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When Saying “No” Feels Harder Than Walking Away

Note: This article discusses allegations reported by law enforcement and media sources. The individuals involved are entitled to due process, and the facts will ultimately be determined through the legal system. The broader social questions explored here do not depend on the outcome of any single case.

Be horrified by what investigators are alleging in the Siya Goyal and Ketan Agarwal case. I am. Then ask the harder question nobody wants to ask: what kind of society makes a young person feel that telling the truth about what they want is less survivable than disappointing the people around them?

That’s the question I built Solh to sit inside.

On June 18, 26-year-old Ketan Agarwal- a director and chief marketing officer at Success Group- died after falling from a cliff at Lohagad Fort. Initially, the incident was reported as a trekking accident. Investigators now allege that it was not, bringing the Lohagad Fort case into public attention as part of a wider criminal investigation.

Police have alleged that Siya Goyal, 20, and Chetan Choudhary, 22, were involved in a conspiracy that led to Ketan’s death. Investigators have also alleged a series of actions that they believe demonstrate planning and intent. Those allegations are serious, disturbing, and will ultimately be tested through the legal process.

So let me say the obvious first, plainly, because a young man is dead and his family’s life has been permanently altered: if the allegations are proven in court, they describe conduct that is horrifying. Accountability should follow wherever the facts ultimately lead.

Nothing I write next is intended to excuse, justify, or minimise that.

Hold both of those truths in your hand while you read on.

NOW THE QUESTION I CAN’T PUT DOWN

There was a simpler door in that room, and it appears to have been available the whole time.

Someone can end an engagement.

Someone can disappoint their parents.

Someone can walk away from a relationship.

People do these things every day. It is awkward. It is painful. It can be messy. But it is survivable.

Yet according to the theory presented by investigators in the Siya Goyal case, that path was not taken.

And the reason investigators have suggested is the most unsettling part of the entire story—not because of what it says about one individual, but because of what it may say about the environment around them.

Reports suggest concerns about family pressure and mental health, family honour, and social consequences may have played a role in the decisions that were made.

Read that again.

If that allegation has any truth to it, then we are looking at a situation where disappointing family expectations may have felt less acceptable than confronting the consequences of an unwanted engagement.

That is not a relationship problem.

That is a family expectations in India problem.

That is a truth-telling problem.

That is a social pressure and mental health problem.

That is a society teaching people that honesty can carry unbearable consequences.

THIS WAS NEVER ONLY ABOUT ARRANGED MARRIAGE

It would be easy to turn this into a referendum on arranged marriage pressure and stop there.

That would be too small.

The pressure runs through far more than marriage.

What you study.

Which career is considered respectable.

Who is an acceptable person to love.

When to marry.

When to have children.

What counts as a successful life.

So many decisions are quietly scored against one invisible exam:

What will people say?

We raise children to be obedient and then act surprised when they struggle to say a clean, early, honest “no”- a pattern closely tied to fear of disappointing parents.

Because here is the system we have built:

Changing your mind is shameful.

Choosing differently is selfish.

Walking away is disobedience.

Every honest exit carries a social penalty rooted in family pressure and mental health dynamics that are rarely spoken about openly.

And when honest exits feel impossible, people often resort to secrecy, avoidance, deception, or other unhealthy ways of coping rather than direct communication.

This same pattern of pressure is also visible in everyday life beyond relationships, especially in how hustle culture and rest guilt quietly shape how people think about their own worth.

The overwhelming majority never hurt anyone.

Most simply hurt themselves.

They marry where they are told.

They stay where they are unhappy.

They suppress what they want.

They grieve privately for decades.

The case being investigated in the Ketan Agarwal case is extraordinary and tragic.

But the pressure underneath it is not.

The pressure underneath it is ordinary.

And that should concern us.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS. SO DOES THE ENVIRONMENT PEOPLE GROW UP IN.

Let me be absolutely clear.

If the allegations in the Siya Goyal and Ketan Agarwal case are proven, responsibility belongs first to the people who made those choices.

Examining the environment around those choices is not an attempt to excuse them.

It is an attempt to understand how situations develop before they become tragedies- especially in contexts involving emotional support for young adults and the lack of safe spaces to speak openly.

Because the question that interests me is not simply:

“How do we punish wrongdoing?”

The law already exists for that.

The harder question is:

“How do we reduce the number of people who arrive at such destructive places in the first place?”

This case may reflect broader issues of mental health support in India, even though the overwhelming majority of people under pressure never engage in criminal conduct.

The tragedy is not evidence that everyone under pressure becomes dangerous.

The tragedy is evidence that pressure, isolation, fear, and silence are not harmless.

Sometimes they break people inwardly.

Sometimes they break families.

Sometimes they alter lives forever.

THE PART WE RARELY TALK ABOUT

Many people live entire lives without ever feeling free to say what they actually want.

Not because they are weak.

Not because they lack intelligence.

But because every major decision has been attached to approval.

Approval from parents.

Approval from relatives.

Approval from neighbours.

Approval from a community that often values compliance more than honesty.

When that happens, people stop practising truth.

And when you never practise truth, even small acts of honesty begin to feel terrifying.

“I don’t want this.”

“I changed my mind.”

“This isn’t the life I want.”

“I love someone else.”

“No.”

These are simple sentences.

But in many families shaped by family expectations in India, they carry the emotional weight of betrayal.

That should concern us long before a crisis ever appears.

AND NO- THIS IS NOT NEW

Let me kill the comfortable lie that this is some modern sickness.

It isn’t.

History contains countless examples of violence, secrecy, and suffering emerging from situations where individuals felt trapped by social expectations, family pressure, or lack of personal autonomy.

What has changed is visibility.

The call records.

The CCTV footage.

The digital trails.

The evidence.

We are not necessarily watching society become worse.

We are watching more of what was always there become visible.

The horror is not new.

The ability to document it is.

And perhaps being forced to look at it directly is the first step toward changing the conditions underneath it.

WHERE SOLH STANDS IN THIS

Solh exists for the space between:

“I can’t do this anymore.”

and

Whatever comes next.

Our entire belief is that better mental health support in India leads to better decisions.

Not perfect decisions.

Not painless decisions.

Better ones.

Imagine a young person having one place where they could say:

“I don’t want this marriage.”

“I’m in love with someone else.”

“I’m terrified of disappointing my family.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Imagine those words landing somewhere safe instead of remaining trapped inside fear.

Would every tragedy be prevented?

Of course not.

Human behaviour is more complicated than that.

But earlier support, earlier intervention, and earlier honesty can change trajectories.

And changing trajectories matters.

That is why we believe support should not be treated as a luxury.

It should be treated as infrastructure for emotional support for young adults.

For the young woman trapped between expectation and autonomy.

For the young man being pushed into a future he never chose.

For the parent who genuinely wants to help but does not know what their child is carrying.

For anyone standing at the edge of a decision and feeling alone.

The goal is simple and enormous:

Make the honest exit available.

Make truth easier to speak.

Make support easier to reach.

So fewer people reach breaking points in silence.

THE HOUSE IS STILL THE STORY

If the allegations in the Siya Goyal and Ketan Agarwal case are proven, those responsible should be held fully accountable.

Nothing about social pressure removes personal responsibility.

But once the courts do their job, we should still ask ourselves a harder question.

Why are so many people terrified of disappointing others?

Why does honesty so often feel more dangerous than conformity?

Why do so many young people believe their preferences are a form of disobedience?

Because this story is bigger than one person.

Bigger than one engagement.

Bigger than one tragedy.

The individuals involved may be the headline.

But the systems that shape how people learn to make choices are the story.

And until we make it safer to tell the truth about what we want, we will keep producing lives built on silence, fear, and obligation.

The headline will change.

The names will change.

The house will remain the same.

— KG

FAQs

1. What is the Siya Goyal and Ketan Agarwal case about?

The Siya Goyal and Ketan Agarwal case refers to allegations reported by law enforcement regarding the death of Ketan Agarwal at Lohagad Fort. Investigators have suggested that the incident may not have been an accident, and the matter is currently under legal scrutiny. The facts will ultimately be determined through the judicial process.

2. Why is this case being discussed in the context of family pressure and mental health?

Beyond the legal allegations, the case has triggered a wider conversation about family pressure and mental health in India. It raises questions about how social expectations, fear of disappointing parents, and stigma around personal choice can influence decision-making and emotional wellbeing.

3. Does social or family pressure directly cause violence?

No. The overwhelming majority of people who experience family or social pressure never engage in violence. However, persistent pressure, lack of safe communication, and emotional isolation can contribute to distress, poor coping mechanisms, and unhealthy decision-making in some cases. These factors are about risk environments, not deterministic outcomes.

4. What does “fear of disappointing parents” mean in this context?

It refers to the emotional conflict many young people experience when their personal desires do not align with family expectations. In highly value-driven or traditional environments, this fear can make even simple decisions—like saying no or expressing disagreement—feel overwhelming or unsafe.

5. How does Solh relate to cases like this?

Solh focuses on emotional support for young adults and aims to create a space where people can express difficult thoughts before they escalate into crisis. The idea is to make honest communication easier and more accessible, so individuals have support while navigating personal, family, or relationship pressures.