Leprosy, widely mentioned in different religious texts and ancient scriptures, is the oldest scourge of humankind. Cases of leprosy continue to be found across the world as the most crucial health problem, especially in India and Brazil. There are a few maladies that eventually turn into social disquiets, and leprosy is undoubtedly one of them. This book traces the dynamics of the interface between colonial policy on leprosy and religion, science and society in Bengal from the mid-nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth centuries. It explores how the idea of ‘degeneration’ and the ‘desolates’ shaped the colonial legality of segregating ‘lepers’ in Indian society. The author also delves into the treatments of leprosy that were often transfigured from ‘original’ English texts, written by American or British medical professionals, into Bengali.
Rich in archival resources, this book is an essential read for scholars and researchers of history, Indian history, public health, social history, medical humanities, medical history and colonial history.
List of Illustrations x
Foreword xii
Acknowledgements xiii
List of Abbreviations xvi
Glossary xviii
Introduction 1
1 Colonialism, Legislation and Leprosy: Bengal and Empire 16
2 Objectifying ‘Lepers’, Constructing Identity: Missionaries and Colonial Care in the Leper Asylums of Bengal 57
3 Empire and Institution: Leprosy Research in the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM) 115
4 Nationalising Disease: ‘Kustha cikitsha’ and ‘Kustha rogi’ in Bengali Newspapers and Health Periodicals 155
Conclusion 193
Bibliography 206
Index 227
Biography
Apalak Das is Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Rani Birla Girls’ College under Calcutta University, India. He did his PhD from the Department of History, Jadavpur University on Leprosy in Bengal in 2022. His research looks broadly at the social history of medicine in colonial India. He was also a former Research Fellow of the History of Medicine Fellowship at the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, for a two-year term, 2017–2019.
‘Focusing on Bengal, this book provides fresh insights into how leprosy as a communicable disease was perceived as a ‘social threat’ by the Raj, and its treatment and care were institutionalised within its legal framework. Along with the contributions of the missionaries and the western medical research, it also looks at the indigenous traditions for treating leprosy.’
Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Emeritus Professor of History, Victoria University of Wellington
‘Enriched by vernacular and archival research, Das’s Empire and Leprosy in Colonial Bengal investigates power dynamics in the relationships between colonialism, disease and patient experience in British India. It is a valuable addition to the history of medicine.’
Jane Buckingham, Associate Professor of History, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
‘Empire and Leprosy in Colonial Bengal takes the readers on a hitherto unexplored journey of the historical happenings of leprosy in a powerful socio-cultural context of new connotations, narratives of inclusion and changing responses to colonial policies of shaping the social history of leprosy in India.’
Poonam Bala, Professor Extraordinarius, UNISA, South Africa
