ABSTRACT

In India about 123,000 people take their own lives each year, the second highest total in the world. There is a suicide death in India almost every 4 minutes, and it is the leading cause of death for rural Indians especially women in early adulthood. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of suicide in India based on original research as well as existing studies, and looks at the issue in an international, sociological and historical context.

The author looks at the reliability of suicide data in India, and goes on to discuss various factors relating to suicide, including age, gender, education and marriage. Among its findings, the book exposes a hidden youth suicide ‘crisis’ in India which is argued to be far more serious than the better known crisis of farmer suicides. The book dispels many myths that are commonly associated with suicide, and highlights a neglected public health problem. Suicide in the region of Pondicherry is looked at in detail, as well as in the Indian Diaspora. This book is a useful contribution to South Asian Studies, as well as studies in Mental Health and Sociology.

part |2 pages

Part I

chapter 1|24 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|18 pages

Previous studies of suicide in India

chapter 3|17 pages

The reliability of Indian suicide data

chapter 4|15 pages

The aetiology of suicide in India

chapter 5|8 pages

The methods of suicide

chapter 6|14 pages

Trends in suicide in India

part |2 pages

Part II

chapter 7|7 pages

Gender and suicide

chapter 8|17 pages

Age and suicide

chapter 9|13 pages

Urbanisation and suicide

chapter 10|8 pages

Education and suicide

chapter 11|17 pages

Occupation and suicide

chapter 12|10 pages

Marriage, the family and suicide

chapter 13|13 pages

Alcohol and suicide

chapter 14|13 pages

Suicide in the Indian diaspora

chapter 15|10 pages

Suicide in Pondicherry

chapter 16|15 pages

Conclusion