CASTE AND MENTAL HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS IN MYSORE STATE, INDIA
UMA SREENIVASAN M.B.1, and
J. HOENIG M.D.2
1 Alder Hey Childrens Hospital, Liverpool.
2 Senior Lecturer, Manchester University.
A brief outline is given of some features of the Indian caste system which may be of interest to social psychiatry. The case records of the mental hospital in Bangalore have been analysed in relation to caste of the patient and the results correlated with certain caste data in the Census reports of Mysore State. It was found that certain castes or communities like the Vysias, Brahmins and Indian Christians show a higher admission rate than other castes. It was also found that the cities of the state show a higher admission rate than the rural areas. The castes and communities which show high admission rates show a higher degree of literacy. Within each caste or community literacy is also higher in the cities than in the rural areas.
The general situation in India offers great opportunities for fruitful research in social psychiatry.
The significance of these facts and their relation to the true incidence of mental illness awaits further research, both genetic and environmental, for which the caste structure of India offers great opportunities.
