BARBARIC PRACTICES IN TWENTY FIRST CENTURY : Chaining and Caning the Mentally ill

Traditional healers are almost unanimous in their “understanding (?)” of mental illness: possession of the person by evil spirits. So faith healers keep the mentally ill in fetters on the belief that the divine spirit would pass through the fetters and heal the person.  Exorcists beat the mentally ill with cane and this practice has the general acceptance of the families of the patients.

Eleven years ago (in August 2001), the nation was shocked when 28 mentally ill patients were charred to death in a faith-healing home in Erwadi in Tamilnadu. They were chained and hence could not escape when fire broke out. The Supreme Court took  up the matter suo motu, and gave notices to the central and state governments on the violations of human rights of the mentally ill. Subsequently, the governments issued orders regarding the proper maintenance of homes for the mentally sick. Yet ill-maintained institutions continue to function; and the mentally ill continue to be chained. Even the well-known Institute of Mental Health in Chennai functions more like a jail than a health centre about which reports appeared in the media in the recent past. The distinct mental health programme initiated by the government in some districts is reported to be far from successful.

An estimated 85 million persons (7%) in India suffer from some form of mental disorder ;  those suffering from serious mental illnesses constitute around 1 per cent of the population (nearly 12 million). Early detection and correct treatment would prevent the wastage of precious human resources. Ignorance and fear of social stigma discourage families from seeking timely psychiatric treatment. Mental health education and primary mental health services are to be the crucial components of the health care system. Movies and TV serials portray the mentally ill in an insensitive manner, contributing to greater social negativism. A society that neglects the mental health of its people will be doing so at its own peril.