Taking your own life is a bad idea. Most often it comes to the head of a person who suffers from depression or feels cornered, and therefore simply does not see any other way out. But, unfortunately, sometimes this terrible thought takes possession of many minds at once. And then there are massive suicides, striking in their cruelty and senselessness.
Suicide as a tradition
Throughout its history, the Indian fort Chittorgarh has experienced three large-scale suicides. The reason for this was the jauhar - the custom of mass self-immolation of women from the upper strata of society in the event of an enemy attack. From the series: Death is better than dishonor. People went to the fires here not after the battle, but even before the start of the battle. True, only in those cases when it was obvious that it would not be possible to repel the enemy's blow. Therefore, seeing the superior forces of the rival at the gates, the female population of Chittorgarh performed jauhar, and the male population entered into an unequal battle, knowing that he would be the last. This was called saka.
In 1303, the Delhi sultan Ala ad-Din attacked Chittorgarh. He wanted to get the daughter of the ruler Rany Padmini into his harem. The battle near the walls of the fortress was fierce, both the ruler and his soldiers perished in it. But Rani did not want to give up. Together with other inhabitants of the fort, the girl performed jauhar. Then about 700 women burned in the fire.
Sultan Bahadur Shah attempted to siege the fort next time. And 13,000 women voluntarily went into the fire, many of whom were holding children. And more than 3,000 men entered the final deadly battle with the enemy.
But most of all people died during the siege of the fortress by padishah Akbar the Great in 1568. For almost a year, the Mongol army held the fort in a blockade. When the inhabitants of Chittorgarh realized that they could not withstand, all the women committed jauhar, and the men went out the gate and laid down their heads in a battle with the enemy: out of 30,000 soldiers, none survived.
According to historians, more than 50,000 people died as a result of these three tragic events.
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Unity of hearts
Japan, too, is not surprised by group suicides. She has long been accustomed to shinju, which means "unity of hearts" - the suicide of lovers whose love is socially unacceptable or rejected by the family. Such unfortunate people can be together only in heaven, where their souls go after the shinju ritual. The souls of children killed by their parents are also poisoned there: this is a lesser known type of shinju. When mom (or dad) decides to leave this life, she (or he) takes the child with her. Indeed, according to the ideas of the Japanese, no one can take care of small children better than their own mother (father).
Committed suicide is another Japanese know-how. It appeared here only at the beginning of the XXI century, but, unfortunately, has already managed to spread throughout the world. People get to know each other on the Internet and agree on where and how they will part with the mortal world. They don't even have to meet for this. The main thing is to do it simultaneously: in 2005, seven people, having locked themselves in different cars, poisoned themselves with exhaust gases.
However, a truly massive suicide in the Land of the Rising Sun occurred during World War II on the island of Saipan. In 1944, the United States attacked the Mariana Islands, which belonged to Japan. At that time, in addition to the military, there was also a civilian population on the islands, who were actively told about the atrocities of the Americans. Of course, that was just propaganda. But people did not know this and believed that US soldiers would tie all prisoners by the arms and legs to the cars and tear them apart. The military did not need such "motivating" horror stories: they were ready to die for the emperor anyway.
Meanwhile, the American paratroopers were advancing inland of Saipan. They were opposed by 31,000 Japanese soldiers, many of whom were wounded and unarmed. Therefore, their number was melting before our eyes. But the remaining Japanese preferred to die in battle, but by no means surrender. When the prospect of being captured loomed before them, they shouted "Banzai!" 5,000 soldiers jumped off the cliff. Since then, this place has been called Banzai Cliff.
Their example was followed by the overwhelming majority of the civilian population. Parents threw their children into the abyss, and then jumped themselves. Those who for a long time could not decide to commit suicide were pushed from behind with bayonets. As a result, as many as 22,000 civilians died …
Don't get to the enemy
On May 1, 1945, Soviet troops entered the German city of Demmin, in which 15,000 people lived. Leaving the city, the German army blew up bridges behind them to prevent further advance of enemy troops. The city was cut off from the world, because it was surrounded on all sides by the rivers Pene and Tollense. The inhabitants had no way to get out of this trap. At the same time, they were frightened from all sides by the terrible reprisals that Soviet soldiers would allegedly inflict on them.
Hopelessness caused 2,500 residents to commit suicide: some shot themselves, some poisoned themselves. But most of all there were those who decided to hang themselves: according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, all the trees were hung with corpses. Mothers threw their children into rivers and then drowned themselves. Barbel Schneider, who at that time was 6 years old, miraculously survived among the mass psychosis. Over the years, she said, “I still remember rivers red with blood. If my brother hadn't stopped my mother, she would have drowned both of us."
Some of the drowned were saved by Soviet soldiers, but there were only a few of them. There were so many suicides that the bodies were removed from the rivers for another two months.
In the name of faith
Quite often, mass suicide is practiced by members of various sects. In the 20th century, self-proclaimed "gurus" pushed their flock to suicide, speculating on the theme of the apocalypse. So, in 1984, the teacher Joseph Di Mambro and the doctor Luc Jouret in Canada created the sect "Order of the Temple of the Sun". They inspired people that the end of the world was coming, but one should not be afraid of it, since death does not exist. Their followers believed that by committing suicide, they would be reborn in a new happy life. On the night of October 5, 1994, 50 sectarians in Switzerland and Canada simultaneously committed suicide. Another 16 people voluntarily passed away after a year. And in 1997, five more chose this path …
Suicide belt
According to a study by New York University, 17,638 people committed suicide in India in 2009, that is, every half hour in the country, someone died. At the same time, almost 70% of suicides occurred in five states, which were called the "suicide belt." The vast majority of suicides were farmers. It turned out that ruin forced them to settle accounts with their lives. The fact is that in 2002 the world-famous agricultural company Monsanto began to actively advertise GMO crops as a guarantee of wealth and success. However, the advertisement did not say that the seeds of these crops are more expensive than ordinary crops, they have to be bought every season and their cultivation requires a lot of water, which is worth its weight in gold in the country. Indian farmers fell for advertising and went around the world. Ironically, many of them committed suicide with pesticides,courtesy of the same company.
Culture of silence
According to statistics, 7 out of every 100,000 women commit suicide. But in India this figure is two times higher than the global level: here there are already 15 women for the same 100,000, what is the reason? In India, it is not customary to take your problems out to people. The so-called culture of silence reigns there, which does not allow receiving psychological help on time. In addition, arranged marriages are still accepted here, which satisfy the parents of the bride and groom, but not the young ones themselves. Therefore, they often have depression …
Magazine: All the mysteries of the world №26. Author: Galina Minnikova
