As many as 1.31 lakh people committed suicide in India during 2014 with Maharashtra topping the list of States with the highest number of such cases and Chennai gaining this dubious distinction among cities.
According to data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 21.7 per cent of the suicides were due to family problems and 18 per cent due to illness. Failure in exams was the main reason for suicide by students. In 2013, there were 1.34 lakh suicides.
In 2014 as many as 5,650 farmers committed suicide out of which 21 per cent ended their lives due to bankruptcy and 20 per cent due to family problems. According to the data, 17.2 per cent of the suicides were due to farm-related issues and 16.8 per cent due to crop failures.
In the armed forces, 175 people committed suicide in 2014, out of which 25 per cent deaths were related to marriage problems while 10.3 per cent were due to other family issues. Shockingly, 8.6 per cent suicides in the armed forces are attributed to service-related problems and similar numbers due to mental stress.
According to the NCRB’s data, of the total 1.31 lakh suicides, the male-female ratio is 68:32, while the ratio of boys-girls is 51:49. The data also revealed that as many as 69.7 per cent of those who committed suicide had an annual income of less than Rs1 lakh, while one out of every six people who took the extreme step last year was a housewife.
Maharashtra saw 16,307 suicide cases in 2014 followed by Tamil Nadu (16,122) and West Bengal (14,310), the data said. Among the mega cities, which have a population of over 10 lakh, Chennai reported the highest number of suicides with 2,214 deaths followed by Bengaluru (1,906), Delhi (1,847), Mumbai (1,196) and Bhopal (1,064).
It said that ‘family problems’ (other than those linked to marriage) contributed to 21.7 per cent of the suicides while illness related-issues were behind suicides in 18 per cent of the total cases reported last year. The highest cases of suicide, 19.7 per cent, was seen among the self-employed with housewives accounting for 15.3 per cent of the total deaths, daily wagers 12 per cent, salaried people 7.4 per cent, students 6.1 per cent and retired people 0.7 per cent.
As many as 69.7 per cent of those who ended their life had an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh while 26.9 per cent had an annual income of between Rs 1 to Rs 5 lakh, the report said.
Talking about patterns, 41.8 per cent people committed suicide by hanging, 26 per cent by taking poison, 6.9 per cent by self-immolation, 5.6 per cent by drowning themselves and 1.1 per cent by jumping off buildings or in front of trains.
While 20.2 per cent were matriculate, 19 per cent were primary school pass-outs. Also, 14.3 per cent people who committed suicide last year were illiterate with another 11 per cent were intermediate pass-outs, the report added.