Discussion on agony of Partition in city

Neha Saini

Tibune News Service

Amritsar, August 11

Asylum literally means a safe haven, a place where, despite the mayhem outside, one can feel protected. But contrary to the word’s meaning, symbolic and otherwise, Dr Anirudh Kala’s book Unsafe Asylum, is about the state of mental asylums during Partition and how these places hid stories of tragedy and chaos. In a discussion held on his book at Majha House, the first time author and psychiatrist talked about the impact of Partition on the mental health of people and the trauma of a lifetime that they suffered.

“When we talk about Partition, its impact on the mental health of the people from both sides and those who were stuck in mental institutions during time largely went ignored. Most of the mentally unstable people, during the mass migration at the time, were either shifted to Amritsar mental hospital or at Ranchi mental institution. They were never asked which side they wanted to go, due to the legal incapacity that seemed to be secular in its impact,” he said.

His book, a product of a decade-long research in the subject, explores stories inspired by real life incidents. He narrates the stories of mental patients, in asylums on both sides and how they coped with the Partition. “Whether it’s a young boy from Shimla, who had a crush on Benazir Bhutto or a particular Mr Haq, who identified strongly with Amitabh Bachchan, these stories relate and reflect on so many emotions, a sense of belonging and the Punjab to Punjab connection that still exists between the two countries.”