Pandemic year 2020 saw 10% rise in suicides in India: NCRB report

The year 2020, when the COVID pandemic hit the globe, was tough for many and saw a 10 per cent rise in suicides in India, mostly by daily wage-earners, the self-employed and housewives.

Delhi topped among 53 megacities as it saw a huge 24 per cent surge in suicides, most of which were a result of family problems and illness. The Capital was followed by Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

The above was observed from latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It shows that as many as 1,53,052 suicides were reported in the country during 2020, an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year. Also, the suicide rate went up by 8.7 per cent during 2020 over 2019.

“Of total 1,085,32 male suicides, maximum suicides were committed by daily wage earners (33,164) followed by self-employed persons (15,990) and unemployed persons (12,893),” the NCRB report says. “A total of 44,498 females committed suicides during 2020 in the country. Of females who committed suicides, the highest number (22,372) was of housewives followed by students (5,559) and daily wage earners (4,493).”

Among the megacities, Delhi (3,025), Chennai (2,430), Bengaluru (2,196) and Mumbai (1,282) reported a higher suicide rate, and together saw almost 37.4 per cent of total suicide cases reported from 53 megacities. Delhi recorded a rise of 24.8 per cent (from 2,423 suicides to 3,025), Bengaluru 5.5 per cent (from 2,081 suicides to 2,196) and Mumbai 4.3 per cent (from 1,229 suicides to 1,282). Chennai showed a slight decline in 2020 over 2019.

According to the report, a total of 10,677 people involved in the farming sector (consisting of 5,579 farmers/cultivators and 5,098 agricultural labourers) ended their lives in 2020, accounting for 7 per cent of total suicides (1,53,052) in India. Of 5,579 farmer/cultivator suicides, 5,335 were male and 244 were female.

“Family problems” and “illness” were the major causes of suicides, accounting for 33.6 per cent and 18 per cent of total cases in 2020. “Drug abuse/addiction” (6 per cent), “marriage-related issues” (5 per cent), “love affairs” (4.4 per cent), “bankruptcy or indebtedness” (3.4 per cent) were other major factors.

A total of 121 cases of mass/family suicides were registered in 2020, in which 272 people, comprising 148 married persons and 124 unmarried persons, lost their lives. The maximum cases of mass/family suicides were reported in Tamil Nadu (22).

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