Suicides in India: Married, poor among the majority

What is common between married people and those with an income less than Rs one lakh? Sadly, they account for the highest share of suicides – around 70% – in the country.

India witnessed 1.31 lakh suicides in 2016, down from 1.33 lakh in 2015 with family problems and illness together accounting for 46.3%. Of this, 68.4% of the men who committed suicide were married while women accounted for 64.4%.

According to the Accident Deaths and Suicides in India 2016 report, 67.1% or 87,944 people who committed suicide were married persons. Of this, 27,030 were women while 60,914 were men.

Unmarried people accounted for 28,558 people (21.8%), including 10,185 women while widowed or widower accounted for 2,342 suicides.

Of the 14 transgenders who committed suicide, 12 were unmarried while one was separated and the status of the remaining one was not known.

Among the states, Maharashtra has the highest number of 13,128 married people committing suicide followed by Tamil Nadu (10,999), West Bengal (7,437), Madhya Pradesh (73,16) and Karnataka (7,136).

When it comes to economic profile, 70.8% or 92,732 people who committed suicide had an income less than Rs one lakh. Among them, 31,836 were women.

Maharashtra had the highest number of such people with 12,017 followed by Tamil Nadu (11,432), West Bengal (10,406), Karnataka (7,767) and Madhya Pradesh (7,125).

The number of people who committed suicide with an income above Rs 10 lakh was 1,108 while 33,254 had an income between Rs one lakh and Rs five lakh. The report said 3,914 people with income between Rs five lakh and Rs ten lakh also took their own lives.

SUICIDE VICTIMS - Education Profile

No Education -- 18,027

Up to Class 5 -- 24,010

Between Class 5 and Class 8 -- 26,288

Between Class 8 and Class 10 -- 29,582

Between Class 10 and Class 12 -- 16,738

Diploma/ITI -- 1462

Graduate and above -- 4,027

Professionals -- 293

Status Not Known -- 10,581

TOTAL -- 1,31,008