Candle March and Condolence for Mukesh Pandey, DM of Buxar who committed suicide at Ghaziabad, at Jantar Mantar at 5:30pm on Sunday

Save Indian Family Foundation

Mukesh Pandey

In a sad incident, on Thursday Buxar district magistrate IAS officer Mukesh Pandey committed suicide near Ghaziabad Railway station. He was only 29. In a recorded video, he mentioned his marital problems and the fights between his wife and his parents. This stress must have taken a toll on him. He has a 3-month-old daughter.

[themify_quote]“My parents and wife have a constant tussle. Their fight has made my life difficult. They love me a lot, but the excess of everything is bad,” he said in the five-minute long video.[/themify_quote]

We are organising a Candle Light March at Jantar Mantar (New Delhi) at 5:30 pm on Sunday, 13, August 2017 to condole the death of Mukesh Pandey IAS.

We wish he had called SIFF or any other men’s support group. At least, he could have shared his problems with a friend, and through him, he could have approached us. He could have called us anonymously or joined our Whatsapp groups.

Though Government does not provide any help lines for distressed men, every year more than 15,000 men reach out to men’s support groups, and they are counselled by volunteers.

Almost 50% of young men who approach men’s support groups have contemplated suicide because of marital problems or problems in managing conflicts between parents and wife.

Every year, about 22000 men are committing suicide due to family reasons though many psychologists tend to dismiss this and claim that more men commit suicide due to poverty or economic reasons. This has reduced the focus on suicide prevention for men.

In cases like Mukesh Pandey, the social expectation is, the men must control his emotions by being brave. No man decides to commit suicide without careful thought. There is a denial of the emotional pain of men in our society. We believe men do not feel the pain when they are facing marital problems or are dragged to a conflict between parents and wife.

Rajesh Vakharia