Abstract

Mental health issues till today continues to be highly neglected, despite being the common issue in society. People with mental illness experience grave violation of their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights the world all over. India is not an exception with respect to human rights violations of patients with psychiatric disorders, despite having numerous legal measures such as the Mental Health Act 1987, Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 etc., to prevent the issues. India has signed a signatory to the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978 that states that health, i.e. a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental human right. In 2007, India was among the many countries that ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which includes People with Mental Impairment. Although India has various legal measures to protect the human rights of the mentally ill, the proper implementation of these acts came into question after the Erwadi fire accident in 2001 which caused the death of 25 mentally ill patients who were chained in a faith based ‘mental asylum’ at Erwadi Village in South India. A recent article reported a young man with mental illness chained to a tree with ant bites and open wounds on his legs this appears to be painfully obvious is that these violations and inhumane treatment continue to occur in India, more often in the rural areas of the country. Though there are a number of reports of human rights violations of the mentally ill in psychiatric institutional settings, such incidents happening in their own homes are often overlooked and are under-reported.

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