India: Advocates Protest about Deaths of Psychiatric Inmates
By Kay Schriner (kays@uark.edu)
The Center for Advocacy in Mental Health, an Indian mental health advocacy group, has mounted a protest of India's mental health policies following a tragic fire that killed 28 patients of a private psychiatric facility in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The fire deaths have received widespread coverage in the international media, and were reported on in the July-August edition of Disability World. The fire occurred at a facility in Ervadi, one of many private facilities in India which house individuals with mental illness. At least some of those killed in the fire were in chains to prevent them from running away.
The Center for Advocacy in Mental Health has started a letter-writing campaign demanding that government officials enforce the Mental Health Act of 1987 (MHA) and the Persons with Disabilities Equal Opportunities Act of 1995. Both laws, if fully implemented, would improve conditions for persons with mental illness. The Center is demanding that:
- States implement the MHA and make authorities accountable for its implementation
- Persons with psychiatric disabilities be included in all welfare programs and provided benefits on an equal basis
- Favorable court rulings ordering improvements in treatment be implemented and non-complying institutions be sanctioned
- Laws cover the rights of persons with psychiatric disabilities with respect to care and treatment, and
- Justice be served to the victims of the Ervadi tragedy by taking official action against state and private officials responsible for it.
The Center is asking that letters be sent to the following individuals:
- Ms. Maneka Gandhi, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, 25 Ashoka Road, New Delhi 110 001
- Justice JS Verma, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Ghavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110 001
- Honourable Chief Justice of India, Shri Anand, Supreme Court of India, Ghagwandas Road, New Delhi 110 001
- Chief Commission for Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, 15 Ashoka Road, New Delhi 110 001
The Center is asking all of those who write to provide the Center with copies, or let them know you wrote by contacting them at wamhc@vsn1.net. Interested readers can also e-mail them for complete copies of the Center's letter of "Condemnation of Official Lapses that Led to Ervadi Tragedy.
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