots” takes his “another chance to grow up once again”—by committing suicide.
It is said that suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems. The World Health Organization states that every year, approximately ten lakh people die from suicide, with a global mortality rate of 16 per lakh—or one death every 40 seconds. So, by the time you finish reading this sentence, two people would have already committed suicide.
In the past 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. WHO reports for India state that suicide is the 10th major cause of death among all age groups, and the suicide mortality rate in India is 10.5 per lakh. Census India further clarifies this and states that for the age group of 25–69, suicide ranks 9th among the top 10 causes of death. Surprisingly, though perhaps predictably, for the age group of 15–24, suicide is the number one cause of death.
A Times of India report says that males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females. However, females are more likely to attempt suicide. The report also states that the southern states of India have a suicide rate of more than 15 per lakh, while in the northern states, it is less than 3 per lakh. The reason for such a contrast is largely due to the massive migration of people aged 15–24 from North India to South India—commonly referred to as “students.”
Since suicide has been a “solution” to a variety of problems over the ages, various forms of suicide have developed. According to Wikipedia, there are 12 types. While some types are very common—like assisted suicide, murder-suicide, familicide, and suicide attacks—there are also instances of copycat suicides and Internet suicides. However, the suicide types that are most concerning for our nation are forced suicides and honor suicides, where the victim chooses death to avoid facing alternatives they perceive as even worse. And the reasons can be countless…
The WHO report says that the major risk factor for suicides in Asian countries, especially India, is impulsiveness. There are some problems… the victim can’t handle them… and then comes the impulsive thought:
Let’s end the dispute… Let’s suicide!
The million-dollar question is: What provokes such impulsiveness?
What drives it to such an extreme that we decide to quit?
Let’s take this case. It happened at the world’s number one suicide spot: the famous suspension bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, with over 1,200 suicide cases. One victim who jumped from the bridge left behind a note saying:
“I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I will not jump.”
Another instance was that of one of my friends—an excellent guy, very creative and intelligent. He couldn’t crack IIT in his first attempt. He tried again… and on the IIT result day, we heard the news of his suicide. He had left a note for his family saying he had failed to crack IIT again. Towards the end, it read:
“Before the family fires me… I quit!”
Research shows that failures and lack of love together provoke such impulsiveness. We fail in love. We fail in exams. We fail to do something we always wanted to do… and that’s it. One flash—and life is over. The victim is gone, but what they leave behind is a big, dark, scary empty space for their loved ones… who don’t know how to fill that space. And what eventually fills it is an enormous amount of pain and tears.
All I want to say is just this:
I decided to go; I decided to quit!
Things were not as I wished;
Things were there, with a twist.
I didn’t like it; I didn’t want it;
My dreams were shattered…
My wishes were gone…
Suddenly in my mind,
A devil was born!
He asked me to finish
The pain all around;
He asked me to quit
Quietly, without a sound;
And I was all set,
To take the toughest move…
World had done its part,
It was my turn to prove!
But wait… What would I prove?
My valor or my cowardice?
What would I give the world?
Some smiles or some pain?
Is my life’s purpose served?
Or is it just in vain?
What would I leave behind?
A good fame… or a bad name!
I guess I still have a choice!
To choose guns or to choose roses…
To give the world pain or some smile doses…
To live or to die…
To stay for love or a painful goodbye!
I chose to live… I chose to fight…
Let the world know me;
As a warrior, as a knight!
If the world is a road of knife…
I choose to walk… I chose… life…
Last modified on 2012-11-19