Church asked to help check suicides in Sikkim

(June 4, 2009) Some government officials in Sikkim want the Church to help tackle suicides and other social problems the Himalayan state faces. The Church must promote values education and relevant job-oriented education to stop suicides, Chandra Prakash Dawan, secretary of the state's Election Commission, told a recent meeting of Church officials and state bureaucrats. Participants noted that Sikkim ranks third among Indian states in yearly suicide rates, behind Pondicherry and Kerala, both in southern India. Sikkim, a 7,096-square-kilometer hill state, is also the second smallest state in India after Goa and is the least populated. Most people in this state are Hindus or Buddhists. At least one suicide is reported in the state daily, according to the Journal "The Himalayan Beacon," and the blame is placed on unemployment, substance abuse and mental illness for the situation. Dawan, a senior bureaucrat in Sikkim, urged the Church to fight the suicide menace through its educational institutions. The Church's main presence in the state is its seven high schools, eight primary schools and a college. The bureaucrats urged the Church to collaborate with the government to introduce meaningful education for the youth and a values system for society. Church leaders have agreed to prepare an action plan for their next joint meeting.