Loneliness As A Death Penalty

 

Can loneliness be a sentence of death? In an increasing number of cases in Japan it seems that it can.

The Japanese government has appointed its first ‘suicide minister’ to address the problem of people taking their own lives because of psychological problems such as depression and a sense of isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the social restrictions imposed to combat it.

In 2020, there were more suicides in Japan, the majority of them being women, than there were victims of the virus. The role of the loneliness minister will be to identify the underlying causes of this mental affliction and to devise policy measures to counter it. While 2020 witnessed a 16% rise in the incidence of suicide in Japan, it appears that the pandemic is only one of the factors responsible for this tragic trend, in that country and elsewhere.

The UK was the first nation to appoint a loneliness minister in 2018, much before the coronavirus pandemic hit the world.It is a cruel anomaly that in the age of globalisation and technological innovations that have made intercommunication between individuals easier, more and more people are driven to the most desperate of all measures through a despairing sense of isolation, trapped within their aloneness, cut off from all human contact.

Tragically, it is the young, who have their entire lives ahead of them, who seem to be most susceptible to succumbing to what Dostoyevsky called ‘Tomorrow's zero’. In 2019 in India, out of a total of 1,39,000-plus reported suicides, young adults accounted for 93,061, up from 89,407 in the previous year.

According to official statistics, there are 28 student suicides every day in India, that means a young life is self-destroyed every 51 minutes and 42 seconds, and the numbers are increasing year by year.

Most student suicides are attributed to the relentless pressure of studying and the fear of failure in exams. Such anxieties are intensified, too often unbearably so, by the emotional and psychic claustrophobia of loneliness, a prison without walls which cuts the prisoner off from the outside world in solitary confinement.

The breakup of the joint family system, the mass migration from small, closely-knit rural communities to the faceless anonymity of huge cities, have spread the malaise of the spirit called loneliness.

Loneliness is the antithesis of the solitude that the hermit chooses in a monastery or a remote mountain fastness in which to meditate. The aim of sequestering oneself far from the clamour and distraction of the madding crowd is to connect with the essential inner core which constitutes all of humanity, transcending every distinction of nationality, race, or creed.The meditative solitude of the hermit is an affirmation of solidarity, of the oneness of humankind.

For obvious reasons we can’t all follow the path of the hermit, the forsaker of worldly devices and desires. But in our own ways, in our everyday lives, we can attempt to memorialise the truth contained in the words of the poet, which by calling to mind the bond of our common mortality breaks through the barrier of loneliness: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.”

It’s our human destiny not to be alone. And it’s our human tragedy that so many of us misremember this in the deadly amnesia of loneliness.

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Word Meanings:

appointed: decided on beforehand; designated, नियुक्त

isolation: the process or fact of isolating or being isolated, एकांत

restrictions: a limiting condition or measure, especially a legal one, प्रतिबंध

imposed: force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place, थोपा हुआ

combat: fighting between armed forces, युद्ध

underlying: present participle of underlie, आधारभूत

affliction: something that causes pain or suffering, यातना

devise: plan or invent (a complex procedure, system, or mechanism) by careful thought, वसीयत, विचार करना, इच्छापत्र

witnessed: a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place, गवाह

tragic: causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow, दुखद, भयंकर

cruel: willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it, निर्दयी, क्रूर

anomaly: something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected, विसंगति, असंगति

globalisation: the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale, भूमंडलीकरण

intercommunication: the action of engaging in two-way communication, ख़बर

driven: past participle of drive, चलाया हुआ

desperate: feeling, showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with, बेकरार, बेताब

despairing: showing the loss of all hope, निराश

Tragically: very badly, दुखद अंत

ahead: further forward in space, आगे, सामने

susceptible: likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing, अतिसंवेदनशील

succumbing: succumb: fail to resist pressure, temptation, or some other negative force, सामने झुकने, शिकार, मर जाना

attributed: attribute: regard something as being caused by (someone or something, गुण, विशेषता, जिम्मेदार ठहराया

relentless: oppressively constant; incessant, दयाहीन

intensified: become or make more intense, तेज, तीव्र करना

unbearably: in a way that is impossible or extremely hard to endure, असहनीय ढंग से

confinement: the action of confining or state of being confined, कारावास

confined: restricted in area or volume; cramped, सिमित

malaise: a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify, अस्वस्थता

antithesis: a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else, विलोम

solitude: the state or situation of being alone, एकांत

hermit: a person living in solitude as a religious discipline, एकांतवासी, सन्यासी

monastery: a building or buildings occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows, मठ, आश्रम

fastness: a secure refuge, especially a place well protected by natural features, स्थिरता, दृढ़ता

sequestering : Living in solitude, क्रम से, एकांत में रहना, अलग करना

clamour: a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently, कोलाहल, शोर

constitutes: be (a part) of a whole, गठित करना, निर्मित करना,

transcending: be or go beyond the range or limits of (something abstract, typically a conceptual field or division), उत्कृष्ट होती, ऊंचा उठना

distinction: a difference or contrast between similar things or people, भेद, अंतर

creed: a system of Christian or other religious belief; a faith, पंथ, मज़हब

affirmation: the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed, प्रतिज्ञान, समर्थन, पुष्टि

humankind: human beings considered collectively (used as a neutral alternative to “mankind”), मानवजाति

memorialise: preserve the memory of; commemorate, स्मारक

mortality: the state of being subject to death, नश्वरता, मृत्यु दर, मृत्यु-संख्या

barrier: a fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access, अवरोध

tragedy: an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe, शोकपूर्ण घटना

amnesia: a partial or total loss of memory, स्मृतिलोप, स्मृति-शक्ति का लोप