India, Nov. 28 -- It was in the same week when two students, one in Delhi and another in Jaipur, died by suicide, unable to bear the harassment and bullying they faced in school, that I heard of two teenage breakdowns within my own circle. If the timing of these was a coincidence, it was a cruel one. A coincidence that confirms what we have long refused to acknowledge: our children are suffering.
They are suffering despite everything we claim to do for their comfort and happiness. Their world, which we assume is cushioned with care and opportunity, is instead filled with threats, tension and tears. We remain oblivious to the storms brewing behind their composed faces, their disciplined routines, their rehearsed smiles until one day they de...