Daily Wage Workers’ Suicides on the Rise in Modi-raj

The latest report by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) - Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India - shows an alarming increase in the suicide rate among daily wage workers since 2014. According to the report, the suicide rate in 2014 among daily wagers, one of the most exploited categories among working class was 12 percent. In 2021, according to the date, this increased to 25.06 percent. This steep and alarming rise directly correlates to the slew of anti-worker policies, including regressive changes in labour laws, ease of doing business policy (which helps the companies to easily terminate workers and escape from labour law compliance) and demonetization.

The unplanned lockdown in 2020 and immense hardships faced by migrant workers, who are mostly daily wagers has further exacerbated the suffering in their everyday live. This trend is also reflected in the data by NCRB. The number of suicides at national level increased by 7.17 per cent from the years 2020 to 2021, but during the period the number of suicides in the daily wage group rose by 11.52 per cent.

Furthermore, the report also points towards the increase in suicides among agricultural labourers, which has risen sharply to 5,098 in 2020 from 4,324 in 2019.