This book by a university clinic therapist explores causes of ‘suicidality’ among young Indians

There are multiple questions and preoccupations that have constantly emerged in the process of this research. Some of these have been lingering prior to the conception of the present work, while others have developed from interactions with the university, and the clinic, as spaces. The main question this research attempts to grapple with is: how do we engage with suicidality – its expressions and communications – in the setting of a clinic situated within the university, in a context where universities in themselves are a site of considerable socio-political turbulence?

As stated in the Prologue, engaging with suicide, as an event that is difficult to think about and symbolise, has gained significant prominence for me, through my own life history. This desire to engage with the phenomenon initially came upon me as a need to understand the untimely loss of a friend, and the impact this loss had on me. The question presented itself as: why would someone take their life? What would prompt that kind of a decision? I think, at an affective level, these were my attempts to mourn and symbolise the nature of this loss and its untimeliness. Though the work of mourning remains a continuous process, these questions no longer...

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