The latest data released by National Crime Records Bureau showed that most number of suicides in 2015 were committed by people who earned less than Rs 1 lakh per annum. Most of them were poor farmers, and a bulk of them came from seven cotton-growing states.
According to a report in the Mint: "Nearly 70 percent of the suicides in 2015 were committed by people whose annual income was less than Rs 1 lakh per annum, while those earning between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh per annum accounted for 5 percent of suicides." According to the data, 93,586 out of the 133,623 people who committed suicide in 2015 earned less than Rs 1 lakh per year.
Housewives accounted for nearly 17 percent of the total suicides in 2015 followed by daily wage workers, and then farmers. A report in the Hindu Business Line also claimed that nearly 90 percent of the 12,602 suicides by farmers of farm labourers in 2015 came from the seven cotton-growing states.
The report said: "Maharasthra topped the list with 4,291 suicides, followed by Karnataka (1,569), Telangana (1,400), Madhya Pradesh (1,290), Chhattisgarh (954), Andhra Pradesh (916) and Tamil Nadu (606), according to the data released by NCRB for the year 2015."
It added: "Though the number of deaths remained almost static in 2014 and 2015, the number of suicides by farmers went up about 40 percent to 8,000 in 2015 as against 5,650 in 2014. The overall numbers remained static as the number of suicides by farm labourers fell to 4,595 from 6,710."
Agriculture scientist GV Ramanjaneyulu was quoted as saying: "These states continue to see a very high number of suicides. The main reason for their taking the extreme step is indebtedness and bankruptcy. But the state governments continue to turn a blind eye."
