Three idiots. Three suicides. Three things to think about:
- The equivalent of 336 people killed themselves every day in the year 2007 in India. The majority of suicides were by people under age 30, and ‘family problems’ was cited as the main reason. India has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Just in the last few weeks, three young people hung themselves in Mumbai: an 11-year-old girl, a 12-year-old boy, and an 18-year-old female student. The 11-year-old was reportedly upset that her parents withdrew her from a dance academy and the 18-year-old was distraught about failing her exams. Are we driving our youth to desperation?
- Why does it require a blockbuster film like 3 Idiots and a superstar like Aamir Khan before people start talking about the implications of pressurizing children to succeed?
- As South Asian parents, we have so many values to impart to our children. In a culture otherwise so positive, so filled with love, and so centred on family ties, are we falling short in tolerance?
