On 6 August 2021, 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 the chances of escaping were minimal. Some, whose shackles were not as tight,t 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 this all too well. “I’m old, tired, and have fought several battles. I helped my wife fight cancer for three years, and have been fighting my daughter Richa’s schizophrenia for 20 years.

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‘A constant shift between remission and relapse’Since my wife’s death last year, I’m the only one who can care for Richa. This is the age when I need some help and support as well, but our conditions don’t allow for that. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to care for her — I don’t have much time,” he tells The Better India.

‘A constant shift between remission and relapse’

Richa is the Bakhshys’ only daughter. At the time of her diagnosis, around 1991, her family was settled in Mumbai, and she was attending a boarding school in Dehradun. “Her symptoms appeared there first. My sister-in-law was her local guardian at that time. Her husband passed away, and Richa was the first one to witness his death. That might have been the trigger,” he says. Schizophrenia is present since birth, but might be triggered much later due to any tragic event.

Soon after, her parents called her back to Mumbai, and her father took her to a doctor there. “He gave us very wrong advice. He said this must be a one-time episode, and we didn’t have to worry. She was not provided with the medication she should have been given at the time,” he says.

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Effective mental health care depends on regular communication between healthcare professionals and caregivers. (Representational image source: Shutterstock)

She later got admission in Baroda University, which Bakhshy........

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