Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Phyobemo Ngully, pioneer of mental healthcare in Nagaland, passes away in Kohima at 68 after a cardiac arrest.
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KOHIMA — Dr. Phyobemo Ngully, one of Nagaland’s pioneering psychiatrists and a respected social leader, passed away on Thursday in Kohima following a cardiac arrest. He was 68.
Dr. Ngully played a foundational role in mental healthcare in the state and was instrumental in establishing the then Mental Hospital Kohima at Aradhura Hills, now known as the State Mental Health Institute.
He joined government service in 1982 as Assistant Surgeon I in the Health and Family Welfare Department and retired in 2007 as the Medical Superintendent of the Mental Hospital Kohima.
Beyond his medical career, Dr. Ngully was known for his decades-long service to society through rehabilitation, education, and advocacy. As chairman of the Kripa Foundation Nagaland, he helped shape recovery and support systems for people struggling with addiction across the state and beyond.
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He was also involved in civil society, serving as an executive member of the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and chairman of the Kohima Educational Trust. He remained actively engaged with the Forum for Naga Reconciliation and was part of the Naga delegation that recently visited the Pitt Rivers Museum in the UK.
A respected community elder, Dr. Ngully also held various leadership roles in organisations such as the Lotha Hoho, Kohima Ngullie Khümshüm, and Kohima Ezomontsü-rui Ekhung, among others.
Born on March 18, 1956, Dr. Ngully began his education at Baptist English School, Kohima, and later completed his higher secondary at Sainik School, Purulia. He earned his MBBS from Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, in 1981 and went on to complete his Diploma in Psychological Medicine from the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, in 1988.