The Geographic Heterogeneity of Suicide Rates in India by Religion, Caste, Tribe, and Other Backward Classes

Background: Caste, tribal, and religious associations, which are perhaps the most important aspects of personal and social lives in India, have been neglected in Indian suicide research. Aim: To investigate suicide rates in India by religion, caste, tribe, and other backward classes over the period...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crisis : the journal of crisis intervention and suicide prevention 2019-09, Vol.40 (5), p.370-374
Main Authors: Arya, Vikas, Page, Andrew, Dandona, Rakhi, Vijayakumar, Lakshmi, Mayer, Peter, Armstrong, Gregory
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caste System
Christianity
Christians
Female
Geography
Hinduism
Hindus
Human
Humans
India - epidemiology
Islam
Male
Mortality Rate
Population Groups
Religion
Social Class
Suicide
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Tribes
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Summary:Background: Caste, tribal, and religious associations, which are perhaps the most important aspects of personal and social lives in India, have been neglected in Indian suicide research. Aim: To investigate suicide rates in India by religion, caste, tribe, and other backward classes over the period 2014-2015. Method: This study acquired unpublished suicide data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2014 and 2015 including caste, tribal, and religious associations of suicide cases. National and state-specific suicide rates (2014-2015) were then calculated for Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other religious groups and for scheduled caste (SC), scheduled tribe (ST), and other backward classes (OBC). Results: The findings show higher suicide rates among Christian and other religious groups compared with Hindus and higher suicide rates among general populations compared with SC, ST, and OBC populations. However, the results varied among different regions highlighting the substantial geographical heterogeneity of suicide rates across India by caste and religion. Limitations: The suicide rates presented might be an underestimation of the true rates. Conclusion: Given the heterogeneity of minority/majority status by religion, caste, tribes, and OBC in different states, further investigation of the relationship between minority status and suicide is warranted.
ISSN:0227-5910
2151-2396
DOI:10.1027/0227-5910/a000574