The human mind is difficult to fathom, observed Sanjeev Jain, Emeritus Professor, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, as he walked his audience through the history of psychiatry. He was delivering a lecture on ‘The Evolution of Psychiatry and its History in India’ as part of the Keshav Desiraju Memorial Lecture Series, organised by Cognizant Foundation and The Banyan’s partnership for the mental health sector.
He spoke on how civilisations across the world, be it Greek, Chinese, Indian or Egyptian, had their own methods to treat mental illnesses. Though psychiatry is a young science, the struggle to treat mental illnesses had a long history, he said. His thought-provoking presentation gave a glimpse of treatment of persons with mental illnesses in colonised countries, during wars between countries and during linguistic division of States in India. When the States were bifurcated, asylums were downsized, leaving people with mental illness stranded.
Not all persons will recover completely from a bout of illness. There are chronic disorders that need constant, lifelong management. The remedy is to keep in touch with patients and their families through their life, he explained. Creation of asylums for persons with mental ailments is older than psychiatry itself. In fact, the idea of an asylum in India found mention in a book written during the reign of Shah Jahan, Dr. Jain said.
The British set up the first hospital for insane patients in 1793 with 16 patients. By the 18th Century, asylums had been established in several parts of the world. Several ideas, including rehabilitation and creation of smaller asylums, were discussed, Dr. Jain said.
By 1950, the treatment of psychiatry moved from being asylum-based to the public health sphere in India. The concern now is that though India has more psychiatrists graduating, nearly half of them migrate due to lack of investments in services within models of medical care, he said. The country invests lower in healthcare than even during the British reign, he regretted.
Post-independence, only the Indian Medical Services was disbanded but not the India Police Service or the Indian Administrative Service, and it left no room for universal health care, Dr. Jain observed.
To a question on handling psychiatric patients in the family, Dr. Jain said family is the most important connection as the quality of life is better for the patient. However, the entire family must be co-opted into the treatment plan as they also need to carry on with their life.
K. Balaji, Foundation chairman and director of The Hindu, paid rich tributes to Keshav Desiraju, former bureaucrat, recalling his refreshing approach and humane understanding of issues. Former Madras High Court judge Prabha Sridevan also recalled her association with the bureaucrat.
