By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, July 5, 2020: The loss of human life in India has become a regular, common and a day-to-day affair. Untimely deaths of human beings, due to various reasons do not bother us much.

It is increasingly being recognized that health outcomes are a result not only of biological and individual risk factors but also of other factors like wealth, ethnic background, gender, education and so on. Inequalities in people’s access to information, decision-making and life opportunities contribute to their ill health and levels of well-being.

Political choices and social organization that distribute power and resources unequally across populations reproduce unequal health outcomes. Together, the structural determinants and conditions of daily life constitute the social determinants of health and are responsible for a major part of health inequities between and within countries.

India is a vast country with a population of 1.38 billion. China has 1.43 billion. If we accept the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates of suicide rates in the 194 Member States (based on data provided by those countries but adjusted, depending on ‘usability’ of the data), India and China account for 40 per cent or more of the 800,000 annual suicide deaths globally.

In India, unnatural deaths are reported to police, who then investigate and compile a First Information Report (FIR); this states the apparent cause of death, based on the collection of evidence and (where available) autopsy reports. FIRs are provided to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Thus, NCRB data are dependent on what the community reports. There is an incomplete medically certified cause of death system that covers only a small proportion of deaths in India and has variable coverage across the States.

It is generally agreed that the NCRB under-reports the frequency of suicide. A remarkable observation to be made about suicide studies in India is that suicide rates and patterns differ a lot between different States and territories. Possible explanations for these differences may point to factors relevant to the causation of suicide. (Indian Journal of Medical Research, October 2019).

Educational institutions impart knowledge to students, lay emphasis on their physical well-being and prepare them for social challenges. But unfortunately, many educational institutions and teachers are not yet fully equipped to understand the mental health issues of students. Psychological concerns in children are on the rise, especially behavioural issues and suicides. 12 per cent of Indian students between the age of 4 and 16 suffer from psychiatric disorders. 20 per cent show signs of mental disorders, out of which 2-5 per cent have serious concerns like autism or bi-polar disorder.

Shockingly, every hour, a student commits suicide in India. Children and young adults have complicated emotional eco-systems that are easily afflicted by behavioural, emotional, learning or mental disorders, including – depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, disruptive behaviour disorders, Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Environmental challenges lead to mental concerns as well: racial, sexual or religious discrimination, body-shaming, sexual challenges, emotional issues, low self-esteem or insecurities, family or financial problems, substance addiction, and even hormonal changes may play a part.

Dalits continue to face widespread atrocities across the country. If they make attempts at upward social mobility, they are violently put down. It is still common to see reports of Dalits being threatened, beaten and killed for seemingly mundane reasons. Most ‘honour killings’ reported in our newspapers are caste killings, or killings in the name of caste. Caste underpins marriage and anyone who challenges it faces torture and nasty, brutish violence, frequently resulting in death. If we collect data nationwide, we will find more people dying of “honour killings” than on the border or of an epidemic. (Deccan Chronicle June 22, 2020).

The economic impact of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in India has been largely disruptive. India’s growth in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020 went down to 3.1 percent according to the Ministry of Statistics. Already 35 percent of Indian population was living below poverty line. Now the percentage is on steep rise. Deprivation of basic necessities leads to untimely death of the economically backward people. More starvation deaths are predicted in the near future.

In India there is a strong nexus of politicians-rich people-bureaucracy-police-criminals. They are inter-dependent. They work together, involve in corrupt practices together, share the profit together and safeguard themselves from the law together. They instigate violence, riots, strikes, dharna, killing and destruction of public properties. The consequence of such incidences is untimely death of innocent people.

Moreover, the political leaders do not seem to have proper diplomatic relationships/ policies/strategies and strong will power to protect the life of every citizen.

India-China relationship has been good from 2014. Yet, look at the recent tragedies: Covid-19 originated from China. More than 6 lakh people in India have been found to be Covid-19 positive. The reported Covid-19 death toll has crossed 18000. Interestingly, many Chinese agencies have donated to PM Cares Fund – 300 million rupees by TikTok; 150 million rupees by Xiomi; 70 million by Huawei; 10 million each by Oppo and OnePlus. The spreader of the coronavirus donates fund to Covid-19 relief work. What an irony!

When a ‘war-like’ situation prevails at Galwan, we wonder how many more lives will be sacrificed in future. For the politicians, our soldiers are meant to die/sacrifice their lives to protect the country!! Nothing more! How many more deaths will occur? We do not know.

Another shocking move is: China is making ‘heavy financial investments’ in Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. All these countries (surrounding India) will now listen only to China. This will have negative impact on India. Will India be the loser in the long run?

During this week a video of a young homemaker living near Chennai went viral. She was found to be Covid-19 positive. Her husband and mother-in-law were picked up and taken to a quarantine centre. She was left alone and started starving. No one came to her rescue. She made these statements with tears: “Now I understand why people die in thousands in Chennai. The government does not care much for the people. The life of a common person has lost its value”.