Suicide in India

Although self-induced deaths in some form or another have probably occurred almost as long as human beings have been in existence, the current research and policy interest in suicides can be said to be generated by not only the rapidly rising suicide rates worldwide and in India, but can perhaps also be located in the contemporary context of processes of social change as causal agents of suicidal behaviour. This chapter maps the recent literature on the prevalence of suicide in India; the current rates and trends of suicide, both global and Indian and the magnitude of the problem; the determinants of suicidal behaviour, including biological and psychological factors, the distinctive socio-cultural factors in India; and suicide prevention intervention strategies.