Rising suicides in Indian armed forces: One suicide every third day

Mumbai: The Indian armed forces are grappling with an alarming increase in suicides, with the current suicide rate reaching 16.5 per 100,000 soldiers, highlighting a serious mental health crisis within the military.

From 2010 to 2019, 895 personnel from the Indian Army, 185 from the Indian Air Force, and 32 from the Indian Navy took their own lives. This trend has continued, with 983 suicide cases reported in the Indian Army, 96 in the Navy, and 246 in the Air Force since 2014.

Jammu and Kashmir, a region known for its ongoing conflict, remains a hotspot for these tragedies, where over 100 suicides are reported annually.

Since 2001, more than 3,300 Indian soldiers have ended their lives, with over 800 soldiers committing suicide in the past five years alone, allegedly due to the mistreatment by their senior officers.

Tragic incidents from this year include the suicide of Colonel Khanna, who hung himself on January 23, 2023, and Lieutenant Colonel Nishant, who shot his wife before taking his own life in Ferozepur on January 9, 2023.

Surprisingly, the women officers are not exempt from this growing issue.

 In 2006, Lieutenant Sushmita Chakravarty took her own life just 10 months after enlisting, citing harassment by her superiors, who forced her to attend late-night parties and make unethical compromises.

Similarly, Lieutenant Colonel Rashmi Mishra ended her life by hanging herself in Pune in October 2019, while Major Anita Kumari shot herself in the head in Jammu in December 2016.

The culture of discrimination and pressure from higher-ranking officers contributed to a wave of resignations and voluntary retirements.

The reports suggested that 47,000 personnel and officers left the Indian armed forces due to such unfavorable conditions.