Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)
Bengaluru, Sep 13: Karnataka state has the highest number of suicides according to a research that was done to assess the trends of self-killing in the country.
Karnataka is closely followed by Tripura in the suicide rates per one lac people. While Karnataka recorded an average of 30.7 suicides per one lac population in 2016, Tripura's average stood at 30.3. The neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recorded 29.8, 25.0 and 22.4 respectively while West Bengal had a suicide rate of 23.6.
The study says that the suicide incidents among women have reduced in the past quarter-century. In total, 2,30,300 people committed suicide in India in the year 2016 as against 1,64,400 in 1990. In the case of Karnataka, the rate for men is 36 for one lac and women is 23.5.
According to the research company, it is not possible for most states of the country to achieve the suicide reduction target of United Nations. The target of UN is to reduce the suicides by one-third by the year 2030 from the data available for the year 2015.
Indian men constitute 24% of suicides committed by men worldwide. While, for women of our country, percentage of suicides is 37% of the total women suicides of the world. The states of West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Tripura stand next to Greenland, Lesotho and Uganda, the top three countries of the world with regards to the self-killing by women.
The survey says that the age group of 15 to 39 years is the most vulnerable for suicides and constituted 63% of all suicides in the country for the year 2016. The crucial age for girls is found to be between 15 and 19 years. A suicide prevention plan is the need of the hour in our country reports the survey.
The average for Indian women suicides is more than twice the rate for that of the world. While 15 women commit suicides for every lac of women in India, the world average is only seven. For Indian men the corresponding numbers are 21 per lac against the international average of 16.
Among women, married ones account for the highest number of suicidal deaths in India. The reasons for this as per the study are early and arranged marriage, young motherhood, low social status, domestic violence and economic dependence.
Balram Bhargava, director general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) says, "Emphasis should be given to understand and prevent the causes for the ten-fold variation between the states with regards to suicides committed by women so that the loss of mostly young lives can be avoided."
This study is among a set of five research documents on the trend observed in India on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and respiratory illness, the four non-communicable diseases coupled with suicides for the past 25 years. All together these comprise for the highest number of deaths in India.