[UPDATED] Should Attempt to SUICIDE be Decriminalized? | GD TOPICS

Main Points :-

• Attempt to suicide is punishable by a one-year jail term under Section 309 of Indian Penal Code.
• The person, who attempts suicide feels devastated in life already. If he dies, there is no question of suicide. But if he fails, his life may become more miserable because of punishment. So, there are arguments that section 309 in IPC should be repealed.
• India has the highest suicide rate in the world after China.
• After French revolution (1789), many European countries decriminalized attempt to suicide.
• Attempt to suicide is not a crime in Britain, Sri Lanka, Russia and in some states of USA too.
• It's a crime in Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some other countries.
• In 1971, Law commission of India recommended to repeal sec 309. And the amendment bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in 1978. But the bill was lapsed as Lok Sabha was dissolved in 1979.
• In P.Rathinam case (1994), Supreme court stated that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution included the “right not to live a forced life”.
• In Gian Kaur case (1996), Five judge bench overruled the previous judgement, upholding the validity of Section 309.
• After the pronouncement of the judgement in Gian Kaur, in 1997, Law commission of India recommended retention of section 309.
• Again in 2008, Law commission of India recommended to repeal the law.
• Views of all states and union territories were sought on the recommendations of the Law Commission, because law and order is a state subject. The Law commission's recommendation is supported by 18 states and 4 Union territories.

In Favor :-

1. It's cruel to punish the person, who is already unable to cope up with his life.
2. Suicide is a diagnosable mental disorder. World Health Organization has pointed out that criminalizing suicide discourages people from reaching out for medical help and treatment.
3. If attempt to suicide is a crime, it'll cause a delay in giving treatment to the patients, who fails in suicide attempt as they have to file medico legal case. This will make the victims more traumatized. Sometimes this may lead to loss of valuable lives.
4. Madya Predesh expressed its concern that if suicide is decriminalized, section 306 may lose it's relevance. (Section 306 - If any person commits suicide, whoever encourages the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.) But even if attempt to suicide is not a crime, those who abets suicide will face punishment. In Gian Kaur case (1996), supreme court stated that, “Section 306 enacted a distinct offence which is capable of existence independent of Section 309”.
5. Bihar expressed its fear that suicide bombers may take advantage of it to eliminate all the evidences of the criminal. And it also said that criminals may take their own lives, when they caught by police. But these are also minor concerns because there are several anti-terrorism laws, which deal with these kind of issues.
6. There are arguments that suicide is a individual's choice, hence it should be respected. But the fact is suicide causes a lot of distress to the victim's family members. So it can't be termed as their own personal issue.
7. There are also arguments that decriminalizing suicide will automatically legalizes Euthanasia. But mercy killing is a very different concept and these two should not be merged. In suicide, no third party is involved. But in euthanasia the third party is crucial. Of course mercy killing should be legalized, but suicide and mercy killing are different.

In Against :-

1. Criminalizing suicide can act as a deterrent. And if it is decriminalized, the no. of suicides may increase.
2. In P.Rathinam case (1994), Supreme court stated that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution included the “right not to live a forced life”.
3. If suicide is decriminalized, chances of taking advantage of it will be very high, particularly by mother-in-laws or even by children in case of elderly parents.
4. It'll be taken as advantage by the people, who protest by fast-unto-death.
5. Those, who attempt suicide because of mental disorders and those, who are having difficulties in life are mixed up under one law.

Some interesting facts :-

• Globally, a significant historical factor aiding the penal law against suicide was perhaps the condemnation of suicide by institutional Christianity.
• Manusmriti, a Hindu Scripture mentions that suicide is circumstantially permissible.
• In ancient Athens, a person who had committed suicide (without the approval of the state) was denied the honors of a normal burial. The person would be buried alone, on the outskirts of the city, without a headstone or marker.
• A criminal ordinance issued by Louis XIV in 1670 was far more severe in its punishment. The dead person's body was drawn through the streets, face down, and then hung or thrown on a garbage heap. Additionally, all of the person's property was confiscated.

Conclusion :-

Attempt to suicide should be decriminalized as it's not at all right punish the person, who want to quit her life. Instead rehabilitation centers should be set up and counseling or treatment for mental ailments should be given. And separate laws must be there in order to avoid the chances of abuse of section 309's deletion.

Group Discussion Skills

GD – Three Important Skills :

Skill 1: Initiation Techniques "

Initiating a GD is a high profit-high loss strategy. When you initiate a GD, you not only grab the opportunity to speak, you also grab the attention of the examiner and your fellow candidates.

If you can make a favorable first impression with your content and communication skills after you initiate a GD, it will help you sail through the discussion. But if you initiate a GD and stammer/ stutter/ quote wrong facts and figures, the damage might be irreparable.

If you initiate a GD impeccably but don't speak much after that, it gives the impression that you started the GD for the sake of starting it or getting those initial kitty of points earmarked for an initiator!

When you start a GD, you are responsible for putting it into the right perspective or framework. So initiate one only if you have in-depth knowledge about the topic at hand.

Skill 2: Body of The Group Discussion

Different techniques to initiate a GD and make a good first impressions are:

1. Quotes
2. Definition
3. Question
4. Shock statement
5. Facts, figures and statistics
6. Short story
7. General statement

1. Quotes - are an effective way of initiating a GD.

Example: If the topic of a GD is - Should the Censor Board be abolished? you could start with a quote like, 'Hidden apples are always sweet'. Or if a topic is like, Customer is King, you could quote Sam (Wall-mart) Walton's famous saying, “There is only one boss: the customer.” And he can fire everybody in the company -- from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.'


2.  Definition - Start a GD by defining the topic or an important term in the topic.

Example: If the topic of the GD is Advertising is a Diplomatic Way of Telling a Lie, why not start the GD by defining advertising as, 'Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services through mass media like newspapers, magazines, television or radio by an identified sponsor'?

Example: If a topic like The Malthusian Economic Prophecy is no longer relevant, you could start by explaining the definition of the Malthusian Economic Prophecy.


3. Question - Asking a question is an impact way of starting a GD.

It does not signify asking a question to any of the candidates in a GD so as to hamper the flow. It implies asking a question, and answering it yourself. Any question that might hamper the flow of a GD or insult a participant or play devil's advocate must be discouraged.

Questions that promote a flow of ideas are always appreciated. For a topic like, Should India go to war with Pakistan, you could start by asking, 'What does war bring to the people of a nation? We have had four clashes with Pakistan. The pertinent question is: what have we achieved?


4.  Shock Statement - Initiating a GD with a shocking statement is the best way to grab immediate attention and put forth your point.

Example: If a GD topic is “The Impact of Population on the Indian Economy” then you could start with, 'At the center of the Indian capital stands a population clock that ticks away relentlessly. It tracks 33 births a minute, 2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day. It calculates to about 12 million every year. That is roughly the size of Australia. As a current political slogan puts it, “Nothing's impossible when 1 billion Indians work together.”


5. Facts, figures and statistics - If you decide to initiate your GD with facts, figure and statistics then make sure to quote them accurately.
Approximation is allowed in macro level figures, but micro level figures need to be correct and accurate.

Example:  You can say, approximately 70 per cent of the Indian population stays in rural areas (macro figures, approximation allowed), but you cannot say 30 states of India instead of 28 (micro figures, no approximations).

Stating wrong facts works to your disadvantage. For a GD topic like, China, a Rising Tiger, you could start with, 'In 1983, when China was still in its initial stages of reform and opening up, China's real use of Foreign Direct Investment only stood at $636 million. China actually utilized $60 billion of FID in 2004, which is almost 100 times that of its 1983 statistics."


6. Short Story - Use a short story in a GD topic like” Attitude is Everything”

Example: This can be initiated with, 'A child once asked a balloon vendor, who was selling helium gas-filled balloons, whether a blue-colored balloon will go as high in the sky as a green-colored balloon. The balloon vendor told the child, it is not the color of the balloon but what is inside it that makes it go high.


7. General Statement - Use a general statement to put the GD in proper perspective

Example: If the topic is “Should Sonia Gandhi be the prime minister of India?”  You could start by saying, 'Before jumping to conclusions like, 'Yes, Sonia Gandhi should be', or 'No, Sonia Gandhi should not be', let's first find out the qualities one needs to be a good prime minister of India. Then we can compare these qualities with those that Mrs. Gandhi possesses. This will help us reach the conclusion in a more objective and effective manner.

Skill 3: Summarizing or Concluding

Most GD’s don’t really have conclusions. A conclusion is where the whole group decides in favor or against the topic, but every GD is summarized. You can take the opportunity to summaries what the group has discussed in the GD in a nutshell.

Keep the following points in mind while summarizing a discussion:

• Avoid raising new points.
• Avoid stating only your viewpoint.
• Avoid dwelling only on one aspect of the GD.
• Keep it brief and concise.
• It must incorporate all the important points that came out during the GD.
• If the examiner asks you to summaries a GD, it means the GD has come to an end.
• Do not add anything once the GD has been summarized.