A recent report issued by the Indian Defence Ministry has indicated that around 780 Indian troops have committed suicide since 2005 in Indian Held Kashmir.
According to KMS, a study conducted by two Indian psychiatrists shows that 38.56 per cent of Indian forces are schizophrenic, 14.17 per cent suffer from alcohol dependence syndrome and 9.8 per cent are struggling with depression.
Experts are of the opinion that the growing numbers are due to the rigors of dealing with protesters in occupied Kashmir and the remote northeast. The Indian troops have mainly been used for guarding restive borders, quelling civil riots and rescuing operations during natural calamities such as floods, cyclones and earthquakes.
Analysts believe that Indian forces are under tremendous stress, which is a result of low morale, bad service conditions, insufficient home leave and low pay.
Sheikh Showkat, a political analyst, told newsmen that the troops were over-stretched by continuously being in the field with hostile conditions.
“They are not able to go and see their families. They are living in areas where people do not perceive them to be their own people. All this has landed the troopers to psychological stress. The psychological stress makes them go for killing each other or committing suicide,” he added.
