Conclusion

Summary

In 1932, Dhunjibhoy proclaimed: ‘We introduce all the latest approved Western methods of treatment with due regard to Eastern conditions.’ It is clear from the records that he did just that. Finances permitting, he experimented with new treatments as soon as they became publicised in the academic literature, exposing patients at Ranchi to the same benefits and horrors that were bestowed on their counterparts in Europe and North America. From today's perspective, shock therapies and prolonged sedation constitute a woeful chapter in the history of psychiatry. At the time they seemed to provide a glimpse of hope among Western-trained practitioners around the globe, nurturing the belief that modern science and medical technology could effect improvement in some, if not all, types of mental illness. However, despite the emphasis on drug and shock treatments in the official report forms, the ‘sheet anchor’ at Ranchi was the more mundane, tried and tested hydrotherapy, together with an intense regime of work therapy. These methods, too, could be seen as means to subjugate and exploit patients. Towards the late 1930s in particular there are traces of this. Yet, there is also ample evidence of care and attention being paid to the welfare of patients. The well-established links with the upper echelons of the public, the frequent outings, feasts and nutritious food, and entertainment by external performers, leisure opportunities and the parole procedure for recovering patients indicate that Ranchi's institutional boundaries were permeable, albeit surrounded by a four-metre-high wall.