State of worry: 17 families in Gujarat committed suicide in 15 months
Updated: Sep 23rd, 2024
Eight members of a family in Rajkot attempted mass suicide on September 21 due to severe financial stress. The family was reportedly struggling with overwhelming bank loans and unfulfilled payments from business partners.
This incident is part of a disturbing trend in Gujarat. The state has reported 22 such mass suicide attempts — 17 which resulted in fatalities — in the past 15 months. Authorities cite economic hardship, growing financial inequality, social insecurities, and interest-ridden indebtedness as contributing factors in these tragedies.
Recent mass suicides in Gujarat have occurred in various locations, including Morbi, Vadodara, Surendranagar, Surat, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, and Botad. These incidents have involved families of different sizes and compositions, highlighting the widespread nature of the issue.
It is likely that these families are also still reeling from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A suicide every hour
Data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows a steady rise in reported suicides in Gujarat in the recent past — 8,050 in 2020, 8,789 the next year, and 9,022 in 2022.
To put that number in perspective, that’s a total of 25,841, or about 25 every day, or one person ending their own life every hour for three consecutive years.
The report also notes that 16,862 daily wage workers took the drastic step over six years, indicating a 50.44% rise in suicides in this demographic.
Recent cases
The past three years have seen several familial suicides, including
- A woman and her two daughters in Morbi’s Wankaner
- A man and his child in Vadodara’s Waghodia
- A couple and their daughter in Surendranagar’s Dudhrej
- A woman and her daughter in Surat’s Sarthana
- A couple and their son in Vadodara’s Kachiapol
- A man and his father in Disa
- A mother and her child in Junagadh’s Vanthali
- Brothers and sisters in Bhavnagar
- A woman and her two children in Surat’s Rander
- A man and his son in Ahmedabad’s Dholka
- A man, his parents and his three children in Surat
- A woman, her mother-in-law, and two children in Banaskantha
- A man and his three children in Botad’s Nintama
The increasing number of mass suicides in Gujarat reveals a disturbing social picture, raising concerns about the state's economic and social welfare policies.
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