HYDERABAD: Indian women under the age group 15-25 are twice likely to commit suicide as compared to their male counterparts, and are six times more likely to commit suicide in comparison to the global average, pointed out Dr Vikram Patel, noted psychiatrist and Principal Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Citing examples of Rohith Vemula and Dr Payal Tadvi, he also noted that more developed states are witnessing the highest concentration of suicides among youth.
Speaking at the Foundation Day lecture for the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology on Tuesday, Dr Patel spoke about the rise of suicide in young adults in India, especially in southern Indian states, and why the numbers are only increasing because of lack of policy and social change.
Broaching the topic about unfortunate incident wherein 22 Inter students committed suicide due to a goof-up in the marking process, he opined, “It is always easier to find the immediate trigger and blame them. While the goof-up in policy may have been a trigger, there were thousands of other students who did not resort to suicide. Which means, they could have been affected by multiple triggers that need to be addressed at large.”