Evolution of Medicine in Colonial South Asia

 
Colonial Medicine
in South Asia
 
DANIEL TENNANT
 
Pratik Chakrabarti – ‘Western
Medicine in Colonial India’
 
Initially, EEIC built hospitals often used local markets/methods, but from 1802 they
became imperial institutions reliant on imported European medicine
19
th
 Century colonial hospitals in India (e.g. Madras Medical School) began training
local Indians with the aim of creating subordinate local physicians who would learn the
‘superiority’ of Western medicine
Epidemics such as the plague in Bombay (1896-7) met with interventionist sanitary
measures from the imperial government
David Arnold’s argument of the colonization of the body and the human body as the
site of imperial control
Competition between Indian and English physicians for medical positions fuelled Indian
nationalism and the Indianisation of science and medical institutions
‘The medical authorities suggested that trained Indians would become ‘warm
advocates ... for the adoption of our superior modes, and desirous of rescuing their
countrymen from the ignorance and empiricism of their own practitioners’’
 
Mark Harrison – Medicine and
Colonialism in South Asia Since 1500
 
Early Visitors to India, e.g. the Portuguese physicians, agreed that locals had the
best knowledge on treating local disease
The challenge posed by Western medicine sparked introspection and then a
resurgence of traditional Indian methods
1866 International Sanitary Conference put pressure on the British government
to improve sanitation at pilgrimage sites
In Europe sanitisation was becoming synonymous with civilisation and a
functional state, they saw it as a duty to ‘bestow’ this gift on South Asia
Scholarly discourse on the reason that early intended sanitation measures were
unsuccessful
‘while it was supported by central government after 1947, there was no need
actively to revive Indian medical traditions because they were already thriving’
Saurabh Mishra – Incarceration and
Resistance in a Red Sea Lazaretto, 1880-1930
 
From 1882, Hajj pilgrims were forced to quarantine in the Red Sea, possibly for over
10 days, following cholera scare
Coercion, restriction and mistreatment fuelled resistance in three main ways –
protest, negotiation and avoidance
Violent rebellions such as the S.S. Noorkoowa caused by possibility of missing Hajj
altogether due to quarantine
Richer pilgrims were treated much better and could bribe their way out of
restrictions
The sheer number of pilgrims made it relatively easy for some to avoid or
manipulate the rules at quarantine camps
‘the lack of drinking water was one of the greatest problems at the quarantine
camp; however … for those who were willing and able to pay a small bribe, this
crisis could magically disappear, to the extent that they could even obtain enough
to have a leisurely bath’
Discussion Question
 
What can the local reactions to epidemics such
as plague and cholera in South Asia tell us
about the effects and response to colonial
medicine in the region? Are they a useful
example?
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The evolution of medicine in colonial South Asia witnessed a transition from local traditional practices to the dominance of imported European medicine. This shift, marked by the establishment of imperial institutions and training of local physicians in Western techniques, led to a complex interplay between colonial control, nationalist sentiments, and the revival of indigenous medical traditions. The clash between Western medicine and traditional practices, illustrated through instances like the plague epidemic in Bombay and resistance to quarantine measures during Hajj pilgrimages, reflects the intricate dynamics of power, resistance, and cultural exchange in the colonial medical landscape.

  • Colonial Medicine
  • South Asia
  • Western Medicine
  • Nationalism
  • Medical Institutions

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  1. Colonial Medicine in South Asia DANIEL TENNANT

  2. Pratik Chakrabarti Western Medicine in Colonial India Initially, EEIC built hospitals often used local markets/methods, but from 1802 they became imperial institutions reliant on imported European medicine 19thCentury colonial hospitals in India (e.g. Madras Medical School) began training local Indians with the aim of creating subordinate local physicians who would learn the superiority of Western medicine Epidemics such as the plague in Bombay (1896-7) met with interventionist sanitary measures from the imperial government David Arnold s argument of the colonization of the body and the human body as the site of imperial control Competition between Indian and English physicians for medical positions fuelled Indian nationalism and the Indianisation of science and medical institutions The medical authorities suggested that trained Indians would become warm advocates ... for the adoption of our superior modes, and desirous of rescuing their countrymen from the ignorance and empiricism of their own practitioners

  3. Mark Harrison Medicine and Colonialism in South Asia Since 1500 Early Visitors to India, e.g. the Portuguese physicians, agreed that locals had the best knowledge on treating local disease The challenge posed by Western medicine sparked introspection and then a resurgence of traditional Indian methods 1866 International Sanitary Conference put pressure on the British government to improve sanitation at pilgrimage sites In Europe sanitisation was becoming synonymous with civilisation and a functional state, they saw it as a duty to bestow this gift on South Asia Scholarly discourse on the reason that early intended sanitation measures were unsuccessful while it was supported by central government after 1947, there was no need actively to revive Indian medical traditions because they were already thriving

  4. Saurabh Mishra Incarceration and Resistance in a Red Sea Lazaretto, 1880-1930 From 1882, Hajj pilgrims were forced to quarantine in the Red Sea, possibly for over 10 days, following cholera scare Coercion, restriction and mistreatment fuelled resistance in three main ways protest, negotiation and avoidance Violent rebellions such as the S.S. Noorkoowa caused by possibility of missing Hajj altogether due to quarantine Richer pilgrims were treated much better and could bribe their way out of restrictions The sheer number of pilgrims made it relatively easy for some to avoid or manipulate the rules at quarantine camps the lack of drinking water was one of the greatest problems at the quarantine camp; however for those who were willing and able to pay a small bribe, this crisis could magically disappear, to the extent that they could even obtain enough to have a leisurely bath

  5. Discussion Question What can the local reactions to epidemics such as plague and cholera in South Asia tell us about the effects and response to colonial medicine in the region? Are they a useful example?

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