(If you are suicidal or know anyone in distress, reach out to the numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs here.)
Data released recently by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that in the year 2020 more businessmen died by suicide than farmers.
2020 was the year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic distress it brought, with many of the country’s businesses coming to a grinding halt. While the country has been plagued by farmer suicides for years now, a slew of businessmen deciding to end their lives, as well, is a relatively new tragedy, reports The Quint
As per the NCRB data, shared by The Indian Express:
- 10,677 farmers and 11,716 businessmen died by suicide in 2020
- Among the tragic suicide of businessmen, 4,356 were that of “tradesmen” and 4,226 were of “vendors”
- Suicides among the business community shot up by 29 percent between 2019 and 2020
During the 2020 suicides among “tradesmen” increased by 50 per cent — the highest across categories — compared to 2019, even as the broader business community recorded more such deaths than farmers, reported The Indian Express
The Print, cited the NCRB data as revealing:
- The state of Karnataka saw the maximum number of businessperson suicides: 1,772, a jump of 103 percent from 2019.
- About 40 percent of the total businessperson suicides were recorded in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu alone.
The Print also, however, pointed out that the number of death by suicides among businesspersons is far lower than that of the unemployed (15,652) and daily-wage earners (37,666).
Traditionally, the business community has always seen fewer such deaths when compared to farmers. During the pandemic, and the resultant lockdowns, small businesses and traders suffered heavily, with many being forced to down shutters or default on loans.
The NCRB data also shows that the overall suicide statistics in the country also shot up by 10 percent to reach its highest ever figure of 1,53,052.
Source The Quint, The Indian Express and The Print
