The incidence of suicide within the Indian Army is escalating rapidly, with reports indicating that a suicide occurs every third day. The suicide rate in the Indian Army has reached 16.5% per 100,000 soldiers. Between 2010 and 2019, 895 Indian Army personnel, 185 Indian Air Force personnel, and 32 Indian Navy personnel took their own lives. Each year, over 100 suicides are reported on average in India-held Kashmir.
Since 2014, the Indian Army has reported 983 suicide cases, while the Indian Navy has reported 96, and the Indian Air Force 246. Since 2001, more than 3,300 Indian soldiers have died by suicide in various incidents.
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In the past five years alone, over 800 Indian armed forces personnel have ended their lives, often due to the behavior of their superiors. For instance, on January 23, 2023, Col Khanna hanged himself, and on January 9, 2023, Lt Col Nishant took his own life after shooting his wife in Ferozepur.
Female officers in the Indian Army have also been driven to suicide. In 2006, Lt. Sushmita Chakraborty ended her life just 10 months after joining, alleging that her superiors pressured her to attend late-night dance parties and made inappropriate demands. In October 2019, Lt Col Rashmi Mishra hanged herself with a dupatta in Pune, and in December 2016, Major Anita Kumari shot herself in the head in Jammu.The discriminatory behavior of senior officers in the Indian armed forces has led to 47,000 personnel and officers seeking voluntary retirement or resigning.
