A recent study by the United Service Institution of India (USI) has highlighted a disturbing trend within the Indian armed forces: the increasing incidence of suicides among military personnel. The report reveals that stress from both operational and non-operational assignments is contributing to a growing number of suicides, fratricides, and other non-combat fatalities. Shockingly, the Indian Army loses more personnel each year to these causes than in actual combat.
The suicide rate in the Indian Army has reached an alarming 16.5% per 100,000 personnel, with more than 100 non-combat deaths annually one approximately every third day. Data from 2010 to 2019 shows that over 11,000 Indian defense personnel took their own lives, with the Army bearing the brunt at 642 suicides, followed by the Indian Air Force (148) and Navy (29).
In the past five years, over 800 armed forces members have committed suicide, often due to dissatisfaction with their superiors. Tragic incidents include the January 2023 suicides of Col Khanna and Lt Col Nishant, the latter after shooting his wife. Women officers have also been affected, with cases like Lt. Sushmita Chakraborty and Major Anita Kumari reflecting a disturbing trend of harassment and pressure leading to their deaths.
The issue extends beyond the military to the civil armed forces (CAF), where fratricides and suicides have also been on the rise. Between 2019 and 2021, there were 25 fratricides and 345 suicides in the CAF, underscoring the pervasive nature of the problem across India’s security forces.
This growing suicide epidemic within the Indian armed forces raises serious concerns about the mental health, leadership, and welfare of the personnel tasked with protecting the nation. Immediate action is needed to address these systemic issues and provide the necessary support to those who serve.
(Extract from https://slguardian.org/the-silent-epidemic-suicides-in-the-indian-armed-forces/)
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