Indian girl's one-rupee suicide

BBC ^ | 9/24/05 | BBC

[wagglebee]

A 12-year-old Indian girl committed suicide after her mother told her she could not afford one rupee - two US cents - for a school meal.

Sania Khatun lived with her mother in a village north of Calcutta under a tarpaulin sheet provided by the state.

Sania normally ate nothing at school but on Friday saw classmates eating rice and asked for one rupee.

Her mother scolded her and when she returned from work found her daughter hanged from the ceiling with a sari.

"She wanted just one rupee... but her mother could not give her the money due to poverty," government official Nakul Chandran Mahato told the Reuters agency.

'Snapped'

The mother, Jainab Bewar, is a widow who works as a maid in the village of Paraspur, 200km (125 miles) north of Calcutta.

She normally fed her daughter with food she could get from the houses she worked in.

India's Telegraph newspaper said Sania was tempted by the sight of classmates eating puffed rice and oil cakes.

Ms Bewar told the newspaper: "I did not give her the money as I did not have it. I snapped at her when she insisted on it."

She and her sons never earn more than $13 a month combined, she says.

India has seen unprecedented economic growth in recent years but many remain untouched by the improvements.

A recent UN report said half of India's children were still malnourished.

[sagar]

"Yes, the United States is one of the few places in the world where poor people are overweight. By the grace of God, we truly live in the land of plenty."

In rich countries, poor people are generally fatter and the rich and the elites are in slim shape. In poor countries, poor people are skinny and rich people tend to be fatter.

[Ruth A.]

Actually, the WIC program does that nicely. AFDC would do well to mirror WIC in that respect.

[spunkets]

"Of course there is situational depression. But it's unusual for starving people to suffer from depression, because the survival thing kicks in. People who are depressed lose all will to live."

Google suicide India. Simple Spartan living isn't the cause. It's the sum total of all things that make up a world of pure BS, that causes the depression. It's highest amongst girls 15-24 there. This girl's world just sucked more than most. Try living off bread crumbs in the 100+ degree heat, dust and taking a rare bath in the Ganges for a few years. Then ponder your amateur psych theory.

[JoeSixPack1]

A 12-year-old Indian girl committed suicide .............in a village north of Calcutta under a tarpaulin sheet provided by the state.

Yeah? And?

[rock58seg]

Thay's alright. There are a lot I detest in particular.

[rock58seg]

....something fishy here. It's too pat, too narrative.

Do you suppose Jason Blair is now working for the U.N. and the BBC?

[Syllojism]

"It looks like 'Everyone Else' didn't stick around."

They never seem to once you call them on the carpet, do they? ;)

You posted this less than ten minutes after he got called onto the carpet.

Just sayin.

[rock58seg]

Look it up where? I'm not aware of any studies being done linking starvation and depression?

For Heaven's sake you two. We really don't need to go back all that far. Michael Schiavo, his lawyer, and a whole slew of others here at FR pointed out how euphoric starvation and dehydration are.

[CountryLawyer]

Given the article's provenance it may well be a composite. But unlike much of what comes out of the UN and BBC for that matter, this one could be true. The circumstances of the poor in India are desperate. Drive down main streets in Mumbai, a major, modern World Class city and you will find miles of "shanties". The family with the tarp for a house is certainly not unusual and is unlikely to be the worst off in their village.

But India has a chance to break this cycle of poverty (born on the street live their life on the street, die on the street). The Economy is doing well and economic reforms (of which more are needed)are helping, as is superb technical education. India is even the home of the world's largest circulation English language newspaper, The Times of India.

India has found it is a natural ally of the US and, for the US, India is something of a counterbalance to China.

India certainly has a poverty issue, but if you want to see even worse poverty look next door in Bangladesh. And there it is a threat to the US, as the folks who brought you 9/11 are trying to set up there. As the old Chinese curse goes: "May you live in interesting times."

[Hildy]

Lauralee, you are only 19 years old. You should be doing alot more listenin' and alot less talkin'. That's all I'm going to say to you.

[Gondring]

It wasn't because her mother couldn't afford a school meal. People who commit suicide are depressed. It's a medical problem.

Correction: People who commit suicide often are depressed. [Depression can be] a medical problem.

Disclaimer: I am not a physician.

[Gondring]

No offense meant, but you need to study logic. You are making leaps that are not supportable.

Besides...How are you providing the diagnosis of clinical depression in this girl? Do you understand that not all suicidal people are depressed? Do you understand that depression is not the same as sadness--that depression can be a mind's defense against sadness/sorrow/etc.?

[PzGr43]

Instead of giving them payouts, the fatties suing MacDonalds for being too nutritious should be swapped with 12 year old Bengalis.