Hyderabad: Mentally ill people bound in chains

Hyderabad: Almost every tree in the Kowkoor Dargah complex has an occupant, a psychologically ill person chained to it by his/her family. Many others, though handcuffed and chained, roam around freely in the Dargah and even outside it.

Some of them engage in self imposed punishment for a few days to purify themselves of the sins that they have committed or cure illnesses that has afflicted them due to “evil spirits” or “black magic”.

“I murdered someone. That is why I was brought here,” claimed a person when asked about what brought him there. Within a minute, he changed the reason of why he was there and said, “ It was because the TDP lost in the state.”

It’s not just those who are inflicted with psychological illness who stay at this Dargah, family members and relatives too while away time in makeshift sheds inside the Dargah complex. Some of them claim to have been staying at the Dargah for over two years now.

“I have been staying here for two years now with my daughter. If she isn’t treated someone from my family will die,” said a middle aged woman who stays at the Dargah.

“Nobody has asked them to come here, and no one  can stop them from leaving. It is all a matter of faith. They have put their trust in Mastan Baba and now hope for a cure,” said a caretaker at the Dargah.

However, this belief does take brutal forms at times as the patients are often beaten up or not fed for days. The families of ill believe that ‘treatment’ is part of the cure.

“Just by looking at someone it is absolutely impossible for anyone to understand whether someone needs psychological help or is just acting. Mental illness needs to be assessed and tests need to be conducted to ascertain the same. However, it is not just the people who are tied up who require counselling but also those who are doing these things hoping for a cure,” said a city-based consultant psychologist who did not want to be named.