To safeguard and enhance the well-being of the farming population, the author advocates reinforcing the social fabric by fostering a spirit of brotherhood, especially in Punjab and building volunteer groups in villages which can provide succour and support to those who show suicidal tendencies. There is a dire need to revive traditional support systems, install modern counselling centres and encourage volunteerism among youth to save the dying farmers. 

To safeguard and enhance the well-being of the farming population, the author advocates reinforcing the social fabric by fostering a spirit of brotherhood, especially in Punjab and building volunteer groups in villages which can provide succour and support to those who show suicidal tendencies. There is a dire need to revive traditional support systems, install modern counselling centres and encourage volunteerism among youth to save the dying farmers.

Sociologists believe that suicide is not an individual act, rather it is a social fact. It is not the individual alone who is responsible for suicide, the society at large and the support system stands guilty for the gruesome act.

This gives a cue to suicide prevention also. While the preventive measures for the aggrieved individual are important; at the same time sensitization of society at large is vital as well. In Punjab, the social support system seems to be fast losing ground at many places, leading to a spurt in suicide attempts.

Here is a recent example about two kinds of social fabric in rural Punjab. Under the National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF), an Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) project, a few days ago, we reached a village in Punjab’s cotton belt that has been nicknamed as ‘sprayan wala pind’ (village of pesticides). Here ‘sprayan wala’ does not indicate a village using maximum pesticides for agriculture. It is a village where in a short span of two months at least six youth attempted suicide by consuming pesticides.

I contacted the key person in this village. He reluctantly agreed to call me to his home on the outskirts of the village, almost agreeing that he will provide me the details and accompany me to the victim’s families. However, after offering me a cup of tea, he blatantly refused to come along with me to visit the suicide victim families. Instead he called the village watchman and deputed him to escort me citing the reason –“our village is marred by ‘partybazi’ (fractional frictions), this watchman is the common person.”

With apprehension looming large on the faces of both persons, we got a bit nervous – “why were they so reluctant to talk to a family in their own village!”.

There were multiple views by the village people when I enquired about the exact number of people who attempted suicide in recent past. The guesses ranged from six to ten. The level of ambiguity surprised me –usually social networks in small villages are quite strong and people are aware about all major events in the village.  I then decided to contact a doctor to uncover the truth.

What is shocking is the fact that even after so many attempts by the youngsters (all under 35 years, all unmarried, all unemployed, and as per the version of those three village persons, none was under any serious long term debt), there was no meeting of village elders to save the youth. It turned out that there was a great divide among the village elders. The lack of community solidarity ran deep. I was told that the village runs into squabbles, discord, resentment and feuds on trivial issues. Meetings with families of suicide victims revealed that this was a village where the social fabric was torn and tattered; factionalism on political and caste lines marred the society.  

“ “Talk to me. You are not alone. You have options. Help is there.” Even this is of immense help.”

This was the story of a village which has yet not risen above ‘groupism’ despite so many suicide attempts. There seemed absolutely no evidence of the community coming together for their own betterment. Our team had to be very cautious during our interactions with families of suicide attempting youth, lest we unwittingly allied ourselves with a member on one side of the divide.

But all is not lost yet. Here is another story of a Punjab village in the Jagraon tehsil of Ludhiana district.

A farmer of this village suffered a major setback as his wheat crop was destroyed due to fire. He was already under debt. He had taken some land on lease, however that was ruined too. Completely shattered, the farmer was miserable and helpless. But the village elders and youth were very supportive. They immediately approached him, offered solace and hinted that the village will do something to help him. Some youngsters took initiative and started collecting donations from every household in order to mitigate the damages suffered by that farmer. Some NRI’s who were visiting the village at that time contributed generously. People from nearby villages also offered monetary support. It was learnt that people managed to collect an incredibly handsome amount which enabled the farmer to pay all his current and previous debts. This is a classic example of ‘Bhaichara’ (brotherhood, strong social fabric). If society joins hands together to help, no one resorts to suicides.

My visit to these two villages has peaked my interest in better understanding of what social systems are needed to create and sustain a strong social fabric. The difference that social fabric can make in preventing suicides and creating opportunity for future generations is gigantic.

Currently, the spirit of ‘Bhaichara’ is badly devastated in many villages of the state. The ‘people-to-people’ connection in Punjab is getting weaker. The social fabric — the nature and web of interactions and relationships between people within groups and between groups is deteriorating at a fast pace. The nature of interweaving, social interactions and human interface needs to be reexamined.

For preventing suicides, providing monetary help is very important but rebuilding the social fabric too is quite vital.  It is difficult to find professional mental health help or counseling services in India as there is an acute shortage of mental-health professionals. India spends just 0.06 percent of its health budget on mental health, which is even less than that of Bangladesh (0.44 percent). According to WHO figures, the developed world spends 4 percent of their budgets on mental health services that include research, infrastructure etc. There is an urgent need to allocate resources to this sector.

Culturally Punjab used to have a very good tradition of giving ‘sikhya’ and ‘sehra’ at the time of Anand Karaj (wedding). Elders used to give sermons to both bride and groom at the time of wedding. Do’s and don’ts of married lives were discussed in public, often with personal experiences of seniors and the message was conveyed humorously. Today this tradition has been forgotten.  Clearly, we can see that there is need for mentoring newly-weds.

“ Youngsters! Come forward, volunteer yourself. The Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana is running free training courses for selected Peer Support Volunteers. Get trained and save your villages, farmers from committing suicides.

Remember, suicidal behavior largely comprises of four steps – suicide ideation, overt intention, suicide attempt and suicide completion. While psychiatrists believe that suicide ideation is common. Many people in their lifetimes have had these brain waves at least once in hours of crisis or dejection. However, at the second step when one confides with someone his/her idea of suicide or starts announcing it more openly -that is the alert call. In second stage, one starts planning for suicide, searching for easiest and perfect method; best time to commit suicide.

At the third stage, an attempt is made. This is basically an alarm to attract attention, a cry, a call for help and a sign of hopelessness. As per numerous researches, many suicides victims who are saved from their suicide attempt candidly confess that they do not wish to die. It was just because they were not having any escape from their condition that they tried to attempt.

Suicide is the pain of being tortured by one’s own mind. The common stressor in suicide is an unmet psychological need and the common stimulus is intolerable psychological pain.  This pain that leads to suicide often goes unnoticed. At the outset, crisis support is prime duty of the society at the outset. Suicide prevention is everybody’s responsibility. Suicide is hundred percent preventable. There is just a dire need to train people to speak up. To reach out and stay strong. A proven primary suicide prevention strategy is to promote the help available in the vicinity. Even providing of telephone numbers can help. Treatment is available. Early detection and the treatment are the keys.

Social fabric seems to be the single most valuable metric by which one can gauge a community’s partnership potential. If in the hours of crisis, someone assures you – “Talk to me. You are not alone. You have options. Help is there.” Even this is of immense help.  The society needs to infuse a spirit in a person that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. Tell the distressed person that despite the things you have been through, it is ok not to be ok. Have hope.

 Read also : Punjab Farmer suicides – Are we missing the elephant in the room?

There is an imperative and urgent need to identify dedicated, spirited teachers and social workers in every village and train them for psychological first aid. The basic first aid which each one of us can exercise is to become a patient listener. Let the aggrieved person ventilate. A promise of confidentiality, so that the aggrieved person can share his problems without fear, can go a long way in healing the wounds of a distressed person.

Under the NASF project, we are trying to motivate and train village youth as ‘Peer Support Volunteers’ to take initiative in stopping further suicides.  At the same time, there is need for raising awareness about mental health in schools and colleges. The need for better parenting skills during emotional crises of youth is very important. Parents should frequently seek help of professional counselors in hours of crisis of their wards. No stigma should be attached to such talks. Family background has an important role in determining how young people cope with despair.

Suicides also result from poor relationships with parents, unmet expectations, the feeling of being unwanted, poor relationships with peers, dejection due to failed love affairs etc. Our schools, colleges and universities do not have any counseling experts including psychologist who assist students at the onset of emotional and mental problems. Hence some students spiral into full-fledged clinical depression leading to suicide. Mental health, life skills lessons and wellness should be added to school curriculum. Only when children know about these disorders in their formative years will they be able to seek help.

 Read also : Sui­cide Pre­ven­tion – a Chal­lenge in In­dia and the world

The willingness and ability to work together, creating a harmonized society will lead to a positive and progressing state. There is an imperative and urgent need to roll out a roadmap and an advocacy agenda towards improving social fabric of Punjab in an effort to contribute to safeguarding and enhancing the wellbeing of farming populace in particular. Increase responsiveness through advocacy on the importance of social fabric enhancement; reinforce the social fabric within communities and amongst diverse groups; raise the levels of tolerance, patience, understanding, communication within the society and encourage harmony and solidarity.

Stigma is the major barrier to suicide prevention efforts. While dealing with a person of suicidal tendencies always actively listen and positively reinforce self-care, be non-judgmental, remove lethal or harmful objects from the surroundings, call a professional. It is high time to reach out and save lives. Connect, communicate and care should be the buzz words.

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Youngsters! Come forward, volunteer yourself. The Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana is running free training courses for selected Peer Support Volunteers. Get trained and save your villages, farmers from committing suicides.

Take a minute, Change a life. It is now or never!