>Chongkian at 06:39, 17 December 2020

2020-12-17T06:39:45Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox News event
|image=[[File:Erwadi Fire1.jpg]]
|image_size=230px
|caption=Charred remains of the victims and the Moideen Badusha Mental Home at [[Erwadi]]
|date=6 August 2001<ref>{{cite news|title=Chronology of major fire accidents|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2531606241.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085953/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2531606241.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2014|work=Hindustan Times|location=New Delhi, India|date=9 December 2011|accessdate=30 November 2013}}{{Subscription required|via=HighBeam}}</ref>
|place=[[Erwadi]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
|casualties1=28 dead
}}
'''Erwadi fire incident''' is an accident that occurred on 6 August 2001, when 28 inmates of a [[Faith-based organization|faith-based]] [[mental asylum]] died in the fire. All these inmates were bound by chains at Moideen Badusha Mental Home in [[Erwadi|Erwadi Village]] in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/education.nsf/(docid)/0D59DAEFA60E200A652571850021EE28 |title=Deliverance in Erwadi |author=Asha Krishnakumar |date=18 August 2001 |publisher=Frontline |accessdate=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322151720/http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/education.nsf/(docid)/0D59DAEFA60E200A652571850021EE28 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1479958.stm|title=Indian mental homes face closure|author= |date=8 August 2001 |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=24 August 2011}}</ref>

Large number of mental homes existed in Erwadi which was famous for the [[dargah]] of Quthbus Sultan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed Valiyullah, from Medina, Saudi Arabia who came to India to propagate Islam. Various people believe that [[holy water#Other religions|holy water]] 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]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/ip_rm.htm|title=Indian Parliament: Responding To International Obligations Regarding – The Rights Of Mentally Retarded People
|author= Tarun Arora|date=August |publisher=Legal Service India. Com |accessdate=24 August 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/07/world/25-inmates-die-tied-to-poles-in-fire-in-india-in-mental-home.html?mcubz=3|title=25 Inmates Die, Tied to Poles, In Fire in India In Mental Home|author= BARRY BEARAK |date=8 August 2001 |work=New York Times |accessdate=21 August 2017}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
All mental homes of this type were closed on 13 August 2001, and more than 500 inmates were placed under government's care.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1818/18180270.htm|title=Escape from Erwadi |author= ASHA KRISHNAKUMAR|date=August 2001 |publisher=Frontline |accessdate=24 August 2011}}
</ref> As per [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] 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 to acquire a license, and that all inmates be unchained.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1923/stories/20021122005813200.htm|title=Probe report on Erwadi
|author= ASHA KRISHNAKUMAR|date=9 November 2002 |publisher=Frontline |accessdate=24 August 2011}}</ref>

In 2007, the owner of the Badsha Home for the Mentally Challenged, his wife and two relatives were sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a magistrate Court.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/erwadi-accused-get-7-yrs-ri/234193/|title=Erwadi: Accused get 7 yrs' RI |author= |date=31 Oct 2007 |work=Express news service
|publisher=Indian Express |accessdate=24 August 2011}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}
{{Coord|9|51|00|N|78|51|04|E|region:KR-47_type:city(516105)_source:dewiki|display=title}}

{{Mental Health in India}}

[[Category:2001 fires]]
[[Category:Fires in India]]
[[Category:2000s in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Disasters in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:2001 in India]]
[[Category:Crime in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Ramanathapuram district]]
[[Category:August 2001 events in Asia]]

Erwadi fire incident - Revision history

>Chongkian at 06:39, 17 December 2020