Breaking the silence around suicide could save many more lives than we imagine
The cause of death of a 74-year-old senior bureaucrat who served as a commissioner in the Goa administration in the late 90s has left his friends and those who knew him stunned. The brilliant officer, who rose to become chief secretary of a state, died by suicide on Tuesday. He was credited with executing several projects in Delhi ahead of the Commonwealth Games. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, he was living alone in a flat in Noida and had health issues.
Such cases are not uncommon. His death underlines a stark reality: professional accomplishment and material comfort offer no immunity against the severe toll of chronic illness, clinical depression and isolation. Deaths by suicide among lonely senior citizens are an increasingly prevalent public health issue in the country. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that elderly individuals account for a noticeable share of total suicides.
Experts say there are many pointers one can observe in the individual’s daily routine. These include a lack of interest in lifelong hobbies, routine reading, etc, disregard of medical advice, skipping medication, poor hygiene, ceasing communication and avoiding visits from family and friends, preferring loneliness. Repeated remarks like “I am a burden on the family” cannot be ignored.
This bureaucrat died on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day. This year marks the third and final year of the triennial theme for World Suicide Prevention Day – Changing the Narrative on Suicide, with the call to action: Start the Conversation. It means shifting from silence to openness and support, creating an environment where people feel free to speak up and seek help. Each year on September 10, the Day focuses global attention on suicide prevention, bringing together communities and government agencies with a strong emphasis that suicides are preventable. Suicide is a major public health challenge, claiming the lives of more than 7.2 lakh people every year worldwide. Changing the narrative also means driving systemic change, with calls for suicide prevention and mental health to be a priority in public policy and governance.
Several countries, including India, have taken proactive steps to prevent people from dying by suicide. As in many countries, talking about suicide was a taboo in Japan. In 2006, as suicide cases were increasing, a campaign was launched and more than one lakh signatures were submitted to the government for the enactment of a legislation. The Basic Act on Suicide Countermeasures, enacted the same year, marked a shift in perception, as suicide came to be recognised as a social issue, not just an individual problem. The Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Centre offers a range of training programmes for lay people, NGOs, as well as suicide prevention professionals. Uruguay is among the countries in the Americas with the highest suicide rates. It took several steps to prevent suicides and today stands out as a regional and global leader in real-time surveillance of suicide attempts, offering a compelling model for other countries seeking data-driven public health approaches to suicide prevention. India is actively addressing mental health and working to lower suicide rates through a comprehensive public health framework, anchored by the National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NSPS), launched in 2022. The government’s Tele-MANAS has been active.
In our own state, data shows that deaths by suicide are as many as those killed in road accidents – something which no state can ignore. Some organisations are active in the field of suicide prevention. Goa needs to create an ecosystem on a top-priority basis, with the help of experts, to prevent suicides in the state.
