When public bus driver Shankar Lande goes on a killing spree in Pune, many are critically injured and killed as he is captured alive and taken into custody. The Pune Bar Association issues a ban against anyone representing Lande, but advocate Varun Gupte defies the ban.
Based on a true incident, Salil Desai’s book The Sane Psychopath brings to focus why Indians are so averse to talking about issues of mental health. Desai points out how it is high time to lift the taboo on mental health and normalise conversations around it. The World Health Organisation’s definition of health includes physical, social, spiritual, and mental health and not just the absence of disease in the human body.
The writing is crisp, clear, and fast-paced. The narrator mentions two socio-psychological concepts, namely priming and mob psychology. It further explains the reason behind the importance of being aware of them if one is to retain their rationality.
While politicians use them to their advantage, it is sad to see the judiciary fall prey to peer pressure exerted by those who may or may not have a political affiliation but are definitely affected by social media-driven popular opinion. It is sad if we reflect on the state of current media reports, especially television and social media.
The media fails to see the trauma it is unleashing on the Indian society as the anchors of popular news channels act as self-appointed judges and jury, goading the people like sheep taken to slaughter. They never apologise for fake news. Who is to answer for the trauma unleashed on innocent people who are hurt or killed?
