The Erwadi fire incident was an incident that occurred on 6 August 2001, when 28 inmates of a faith-based

mental asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

died in the fire. All these inmates were bound by chains at the Moideen Badusha Mental Home in Erwadi village in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. A large number of mental homes existed in Erwadi which was famous for the

dargah A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervi ...

of Quthbus Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Valiyullah, a Moroccan who came to

to propagate

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Various people believe that

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

from the dargah and oil from the lamp burning there have the power to cure all illnesses, especially mental problems. The treatment also included frequent

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or han ...

, beatings supposedly to "drive away the evil". During the day, patients were tied to trees with thick ropes. At night, they were tied to their beds with iron chains. The patients awaited a divine command in their dreams to go back home. For the command to come, it was expected to take anything from two months to several years. As the number of people seeking cure at dargah increased, homes were set up by individuals to reportedly take care of the patients. Most of these homes were set up by people who themselves had come to Erwadi seeking cure for their relatives. The origins of the fire are unknown, but once it spread, there was little hope of saving most of the 45 inmates, who were chained to their beds in the ramshackle shelter in which they slept, though such shackling was against Indian law. Some inmates whose shackles were not as tight escaped, and five people were hospitalized for severe burns. The bodies of the dead were not identifiable.

Aftermath

All mental homes of this type were closed on 13 August 2001, and more than 500 inmates were placed under the care of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. As per

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

directions, a commission headed by N. Ramdas was set up to enquire into these deaths. The commission recommended that care of mentally ill people is to be improved, that anybody wishing to set up a mental home be required to obtain a license, and that all inmates be unchained. In 2007, the owner of the ''Moideen Badusha Mental Home for the Mentally Challenged'', his wife and two relatives were sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a magistrate Court.

References

{{Mental Health in India 2001 fires in Asia Hospital fires in India 2000s in Tamil Nadu Disasters in Tamil Nadu 2001 disasters in India Crime in Tamil Nadu Ramanathapuram district August 2001 in India Mental health in India Medical scandals in India