I always used to think suicides were things that happened to unknown people somewhere far away in some place that I’d never heard of. But when I heard about two suicides on the same day, both of which were pretty close to home, I must admit, I was a little disturbed. It’s sad how nobody’s really at fault but everyone’s to blame.
We can never find out what actually drives a person to that final fatal step of their life. But what follows affects hundreds and thousands of other lives. Parents, teachers and friends might probably blame themselves as long as they live for this action of their loved one. So in this regard, am I really being harsh to say the victim was selfish and rash? With all due respect, let’s mourn the deceased and empathize with their families, but let’s not turn a blind eye to the deed itself.
The Indian system of education has a million and one flaws, there’s no doubting that. As a student, I completely understand the pressures of the academic world. It taxes students more than necessary with the fickle reward of marks. And there are another million and one reasons to condemn the system too; but incidents of students committing suicide are not one. In that case, all of us should be jumping off buildings and hanging ourselves.
It’s easy to point a finger at the system when an occurrence like this happens. Let’s try and look beyond the blinders politics has shoved upon us. Let’s face it, as Indians, victimized by the general flaws of the government, we’d jump at any and every opportunity we get to blame the methodologies of the country.
Our parents survived the same academic stress, and their parents did too. So maybe competition is a little fiercer today, but SO WHAT? The fact remains that today’s kids are just not cut out to face stress it seems! We all should be given a lesson in how to help people mentally weaker than us become strong enough to face the world with its wide range of issues instead of conveniently ladling on the blame to the bigger picture and taking the so-called easy way out.
Although we Indian students have to bear the brunt of mainly theory-based studies and the hassle of running behind marks unlike the West where academics is more practical and less pressurizing, I think I still prefer our system to theirs, much to the surprise of my peers. Contrary to popular belief, the life of a middle class Indian man is several notches above that of a middle class American. In the States, the only people who lead a normal comfortable life are the stupendously rich and super well educated doctors and lawyers. The average American man bends under worse conditions of society than the Indian man.
Also contrary to popular belief, a child educated by the Indian System is much smarter and a more brilliant performer in the long run as compared to a child who has studied the International syllabus. The constant mugging not only improves the memory power of a kid but enables him to be a more efficient worker that doesn’t have to rely entirely on technology. American kids are educationally spoilt to the point that they need a calculator to multiply eight by twelve!
Student suicide is not a single dimensional occurrence with one simple reason of academic stress behind it. There are so many other facets to the deed, most of which are much more severe and overbearing than studies pressure. It could be broken families, health issues or even monetary problems. Let’s try and go beyond the blind belief that only the Indian system of education is to blame at times like these.
In fact, if academic stress was the sole factor in taking away young lives by their own choice, no kid from the West should ever kill himself. However, according to Wikipedia statistics, America and Canada rank higher in student suicide rates than India. Another survey by Kevin Caruso declared that the highest suicide rate of youths aged 15-19 was in South India. When I read the fine print however, these deaths were pawned off due to causes like untreated mental illness, domestic violence or conflicts over dowries, NOT ACADEMICS.
I’m sure all of you felt that sickening lurch in your stomach when you watched the character from the recent movie 3 Idiots, Joy Lobo, hang from a ceiling fan after his science project was not accepted. Do you really think that his suicide was justified? Was it right to take his life because of such a failure? We all were so busy laughing at the antics and quirks of Aamir Khan that we overlooked some of these obvious raw facts in his movie. And no, I don’t mean his portrayal of the flaws of our system; any fool could see that; I mean his incorrect portrayal of the same. Also, it should be noted that Aamir’s character in the movie was an exception. The people who surrounded him were the rule. No one is THAT perfect after all, and one needn’t be to lead a successful and satisfying life.
Looking at it from a spiritual point of view, a majority of the religions of the world emphasize this fact – You were put on this Earth to worship your Lord. Everything else like studying, getting a job, getting married, making money, EVERYTHING else is secondary. No matter how horrible your problems are, and no matter how unbeatable your obstacles may seem, you have no right to take your own life nor anyone else’s away. It’s as good as announcing that you’d rather take death and face God’s punishment instead of facing the world, making your way through, and living to tell the tale and glorify your Maker’s name.
Isn’t that why an attempt at suicide is an offence punishable by the Indian Law in the first place? Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code reads thus: “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both.”
I have always been a different thinker. People have laughed at me innumerable times because I almost never react the same way to anything as the rest of the world might. Our society sympathizes with those who have hinted at attempting suicide or survived attempts of the same. I say instead, they should be given a sound spanking after they recover from the shock. I have learnt the hard way that the more you show them that you feel sorry for their situation, the more they are convinced that they are the victims and that they’re justified in their actions.
Instead make them feel guilty about what they have done or are thinking of doing and show them that no matter how bad it is, IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. Show them that the simple joys of life are still worth living for. Make them see that their life is measured by their smiles, not their tears. Help them realize the futility of their thoughts and actions. It just might help them change their minds.
Let my thoughts and words not lead to assumptions and label me as heartless. Nor let them blemish the memories of those we have lost or insult their survivors. But instead, let them be guidance to others who have strayed and help in bringing them back. Let them help open society’s eyes and be a small step forward in solving and preventing the problem and terminating the blame game for good.
