Insurgency and Mental Health

Dr Nabakanta Sharma *

The present scenario in Manipur is everybody's imagination; you never know what will happen in few minutes time.

The first gun snatching from the dharamsala area in the seventies was the beginning of the end of peace in Manipur. Anybody who can make few thousands rupees per month is in preview of monthly collection.

The problem is not the money which many of us have to cough out with a great relive, but the mental turmoil and fear psychosis which we have to bear is the real mental health problem, many of us bend towards the any available shunt, frequently towards the alcohol.

I was watching Professor Y Mohen medical superintendent RIMS speech at ISTV on the occasion of World Mental Health day 2008. I know him from his undergraduate time at Calcutta; he is very friendly medico, ready to help anybody at Calcutta.

It's time for relevant experts to do a detail study on the impacts/sufferings caused to mental health of the people by the existing issue of insurgency, said RIMS Superintendent Y Mohen while addressing the World Mental Health Day observance at RIMS Jubilee Hall today.

Dr Mohen observed that the insurgency movement inflicted mental sufferings to different degrees on all sections of the society including children. However, there has been no proper research till date on the ailments/sufferings caused by the insurgency movement to the mental health of the people.

The facts have not been published, he said while asserting that it's time to study the risks posed by such a situation.

Most of the time he will be in somebody's room to solve some of there problems. Although he is very outspoken person he is really very simple in his heart.

Many a time our colleagues are in trouble with present law and order problem his view is usually a straight forwards but we cannot express because of unwanted repercussions. But he usually express many a time he has to dialogue with the nongovernmental actors.

Although I cherish his way of expression I am really afraid of doing so. We doctors are very badly exposed we can be call by anybody at any point of time, we cannot stay indoors and signing the papers which our counterpart engineer friend can execute it.

In the simple term we are very "soft target", another very distressing things is that many of our colleague became hibernate from the land line and mobile phones.

The only suffering is our poor patients which they have to come personally to meet the consultant, which could have been a phone call away.

Through your medium kindly allow me to express my heart felt gratitude to Professor Y Mohen singh for his courageous step to tell the truth in the media how much we are suffering in the present situation.

In world health organization terminology of health is the social physical and mental well being not merely the absence of illness and infirmities.

If you look in bigger perspective all the citizens of Manipur is really sick, Proffesor Y Mohen rightly express this disease cannot be treated by only doctors and nurses but it should be treated with the entire available social and others nongovernmental organizations.

I wish our politician can learn from Professor Mohen's view and face the realities which we are prevailing around us.

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* Dr Nabakanta Sharma ( JN Hosptal, Immediate Past Secretary for Indian Medical Association - Manipur Branch) is a regular contributor to e-pao.net . The writer can be contacted at nabakanta(at)aol(dot)in . This article was webcasted on October 16, 2008.

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