A few weeks ago, I got a text from my friend saying that a guy, who had been my classmate during high school, had committed suicide. I seriously thought that this friend was playing a prank on me. Later I discovered the truth. He did commit suicide. I had always seen this guy to be one with great self-esteem and self-confidence. Then why out of nowhere should he take this decision. That was all people spoke for a couple of months. Everyone had only one question. The same question, to be exact. Why?
Now thinking about this issue of suicide, I did a little research and the results I got were too shocking. Statistics show that every five minutes, someone, somewhere in India, attempts suicide. This makes suicide the third major cause of death. Also, annually more than 1,00,000 people commit suicide in India, of which one-thirds are youth. Diverse backgrounds, diverse goals and diverse opinions! But same decision!
Today, the youth in India form one of the most vulnerable groups, who on the one hand are expected to be the leaders, the backbone of tomorrow’s India, while on the other hand, are a browbeaten and baffled cluster. There is an imbalance between the youth population and the limited opportunities for admission in schools and colleges, and specifically in professional courses. This puts the youth under great pressure. First class and second class are hardly adequate results anymore. Parents are helpless too, as both public and private institutions have caused economic burden to them. If you think getting admission is the toughest thing that youth can ever experience, rethink! Placements are another hell. You need to get everything right. And even after getting placed, the comparison in relation to the pay received, causes all the more pain. A person with the pleasure of working but with limited salary is certainly not welcome in this society. People have come to a point where they are ready to trade their work pleasure for money. Tough deadlines and hectic work atmosphere have taken the lives of many youth.
Friendships and relationships have also played equal parts in this gamble for life. Youth are too sensitive to sort any sort of relationship problem. The problem may be anything; Fight with best friends, bitter misunderstanding with girlfriend/ boyfriend followed by an even bitter break-up, family issues with parents fighting over their lives or over financial issues. But the youth are greatly affected. They bundle up all these grievances in their hearts and eventually give their hearts a complete rest so they will never have to face the same, again.
I am blaming all. There are plenty of youth who have followed their heart to be what they wanted to be. But the fact that this suicide virus is taking away the lives of millions of youth is alarming. Something has to be done to cripple it. In battle between the thirst to have their dream life and the urge to fulfill the expectation of the society, many are shattered. While a very few regain their stand, the rest take the ultimate decision of ending their lives.
When they have the guts to face the pain of ending their lives for one moment, why aren’t they having the same guts for a moment longer to face the battle? If a person is disturbed, all that has to be done is just talk. Words can do wonders, even help see beyond the mist. And you will never know what marvels are awaiting you!
You start a book, feeling damn bored. Then you get into the heart and soul of it, too absorbed that you have no idea what is going on around you. Hunger and sleep will not even be the matter of concern. The only thing that matters will be to know if the last page of the book rips your heart or heals your scars. Most impossible task will be the one where you had to close your book without getting to run a study-marathon. That’s not all! Days and nights run too fast. You start reading a book and once you decide to stop reading, you notice 3 hours have gone. There are times when you start reading a novel to make your travel less-boring but eventually realize you have missed your stop (Again!!), yet feel clandestinely pleased cause you can have a couple of more time to read during your journey in reverse direction.