Summary of this article

The mental hospital remains a part of cultural discourse throughout the history of India.

In 1962, amid the India-China conflict, panic gripped Tezpur after Nehru’s mistaken ‘fall of Assam’ announcement. Civil surgeon Nani Bordoloi stayed behind, freed mental hospital inmates, ran the radio station, and later earned a Padma Shri for his courage.

In 1934 at Ranchi’s Indian Mental Hospital, Major Jal Dhunjibhoy staged a mock Governor General’s visit to coax a depressed patient to eat. The hospital also kept meticulous farm records, hosted cricket matches, and organised jatras and magic shows—now largely forgotten.

The year was 1857. On the 11th of May, a straggling bunch of mutineers were coming from the not-so-distant city of Meerut, approaching the gates of the

See Full Page