Why Nuptial knots are turning out be nightmare for Indians?

Rashi Aditi Ghosh / Zee Research Group / Delhi

It’s said that marriages are made in heaven and solemnised on earth. But what happens after you’re married? The number of post-nuptial suicides in India represents 66.5 percent of the total suicides committed in 2012. Even more intriguing, more married men than women are prone to committing suicides. According to a report by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), problems within the nuptial knot are risking lives of many Indian men and women. Cases of cruelty by husbands and relatives (Under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code) in the country have increased by 7.5 Per cent in 2012 over the previous year (99,135 cases). With 43.6 percent, this category contributes the most in crime against women. In addition to this, cases under Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 have also increased by 36.5 per cent in 2012 over 2011. NCRB further reports that of all the 1, 35,445 suicides last year in India, a staggering 95,264 suicides were committed by married people, which is a whopping 66.5 per cent of all suicides committed in 2012. Reasoning westernization as one of the major reasons for aggressive diversion in Indian couples and thus resulting into suicidal tendencies, Ripan Sippy, a clinical psychologist from Delhi said, “Many couples enter into marriage with high expectations and when they don’t happen it leads to clashes and breakdown.” The attitude of making compromise among couples is fast declining. “Today Indian marriages lack mutual belongingness and tolerance,” averred Sippy Of all the suicides committed by married people last year, it is men who outnumber women. As against 63,343 married men, 31,921 married women committed suicide during 2012. Data shows that the number of married men committing suicide last year was as high as 66.5 per cent of all suicides committed by married people during the year. Married women too formed a significant 33 per cent of all suicides committed by married people last year. The analysis further shows that the overall male tendency to commit suicide has been on the rise over the years. The number of male suicidal victims has increased from 72,651 in 2004 to 87,180 during 2010. Last year, of the total 369 suicides committed daily, 239 were men. Blaming “prejudiced” mentality against men, Atit Rajpara from the Men’s Rights Association argues that “Husbands are subjected to inhuman and unconstitutional laws like Section 498A of IPC, wherein, an uninvestigated complaint by the wife can land the husband’s family in jail, or even the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, wherein the husband can lose his hard-earned property owing to allegations of domestic violence, even without a fair trial. This shows how biased we are when we talk of equality.” Being a Man is difficult and emotionally suffocating at times. “When you are overburdened with responsibility and have least options to outlet the stress you develop a tendency to end you life and unfortunately men are the greatest sufferers of this situation,” lamented Rajpara.