SUICIDE: Murder by Self Growing in India

The question of why someone takes his own life can only be answered in the mind of the deceased. Since none come back from the dead, outside the power of God, death by suicide remains a tragic conundrum.

Here in the center of India, on a gray Wednesday morning, a cotton farmer swallowed a bottle of pesticide and fell dead at the threshold of his small mud house.

Suicide is generally thought of as a selfish act, a coward's way out of a tight spot. Certainly in the context of abject poverty in India, one might see the extreme hopelessness of some and have compassion. I'm certain Christ would [Matthew 14:14].

The farmer, Anil Kondba Shende, 31, left behind a wife and two small sons, debts that his family knew about only vaguely and a soggy, ruined 3.5-acre patch of cotton plants that had been his only source of income.

Whether it was debt, shame or some other privation that drove Mr. Shende to kill himself rests with him alone. But his death was by no means an isolated one, and in it lay an alarming reminder of the crisis facing the Indian farmer.

The concept of selfishness comes from the hardships suffered by those left alone to deal with their loss, grief, and all the problems the deceased couldn't deal with themselves. It is a tragidy all the way around.

Whether it was debt, shame or some other privation that drove Mr. Shende to kill himself rests with him alone. But his death was by no means an isolated one, and in it lay an alarming reminder of the crisis facing the Indian farmer.

Across the country in desperate pockets like this one, 17,107 farmers committed suicide in 2003, the most recent year for which government figures are available. Anecdotal reports suggest that the high rates are continuing.

I do not know if Mr. Shende and his people are Hindus, but that could be a contributing factor. Imagine believing you might come back as another creature possibly in a position to help those you could not help in your human incarnation.

Lordy, that combined with hopelessness? What a mental maze that could create!

Our hope comes from Jesus Christ and His Good News; depression, discouragement. and disappoinment are from the devil and result from how he plays on our unfulfilled expectations.

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BLOGGERS BLOGGING:

Great Indian Mutiny
Out of Control

Depression, Expectations, Good News, Hopelessness, India,
Jesus Christ, Religion, Suicide, Unfulfilled expectations