Editor,
Last night I heard that one Idu girl had died by suicide in Dibang Valley and a friend near me gasped, “These Idus will be finished by suicides.”
Suicide is a public health concern not only for the mentioned community but also for the entire population. But since this letter introspects why the rate of suicide is so high in Idu community, it will strive to centre its discussion on the Idu community.
Idus reside in the twin Dibang districts mostly. As per the 2010 census, they have a population of about 13,000. As per the 2012 data available from some sources, in the last four decades more than 200 Idu people have died by suicide. This high suicide rate is a result of various interrelated complex issues centring around family, relationships, society, health, etc. Mostly young people commit suicide due to high societal pressure on marriage-related issues not found in other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Like, a man cannot marry a woman of his choice if she is related to him in a way that was unknown to both of them. This results in a very small sample space to choose from. But many instances of people marrying their far relatives have also surfaced in the recent times, indicating a positive change. This can be prevented by relaxing some very strict norms which are still being practiced in the community.
The other reasons are family problems like divorce, non-marital affairs, poverty and the inability to earn a livelihood. They can be prevented by providing proper support system, usually both in the economic form and emotional form. As far as the economic aspect is concerned, there should be avenues for a man or a woman to earn his livelihood, be it by weaving crafts or textiles. Community halls should be established for such people, where they can sell their textiles, clothing and bamboo crafts at much cheaper price than the market rate. Obviously, such initiative would also need government funding. With regard to this, local legislators have an important role to play.
Emotional form comprises support from near and dear ones, be it friends or family members, which actually becomes the only floating log in the flooded waters in the times of turbulence.
Finally, the most important reason is mental health problems and substance abuse. Mental health problems can only be tackled by conducting mental health camps at regular intervals by practising psychiatrists. Many toll-free numbers are being operated by the government to prevent suicides – one such application being the Tele Manas app. Yet another aspect is that of substance abuse. It can only be prevented by providing proper parenting and school education. Also, the addicted ones can be admitted into rehabs which are regularly inspected by government officials.
Last but not least, this epidemic can only be prevented by the cooperation of both the government and its agencies and the people of the community, ie, the Idus.
Nako Umpo