Implications of Farmer Suicide in India for the Sociology of Suicide

There have been multiple studies dealing with the economic explanations of farmer suicides in India, with major attention being given to the farmers’ severe debts or the political nature of the suicides. It is more than just economic difficulties, however, that have pushed farmers to commit suicide. They have also changed the traditional fabric of the agrarian Indian society. The large proportion of suicide is not unique to farmers but extends to other vulnerable populations as well, such as housewives and the unemployed. This paper shifts the focus from farmer suicide as a result of only agrarian crisis or indebtedness among farmers, considering it instead as part of larger structural changes. With greater economic uncertainties, and large groups of vulnerable populations who are more susceptible to suicide, it is important to retain a sociological understanding of suicide