Ecologists have concluded that the world can sustain a population of about 2 billion people for an extended period of time. We are already thrice that. Among these are folks who cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel with the hand they are dealt, and cannot see any way of changing the hand they are dealt?
It is analogous to playing a tennis game against several number ones in the sport simultaneously, often with a broken strings and bare feet. By the time a social worker gets to these folks, it is often late, and the social workers themselves are ill-equipped to fight all these folks’ demons at one hour a week or some similar time frame.
If we are to put value on every human life on this planet (even every animal life as some animal rights activists suggest) then we have to make room for those closest to us. India has long been the torchbearer of tolerance, and our culture allows for a lot of room despite being squeezed into crowded cities.
However, the rate of our growth and complete lack of opportunity for some who seek it the most, will see our options run out for those closest to us, and the massive elasticity we have between us will turn to walls in a hurry. The self-destruction can come in two extremes, by running ourselves headlong into each other’s walls, or by turning inwards until we no longer are.
Suicide is a symptom of both attitudes, but more importantly, a symptom of the hardening walls themselves. In the socialist country of Sweden, where suicide rates are also increasing, the unemployment rates are high. Despite being given the basic needs of life by the government, alcoholism is high, and the cause of suicide is attributed to a feeling of worthlessness that sinks them into despair.
They rarely go hungry and have amenities that some middle-class families in India would kill for. They have free medical services and would not have to worry if anything went wrong with their health. Still, they are taking their own lives.
India has always thrived on the notion that we need each other. It is the western mindset of possession, and the implied superiority that possessions seem to portray, that has got the Indian culture by the balls. If we went back to needing each other, having just enough, and progressing with wisdom (for wisdom?) we would find fewer victims by the wayside.
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