Mass hysteria prompts over 600 girls to leave Maharashtra tribal school
More than 600 students fled a government ashram school in Doma village after episodes of uncontrollable laughter and numbness were labeled mass hysteria.
A government-run ashram school in Doma village, located in the tribal region of Melghat, saw 608 students return home after a wave of unexplained laughter, crying and numbness affected dozens of girls, an event officials termed mass hysteria. Medical staff identified the phenomenon as mass psychogenic illness linked to stress, and the state tribal commissioner Leena Rathod inspected the situation on Thursday. The episode, which began when 16 students displayed the symptoms, quickly spread through rumors of a haunted environment.
Officials highlighted longstanding issues at the school, including overcrowded classrooms, substandard meals, inadequate sanitation and the absence of counseling services. The headmaster denied claims that a recently felled mahua tree caused the incident, and a rationalist organization dispatched a team to counsel the children while the district administration prepared a broader anti-superstition outreach.
Why it matters
The incident reveals how fear and inadequate school conditions can trigger mass psychogenic episodes in vulnerable communities.
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