Withered flowers of spring

A fresh report, ‘Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India’—launched at the 2024 edition of International Career & College Counselling (IC3) Conference—brings forth the grim situation of persistently increasing student suicides in the country. Based on data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2022, the report reveals that the incidents of student suicides had been growing at an alarming rate of 4 per cent annually, double the national average increase in overall suicides. This sharp rise outpaced even the growth rate of India's student population: while the population of 0-24-year-olds reduced from 582 million to 581 million, the number of student suicides increased from 6,654 to 13,044.

The unnatural deaths of students buckling under career, familial, and socio-economic pressures carry a grave humanitarian aspect that cannot be ignored. At the same time, these harrowing incidents are likely to deal a decisive blow to India’s prospects of harnessing its world-famous demographic dividend. The rising cases of students’ suicides are an indication of the broader wastage of unbound potential India holds in the form of youth population. Above everything, it is the death of the youth culture, typically characterised by a free flow of aspirations and quintessential innocence, that should disturb us.

In the age of blossoming and blooming, the tenderness of youth is being put under considerable strain—to a point where it falls apart. The reasons behind this grim situation are neither incomprehensible nor incurable. From parents to educators and the government—all have failed to take the initiatives that are widely articulated in the public discourses. We are, in a way, letting the ground slip beneath our feet, preferring to act blind to the reality that is so evident. Youth is a synonym for boundless energy. To enable it to capitalise on its potential, a certain degree of freedom is required—the freedom to think independently, take decisions without constraints, and avail opportunities to prove their decisions right. The absence of such essential elements of education and success in the lives of a large number of students in India is a thing that should worry us. Students’ lives are mostly dictated—not only by parents and teachers, but also by an intangible pattern of perceived success in society. This dictating pattern is not concretely documented but remains omnipresent. Students are under constant pressure to perform well in school. Well-performing students are expected, and even made feel obliged to take certain high-brand careers in sciences—irrespective of their aptitude and interests. Then again, on that path forward, there are famous cities and coaching institutes they must make a rush to. For students from lower socio-economic status, this rush comes at a great financial cost and remarkable sacrifices on the part of the family. Now, they must cross the line that would land them in a job commensurate with the expectations, failing which everything would fall apart. And, in many cases, before facing the horror of witnessing ‘everything fall apart’, the students, who could have become gems of brilliance, decide to quit the business of life. A career path that is driven by the fear of failure at each point in time, rather than a positive aspiration for success, is frightening and counterproductive.

The change begins at home. Parents must wake up to the realisation that they cannot impose their own failures and fears on children’s life. Human mind needs freedom, and not fear, to excel. Aspiration, and not ambition, should be the guiding light. A lot is due on the part of the government that doesn’t tire of highlighting the demographic dividend of India. In the first place, ample opportunities need to be created for India’s vast population. The murky state of unemployment, however, tells a different story. Functioning of coaching institutes should be appropriately regulated. Counselling facilities should be readily available to students. Overall, there should be an ambience free from unwarranted pressure for the students to excel in their ‘truly chosen’ fields. Let the flowers bloom when it is spring.