Indian men are taught many things early in life, how to provide, protect, achieve, and “be strong.” What they are rarely taught is how to speak about fear, loneliness, heartbreak, anxiety, or emotional exhaustion. Somewhere between “man up” and “don’t cry,” generations of men learned to survive silently. And now, that silence is becoming a crisis. Across cities, small towns, offices, homes, and even social media feeds, many Indian men are struggling mentally while pretending everything is fine. The problem is not that men do not feel emotions. The problem is that society has convinced them expressing those emotions makes them weak.
