The article, “ > How a billion can help a fraction ” (July 22), reminded me of how 50 years ago we had warning boards at the entrance of town hotels which indicated that leprosy patients were not allowed. Such was their status in society. As people in India began to understand the power of medicine, such boards soon vanished. Unfortunately, our attitudes towards those who are mentally ill still remain frozen in time. Stress, depression or the loss of loved ones could be reasons that induce mental illness and which cause families to turn hostile towards the mentally sick. Mental illness needs to become a front-line subject as there are solutions.
P. Victor Selvaraj,
Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu
