New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The number of suicides in India linked to emotional problems, especially among young people, is increasing compared to those due to financial difficulties and is now the third leading cause of suicide in the 0-29 age group after family problems and health, this according to the 2013 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
In the past year, 12 suicides have occurred every day due to love affairs compared to five for poverty, seven for bankruptcy and six for unemployment.
The data shows that 89 people commit suicide every day due to family problems while 72 end their lives because of illness.
Cancer has turned out to be the biggest factor in suicide caused by illness, followed by paralysis and AIDS.
Contacted by AsiaNews, Fr Joseph Manipadam SDB, secretary of Office for Education and Culture of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), said that suicides among young people because of emotional problems are due to "emotional immaturity, which makes them unable to cope with growth and relationships."
What is more, many teenagers "are unable to handle new social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, or understand that the reality does not always match what appears on those platforms."
For this reason, his office has introduced in many schools across the country a programme to help teenagers "develop greater emotional maturity".