The Gujarat government, an NGO named, Altruist, and the trustees of the Mira Datar Dargah have come together to help the mentally ill who flock to the shrine for relief.
"We don't approach the patients directly. In fact, it is the mujawars, trained by us to identify the symptoms of various mental illnesses, who send them to us. We then provide them with necessary medicines," said Dr Yatin Bhushan, a psychiatrist, who works at the OPD inside the dargah. Some 200 mujawars have been trained till now.
It is interesting that the mujawars had initially refused to work with the psychiatrists who, they thought, had come to rob them of their livelihood. Hence, before the project was implemented, the NGO explained to the mujawars what they wanted to do and how they would be working with them. It took the NGO three months of persuasion before the project could actually be implemented. Funds for the project are provided by the state government. Of the 100s of devotees who visit the dargah daily, around 15 to 17 are patients who come for treatment at the OPD.
The dargah has visitors from across the world, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The medicines provided by doctors free of cost are seen as part of the 'prasad' given as blessing by dargah.
"The patients undergo all the rituals considered necessary to rid themselves of 'evil spirits'. But they are also provided with the power of modern medicine. As several patients stay here for a long period of time, it is easy to treat them, as psychological and psychiatric problems require long-term treatment," said Chandrakant Parmar, a psychologist who works with the patients.
"After the Ajmer-e-Sharif dargah, this dargah hosts the highest number of patients looking to rid themselves of the ghosts and evil spirits possessing them," said Saiyad Varis Ali, trust’s chairman.
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