The Social Hisetory of Health and Medicine in Colonial India

This book analyzes the diverse facets of the social history of health and medicine in colonial India. It explores a unique set of themes that capture the diversities of India, such as public health, medical institutions, mental illness and the politics and economics of colonialism. Based on inter-disciplinary research, the contributions offer valuable insight into topics that have recently received increased scholarly attention, including the use of opiates and the role of advertising in driving medical markets. The contributors, both established and emerging scholars in the field, incorporate sources ranging from palm leaf manuscripts to archival materials.

This book will be of interest to scholars of history, especially the history of medicine and the history of colonialism and imperialism, sociology, social anthropology, cultural theory, and South Asian Studies, as well as to health workers and NGOs.

Biswamoy Pati is Reader in the Department of History at Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, India. His research interests focus on colonial Indian social history and recent publications include an edited book, The Nature of 1857 (2007), and a book co-edited with Waltraud Ernst entitled India’s Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism (2007).

Mark Harrison is Professor of the History of Medicine and Director of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at Oxford University. His publications include Public Health in British India (1994), Climates and Constitutions (1999) and a co-edited book with Biswamoy Pati, Health, Medicine and Empire (2001).