Trends of suicides in north eastern rural Haryana: A retrospective study.

ABSTRACT

Suicide patterns and rates differ in various populations and cultures. It is known that in most countries that have been studied, more than 90 percent of those who commit suicide have a mental disorder. This behavior, although often triggered by external factors, occurs in vulnerable individuals who have a neurobiological and often familial predisposition. Suicides in rural India are attributed mostly to crushing financial pressures on farmers. Indebtedness, crop failure and the inability to pay back loans due to high rates of interest have led as many as 25,000 peasants in India to commit suicide since the 1990s, according to official figures. The present study was designed to investigate the different methods of self-destruction, age and gender susceptibility to suicide, the groups particularly affected and the underlying motivating factors for such an extreme step among rural North Eastern Haryana people. Various suggestions relating to decreasing the tensions of modern life, proper use and storage of agrochemicals and financial improvement of farmers have been put forward.