Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Aug 02 : A video of a woman who committed suicide by jumping into river Jhelum is going viral on social media. Many similar videos of people ending their lives by jumping into the water bodies have alarmingly emerged on social media platforms for the last few days.
As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), last month, the valley recorded 43 drowning cases out of which more than a dozen were suicide attempts, said an official from State Disaster Response Force.
The valley is witnessing a steep rise in suicide cases, even as the experts and religious scholars call for identification and counselling of persons with mental ailments.
“This year so far there has been a number of drowning cases. As per the data available with us 40 such incidents occurred last month and out of them more than a dozen were suicide cases” he said.
Even the National Crime Record Bureau also highlights the spike in the suicide cases in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) report, Jammu and Kashmir accounted for about 30 percent of all suicides in India in 2022.
Suicide, an underlying mental health issue
Dr. Yasir Ahmad Rather Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, IMHANS, GMC Srinagar told KNO that 90 percent of suicide cases have underlying mental health issues.
He said if addressed the person can be prevented from taking such a drastic step.
“It (suicide) has symptoms and such persons mostly suffer from severe depression due to various reasons including financial issues, domestic violence, relationship failure or even academic pressure. Because of the mental illness, the person is not able to cope up with the stress and they take a life-ending step,” he said.
Dr Yasir claimed the increasing suicide rate depicted prevailing mental issues within the society.
Dr Yasir said the suicide case shows multiple warning signs before taking the life-ending step. “The person prefers to spend time in isolation, depressed with connection with society. His or her social media handles too show signs of his mental health,” he said.
Dr Yasir said one of the strong reason for recent spikes in suicide can be explained by copycat phenomenon.
“Someone who died because of suicide suddenly is all over news, their whereabouts, situations are discussed, which somewhere can trigger an imitative behaviour in a person who shares a similar situation. Those who are struggling with mental health issues may start having stronger suicidal ideations after listening or seeing reports of suicide,” he said.
Dr Yasir said the society particularly the parents and religious scholars can play an important role in combat increasing suicides.
“The religious scholars and leaders have a good influence on people. They can raise awareness and discuss such topics in the backdrop of religion. Similarly, parents and teachers too can counsel the children,” he said.
Parenting and mass awareness need of an hour
Kashmir’s grand mufti Nasir-ul-Islam said that parenting as well as raising mass awareness can prove beneficial in restricting such evils.
“Parenting is the most important aspect here. A parent has to check whether his son or daughter is going through any mental issues. They can sit together and resolve it. Parents have to develop a close connection with a child,” he said.
Mufti Nasir ul Islam said the mass awareness can equally restrict the cases of suicide in Kashmir.
“An awareness regarding the consequences of suicide also needs to be spread within the society. Such topics should be discussed so that every person gets educated and restrains from taking such a step even if his life is disturbed,” he said—(KNO)
