Smear, Shame, Silence | Kerala’s suicide epidemic among public workers

False allegations and public ridicule are claiming lives in a system that offers no protection.

In Indian politics, thick skin is a survival trait. Politicians thrive on insult and counter-attack. But ordinary public servants — ward members, policemen, doctors, administrators — cannot fight back. Bound by service rules and dependent on self-respect, they collapse when humiliated. Kerala, despite its reputation for political literacy, has seen a disturbing pattern of suicides where humiliation, not proven guilt, was the trigger.

India recorded 1,70,924 suicides in 2022, the highest ever, with a rate of 12.4 per lakh. Among them, Kerala’s public servants stand out as victims of a culture where attacks carry no legal standing, but immense social weight.

Tragedies of humiliation

Sreeja, 48, won Ward 5 of Kodiyathur, Malappuram, by a landslide — 838 votes to 246 against the CPI(M) candidate. Throughout her tenure, she was mocked in posters and targeted by online troll factories that mocked her financial difficulties. No legal case, no inquiry — just relentless ridicule. Unable to withstand it, she took her own life, leaving a suicide note.

In October, Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu was publicly accused of bribery by a CPI(M) leader at his farewell function. The allegation had no evidence but was amplified by the media. The next day, he was dead. A 400-page chargesheet later named the politician for abetment to suicide.

Doctors punished for honesty

Doctors have faced similar humiliation. Dr Haris Chirakkal, Head of Urology at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, revealed shortages that delayed surgeries. Instead of reform, he was attacked and ridiculed in an orchestrated manner, later admitting to seeking medical help for stress and mental trauma.

Senior nephrologist Dr M K Mohandas raised concerns over organ donation irregularities. The response was a gag order, forbidding doctors from speaking. Both doctors spoke the truth, but were humiliated into silence, the online spaces clearly indicating what awaits them if they dare to bring inefficiencies and corruption to light.

A suicide epidemic in uniform

Between 2016 and 2024, 138 policemen in Kerala died by suicide. Commando Vineeth shot himself in Wayanad after alleged harassment. ASI Sreekumar of Malappuram ended his life after punitive transfers, with his diary disappearing. Civil Police Officer Ramesh Babu jumped before a train in Thrissur.

Even worse, officers probing corruption against powerful politicians have been suddenly hit with false sexual harassment or rape cases. These cases later collapse in court, but reputations are destroyed. The investigating officers perpetually live in fear of the damage that the politician-led media groups can do to their families.

In March, a young IB officer in Kochi died by suicide after receiving demeaning messages from a colleague, including the taunt ‘When will you die?’ The Kerala High Court denied the accused anticipatory bail. Even in elite institutions, humiliation is lethal.

Politics of shame

In addition to public servants, ordinary people are also ‘forced’ to take the extreme step, often when they run into poorly-run, inept government services.

In Anthallur, an entrepreneur ended his life after local municipal authorities humiliatingly blocked permissions. Shockingly, his widow was later cyber-lynched, showing how paid troll networks continue the humiliation even after death. The involvement of very senior politicians in this matter made it evident that such a strategy is well thought out and cruelly implemented.

Humiliation also drives suicides in finance. Kerala Bank, the government-owned co-operative set up to serve the poor, has been linked to suicides due to coercive recovery tactics. Notices and threats publicly embarrass defaulters, pushing families to despair. Publicly shaming, ridiculing financial vulnerability towards coercing repayment is one of the most inhuman approaches.

Helplessness in an unfair system

In all the above cases, the smear campaigns had no legal merit. No corruption proved against Babu, no inquiry against Sreeja, no misconduct by doctors, no substantiated harassment cases against the policemen, and no humane consideration for the vulnerable citizens. Yet planned humiliation destroyed them. Victims were silenced by service rules and stripped of their dignity, left helpless before a system that felt unfair and stacked against them. False narratives trot half the globe before truth gets its shoes on!

Scientific insights into humiliation and suicide

Psychology ranks humiliation among the most severe human traumas, often worse than physical pain. French sociologist Émile Durkheim’s ‘fatalistic’ suicides occur when individuals feel trapped, and ‘egoistic’ suicides when isolation drives despair. The tragedies discussed above fit both. WHO’s 2023 suicide-prevention guidelines stress protection of dignity, responsible media conduct, and grievance systems — areas India has neglected.

The response must be systemic. Independent grievance redress for officers, doctors, among others is essential. Political smear campaigns, especially fabricated harassment or sexual charges (even without a complaint being lodged), must attract legal penalties. Police and civil services need embedded counselling. Bank recovery must stop relying on public shaming. Media must be held to ethics, so that narratives without evidence are not amplified.

Above all, dignity must be recognised as the fulcrum of public service. Politicians may survive on thick skin, but ordinary servants survive on self-respect. When that is stripped away, death often follows.

Democracy’s silent deaths

Sreeja, Naveen Babu, Haris and Mohandas, Vineeth and Sreekumar, the Anthallur entrepreneur, and Kerala Bank’s distressed customers are not isolated misfortunes. They are systemic outcomes of a culture that treats humiliation as a political tool and bureaucratic weapon.

Democracy does not always die with coups. It dies silently, one suicide at a time, when those who serve it are shamed beyond endurance. Unless we respond with compassion, accountability, and scientific prevention, the toll will continue to rise. Humiliating and cyber-lynching individuals is not a legitimate tool in public discourse.

(Prasanth Nair is a civil servant and author. X: @PrasanthIAS.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.