Suicides in Kashmir

Sham Sun Nisa

“Those who believe and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of
Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”
(Al-Qur’an 13:28)

“Suicides in Kashmir” is the topic of my research. Watching the tumult which has
been set in motion by unceasing cycle of suicides, I regard it my responsibility to
speak up and share my knowledge with the general masses. May be my utterances
make some difference. The process of research in this direction must continue and the
knowledge so gained should guide the policy makers to design an effective policy for
containing the occurrence of suicide.
Everybody has a natural zest for life and everyone has a desire to live for ever. So
why should a person be so callous as to commit suicide? My humble endeavours in
this direction show that a situation might arise when a person, under emotional stress
or to escape unbearable incidents, may be tempted to put an end to his life, even
knowing that he’d never get this chance (of enjoying life) again. Frankly speaking I
am not sure whether a person takes the decision or he just takes the plunge. Despite
painstaking study I couldn’t come to the conclusion whether it is a sudden reaction or
a well planned effort.
Suicidal behaviour has numerous and complex causes. The biology of the brain,
genetics, psychological traits, and social forces all can contribute to suicide. The
majority of people who kill themselves suffer from extreme depression that is often
undiagnosed and untreated.
Mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders
may also contribute to suicidal behaviour.
Suicides in Kashmir:-
Of late the suicide rate in Kashmir has increased manifold. The exact causes are
difficult to trace as they are not same in every instance. But if I were asked to pinpoint
one single cause, which, notwithstanding other causes, has caused this spurt, I’d
attribute it to the role conflict. A conflict between tradition and modernity rather post
modernity: on the one hand technology and the flow of modern means of
communication brought about a tremendous change in the lifestyles of people but the
same was not matched by a corresponding change in the thinking of people. Besides a
certain portion of population has not been assailed by the modern technology as such
a lag in thoughts has been developed. A large chunk of youth has also come under the
sway of such tradition loving oldies and a queer type of chaos permeated the society.
That in sociological terminology is referred as cultural lag. In simple words people are
expected to live a certain type of life, but the environment is not conducive for that.
There is incoherence between the thoughts of people and the external environment.
The result is frustration and chaos and an atmosphere conducive for suicides.
Kashmir is presently passing through a difficult period. People are subject to
troubles and tribulations. Human rights are frequently violated and people, who were
hitherto peace-loving and had never experienced any violence, are subjected to arson,
torture and are facing deep anguish. The trust and hope among people is fast fading
away.
The Kashmiris have suddenly got exposed to a different environment, which is
completely incompatible with the mind set which they, over the centuries, had
developed. This abnormality has disturbed the emotional stability of the inhabitants of
this valley. As a consequence the social fabric is getting weakened. These dejected
people have lost the hand-hold to which they would, ordinarily, hold to. Now a slight
provocation is enough to lead these people to suicide. Provocations for suicide are
present in abundance but the element of consolation that would dissuade people from
taking such a plunge, are lacking.
On the face of it, the reasons behind the suicide might be diverse, but the present
turmoil has acted as a catalyst as is evident from the increasing number of suicides
since the turmoil erupted. People have lost their dear ones and in some cases the
families lost their only bread winners and some people lost their business too. All this
has told upon the psyche of the people in different measures and they have felt
desperation and become emotionally disturbed, consequently the suicidal tendencies
among the Kashmiri have gone up. Unemployment, which is the corollary of the
present turmoil, has also acted as a promoter of suicide. Unemployment not only
makes a person economically deprived, but lack of activity makes their minds dull
and depressed rendering them unable to make sound decisions. The economic
condition of a number of families deteriorated which made life difficult for them, and
indirectly provided an impetus to suicide.
Underlying causes/remedies:-
Durkheim, a distinguished sociologist made first study on “suicides”. The gist
of his findings, in simple words, is that people commit suicide because the society
fails to provide them the necessary support/succor. According to him, society has a
collective conscience (which is sum total of the conscience of the whole of the
population of the society). Durkheim believes that when the collective conscience of
the society weakens, the bond of the people with the collective conscience of the
society also gets weakened, which drives people to suicide. In simple terms people
have a certain support in a balanced society and when the balance of the society is
lost, the suicide rate increases.
Are we to infer from it that the Kashmiri society has lost the balance and so more
and more suicides are taking place? And if this proposition be true, in what way has
our society gone out of balance? Deception, selfishness, arrogance, greed and other
such vices, create imbalance in the society that, in turn creates chaos, making the
society unstable. The cohesive bond between the people get weakened everyone feels
to be a separate being, a forlorn person. There is less inducement for life. Naturally a
slight provocation drives a person to suicide.
I think our society too has lost the balance and before elucidating my point I shall
again rely on Durkheim’s theory of religion in which he says that people in reality
worships society in various forms.
Durkheim regards the real cause of suicides as the snapping of bonds of a person
with the society. Conversely, the cause of all the frustrations, whether they might lead
to suicide or not, is loosening of the bond of a person with the society. But as he was
an atheist he missed the real point. He mistakenly regarded the society as the real
succor of a person but history doesn’t support his views. Looking through tainted
glasses, Durkheim could not see the reality. In reality it is the bond between a man
and his Lord which keeps his mind balanced and saves him from extreme distractions.
It was his bias which made him to say that it is the bond between the man and the
society which diffracts him from committing suicide.
It has been seen that religious people are more tolerant in the face of adversity and
face life boldly and the rate of suicide among them is meager. And Muslims on the
whole are less susceptible to suicides as it is intensely abhorred in Islam. “A study
conducted by The World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for 2005 shows the
rate of suicides in Muslim world is 0.1 to 0.2 per 100,000. The low rate of suicides is
attributed to strong religious beliefs in these societies. But, in Kashmir, a
(predominantly) Muslim state, the rate is 15.20 per 100, 000 per year.” (GK 24 June
2007.)
What can be the reason for Muslims for being less prone to suicide? Saying
from the Islamic point of view, the faith (E’man) of a person demands that the faithful
should realize the insignificance of this worldly life. The life of this world is but a
trial and the world is not a place to seek happiness. Here one has to struggle and reap
the fruits in the hereafter. The mindset of a Muslim is Akhira oriented. All his
existence and thoughts revolve round that. It is because of this conviction that suicides
are rare among the Muslims.
The people, who regard this world as the only opportunity of achieving happiness,
get dejected on seeing their dreams unfulfilled. Life appears hell to them. People lose
their handholds and as such get drowned in the quagmire of uncertainty from which
their only egress is complete mental break down or suicide.
In Kashmir the materialism has deeply spread its roots. Islam has been pushed to
oblivion, and has remained confined to specific rituals which are performed on
specific occasions, like marriage, birth etc. and that too for the name sake. The real
faith or the E’man has deserted the hearts of the Kashmiris.
Therefore, to save our society from further deterioration, a responsibility lies
with our ulema, (or knowledgeable persons) who must strive to rekindle the candle of
faith, the light of which should pierce the veil of darkness (materialism) and percolate
the hearts of the youth. The teachers of the schools too have their responsibility and
they should not shirk from it.
Our youth should get involved in the daily chores of the world but faith shouldn’t
leave him. One might be dejected, forlorn, when traversing the mazes of darkness
(brought about by the ugly face of materialism), his faith (E’man) would always guide
him, save him from distractions and console him when there is no one else to.
 Value of struggle:-

The individual must be taught the value of struggle in life. He must be taught to
utilize his potential, that his life is useful and worth something and not a burden. That
he too has a role to play and that the show would be incomplete without his presence.
Should he desert his co-workers who would be his substitute? Would the show go on?
He must stay on even if only for the sake of the show. He may not get as much as he
thinks himself to deserve, but he shouldn’t feel dejected. He should feel grateful that
he is getting something. That his life has some value. The struggle must go on. His
contribution matters even if he doesn’t matter. Life may be hard for him but he is
easing the way for others, so isn’t he important?

The failures should not deter him, nor break his heart. He should be made to
realize that a failure in life is a part of the game. If his rights are infringed, he must get
up and fight for them, otherwise he would become a dull person, despondent and feel
himself to be exploited; life would appear to be a burden for him. Success is not
important, struggle is. Our responsibility is struggle and not the results. The decisions
are made by Someone else. His decisions can’t be challenged. A person must be
taught these values from the very childhood and he must imbibe them. He must learn
the value of struggle and hard work and should learn to forget his own self. Then a
strong man would come into existence who wouldn’t be swayed by small things.

The responsibility of the society: If we really are concerned then we must get up.
Mere words wouldn’t do. We must realise our responsibilities towards our fellow
human beings.

Whenever we find someone dejected, despondent or forlorn, we must console

him, refrain from troubling him and insinuating unbearable words. We should spread
hope and light a candle whenever there is darkness, and make people realize the
ephemeral nature of the troubles and hardships of life. Egging them on to struggle for
a better life and inspire them to forget their worries. We must teach others these
important things. We must learn not to deceive, to fulfill our commitments and refrain
from scheming against others, live a simple life and learn to live for others and with a
mission.
But is it possible?
Yes. I do have hope. And the hope is all that matters. Everything!
(The author is the Research Scholar of the Department of Sociology and Social Work,
University of Kashmir)

The author can be e-mailed at shamsnisa@yahoo.com