Suicide mistake should not multiply

Suicide is a touchy issue. Only people with tender mental state take recourse to suicide for their inability to absorb shocks. Yet it’s considered a crime. In some areas, Muslim religious leaders refuse to say janaza funeral prayer of suicide victims. A failed suicide attempt may invite prosecution.

I would love to relay a piece of advice I heard Dr MN Huda, then famed head of the department of economics, Dhaka University telling his pupils half a century ago at the condolence meeting of a student suicide victim – ‘you love somebody or something primarily for yourself. So your first love is for yourself and then love others for the peace of your own mind.’ I find this the most pragmatic understanding of love because utopian love is unrealistic. So friends, don’t commit suicide for the sheer love of yourselves. We can only feel for the doctor who has committed suicide blaming his spouse. But let’s not be over-reactive. The mistake should not multiply.