19th of November is the official day for observing International Men’s Day, yet across Telangana, the silence is far louder than any celebration. The 2025 theme, “Celebrating Men and Boys,” urges the world to acknowledge men’s contributions and struggles, but the lived realities of many men tell a far more complicated story.
In Telangana, the National Family Health Survey (2019 to 2021) reports that 43.3 percent of men were recorded as alcohol consumers and 22.3 percent used tobacco, pointing to patterns that often reflect stress and poor mental health. On a national scale, the picture is just as worrying. The National Crime Records Bureau’s 2023 data shows a clear gender gap in suicides, with 72.8 percent of the deaths being men. These numbers raise important questions about what men are silently dealing, not only behind closed doors but also in the open with suppressed behaviours. The official International Men’s Day website, internationalmensday.com, outlines six core objectives for the observance. The very first calls for promoting positive male role models, not just celebrities or public figures, but also the everyday working men who live honest, responsible lives. Yet in reality, many of these men remain unnoticed, and their struggles rarely find space in public conversations.
Beyond the statistics, what’s missing is a cultural shift that allows men to express vulnerability without fear of judgement. In many communities across Telangana and India, men are still expected to conform to rigid ideals of toughness, emotional restraint, and constant responsibility. This pressure leaves little room for seeking help, sharing burdens, or admitting struggle.
If Men’s Day aims to celebrate men and boys, then acknowledging what they are going through should be a crucial part of that recognition. It is time we pause and stop treating men’s wellbeing as an invisible footnote in public health and start confronting the reality that a society that overlooks its men is one that quietly endangers its future.
