Who is responsible for suicides in Kota?

Youth is about hope, joy, enthusiasm, inculcating deep friendships and relying on the ecosystem of communities and families. It is also a time to learn deep human values of love, compassion, cooperation and gratitude.   So far, in 2023, an average of three cases of suicide per month are reported in Kota. What is really going on? Are we failing our youth? Are we trapped in the wrong narration of education and competition (interestingly, they have become synonyms these days)? Kota has an annual Rs. 10,000 crore education industry. Lacs of students go there every year to climb up the ladder of competition quickly. And in this hustle, everybody has forgotten about basic psychological needs and human values.   A few immediate noticeable causes of the growing suicide trends are:

1. Kota’s eternal environment of peer pressure, parental expectations and high competition.    
2. Growing attention deficit among young students because of spending more time on social media platforms. Short-format content on social media reduces their patience level, which triggers their stress and anxiety more quickly, leading to taking extreme steps.
3. This trend is growing more in the post-pandemic world, as during the pandemic when classes were online, students were spending more time on the screens and less time in face-to-face interaction. Now, their ability to openly talk about their issues has reduced and there is a growing social awkwardness in young people.  

Kota is a microcosm, a small representation of our ailing and imposed education system. This western education system is based on divisiveness, competition and individual performance. It is not inclusive, cooperative or holistic. I read somewhere that, “People are hired because of their technical skills but are fired because of their human skills”.     The current education system that we are following in India is a cunning imposition by our earlier British masters. They destroyed our holistic gurukul and community-based education systems because they wanted to create a herd of educated slaves. These educated officers could then be used to fulfill their white master’s agenda of highest tax collection, using their local understanding and language to benefit the British empire and of course, never asking questions. It is unfortunate that we are still following this damaging legacy in the name of western education.   What is happening in Kota is not a surprise but a result of this divisive education system. This unbearable pressure to perform is not something that is happening only in higher competitive exams, it starts to build up at the school level. And, what is happening in Kota, is the culmination of this unsustainable pressure model.     Life is not built on the philosophy of ‘Survival of the fittest’, it was a wrong statement given by Charles Darwin, actually this statement did not even come from Charles Darwin, it was originally given by Herbert Spencer, an English sociologist and philosopher. Nonetheless, both of them were Britishers and were active during the time of British Raj, so the whole thought process was class-driven and imperialistic. They probably were of the opinion that Britishers are the fittest race and deserve to dominate the world and make others their slaves. From this mindset came the philosophy of ‘Survival of the fittest’. And our current education system is entirely based on this. But actually, if you look at nature, the principle is NOT ‘Survival of the fittest’ but ‘Survival of the KINDEST’. Nature’s entire ecosystem is based on kindness, support, cooperation and nurturing each other.   In nature, every species actually supports the other species to live and grow. Even a cow knows to leave some grass on the field and not eat all of it from the root itself, for the grass needs to keep growing for the cow to keep feeding on it. Nature knows that mutual growth is very important for everyone to survive. But in human life, we are just trying to kill the competitors, and in order to do that, we take excessive stress and pressure on ourselves, which is neither sustainable nor life affirmative.     Forming excessive police teams to keep a check on student suicide or installing spring-loaded ceiling fan rods is not the solution to this growing stress on our young generation.   It is high time that we reimagine our education system based on nature’s principle of ‘Survival of the Kindest’. We must also build a strong eco-system in all places like Kota to regularly engage students with life-essential skills of Meditation and Yoga along with cultivating a range of human values in the youth.   In every adversity lies an opportunity. Today, Kota can reverse this suicide pattern and become a model of physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being to achieve desired success and fulfillment in life. Let us work together for the sake of our youth and learn from Bharat’s ancient knowledge systems.   The author is an ex-corporate CEO and a successful entrepreneur. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .