Suicide rate in Indian armed forces has increased in IIOJK, India
Srinagar: Suicide attempts are on the rise in Indian army, Air Force, Navy and paramilitary forces in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and across India.
According to Kashmir Media Service the ratio reaches to 16.5 percent for every 100,000 soldiers in IIOJK and parts of India where armed forces are deployed to crush the popular voice of Kashmir demanding their right to self-determination.
During last five years alone, over 800 personnel ended their lives after being fed up with the behavior of senior officials. The trend of suicide in the Indian Army is increasing rapidly, as one suicide is being reported every third day.
According to details, from 2010 to 2019, 895 Indian Army personnel, 185 Indian Air Force personnel and 32 Indian Navy personnel committed suicide. An average of more than 100 suicides occur annually in IIOJK.
Since 2014, 983 suicide cases have been reported in the Indian Army, 96 in the Indian Navy and 246 in the Indian Air Force. Since 2001, more than 3,300 Indian soldiers have committed suicides.
In the last five years alone, more than 800 Indian armed forces’ personnel ended their lives after being fed up with the behavior of their superiors. On January 23, 2023, Col Khanna committed suicide by hanging himself with a fan.
On January 9, 2023, Lt Col Nishant committed suicide after shooting his wife in Ferozepur. Not just male, but Indian Army’s women officers are also forced to commit suicides. In 2006, Lt. Sushmita Chakraborty took her own life just 10 months after her recruitment.
She had said that her higher-ups used to force her to accompany them to late night dance parties and make illicit demands.
In October 2019, Lt Col Rashmi Mishra committed suicide by hanging herself with a dupatta in Pune, while in December 2016, Major Anita Kumari ended her life by shooting herself in the head in Jammu.
Due to the discriminatory behavior of the senior officers of the Indian armed forces, 47,000 personnel and officers have sought voluntary retirement or resigned.
