Paraphrasing the Framework of Public Health in Colonial India
Dr. Shreya SinghThe concept of Social Darwinism nurtured the phenomena of British colonialism in Asia and Africa and emergence of Macaulayism calcified it on Indian soil. British sense of cultural superiority galvanized them to trample every icon of traditional Indian ethos and harmonized the sentiments of indigenous people with European culture. Public health and medical treatment in India before the advent of Europeans were solely based on Ayurveda and Unani way of treatment. Ayurvedic and Allopathic procedure of treatment were greatly different from one another in their ideologies and methodologies of treating the ailing. Ayurveda, on one hand served the objective of Prevention is better than cure, whereas European medicines aimed at eliminating the disease through heavy doses of chemical composition. Ayurveda usually focused on tackling the hormonal imbalances of human body in the form of Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas. Unani Vaidyas used eight diagnosis methods for effective results such as- pulse, stool, urine, tongue, speech, vision, touch and appearance. Unlike these unsophisticated systems which focused on empowering the body with naturally-built immunity to fight diseases, sophisticated British way of medicinal treatment drew conclusions after punctilious technical examination of the source, proper recording and documentation of the symptoms and logical allopathic medication comprising of suitable chemical composition after authentic diagnosis. Queen’s Proclamation Act of 1858 gave Britishers an upper hand in Indian administration. They conducted several amendments through various acts to mold the thriving medical practices in India according to their personal preferences. The episode of vaccination drive promulgated by them played a prominent role in amelioration of the status of public health in India. This research work is an attempt to sketch an honest parody of Public Health System of India during British rule. Meticulous dissection of historical documents available in National Archives, New Delhi, scrutiny of records of East India company in British Library and rare documents on Medical History of British India from National Library of Scotland have facilitated the draft of this paper. Apart from the aforementioned primary sources various secondary sources have been used in form of books, articles and newspaper reports. This qualitative research would intrude into the disguised territory of East India Company records in order to construct the ideological notions which weaved the policies of British Governors and Civil servants regarding the health and sanitation of Indian civilians.