On 6 August 2001, the Moideen Badusha Mental Home in Erwadi village, Tamil Nadu, caught fire. The origins of the fire remain unknown, but 45 patients housed in the facility perished. This was because they had been chained to their beds—despite it being forbidden by law to do so by authorities—so chances of escaping were minimal. Some whose shackles were not as tight managed to escape — five were treated for severe burns, and some remain missing.
Patients at this facility, like many others in the village at the time, were regularly caned to “drive the evil away”, and were instructed to await a “divine command” that would let them know that they were cured to return home. For some, this command would come within months, and for others, it would take several years, or possibly never.
In India, the status, or even availability, of quality shelter or halfway homes remains dismal. Amrit Kumar Bakhshy (79), former president of the Schizophrenia Awareness Association, knows…