Main Article Content
Abstract
Senseless, Eccentric, Idiotic, Lunatic, Mental illness, and Abnormal Behaviour, in simple Bengali language whom we call in“Pāgal” Age after age, how they were discussed or criticized in history. May be they have peculiarly been discussed through ages or it is they whose talk or silence is improper, meaningless, unreasonable or laughable to the civilized society or whose external behaviour is not natural but the outward expression of mental derangement in the eye of the civilized society. We all know what attitude of the civilized societies, what attitude of the civilized people it may be about the manners, self-mood and gestures of these men whose mentality, according to the society and civilization, has created a different condition or nonsense like to the society. To some, they are mental patients and to some others they are insane, the polished man has no mind to listen to understand or accept their unreasonable conversation is rather more modest or frantic. Their right place is a lunatic asylum or a mental hospital. They have been considered to be unwanted by the civilized people time and again from the distant past to the present times. But why? Why has the civilized society been criticizing them on social point of view? Why, again, is all about them presented in a disported way? It is because they are the ‘Pāgal’ to the society and civilization. However, by using the word ‘Pāgal’ very much in vogue in Bengali society and culture. our society and civilization has taught us to identity by this word man from whom it in well and good to keep distance because he is mad to the extreme and unwanted. So whatever they may appear to the eye insane, devoid of commonsense, nonsense, indifferent, mentally obsessed, it is certainly necessary to throw light on their lives in the study of social history on the basis of the word ‘Pagal’ for the time being.