Fleas, Faith and Politics: Anatomy of an Indian Epidemic, 1890-1925.

Abstract

Many a fascinating aspect has escaped the South Asian historian in his attempt to capture the essence of the late-nineteenth-century plague epidemic in India. The thesis attempts to engage social, medical, legal and political perspectives. In colonial narratives, there has been an inclination towards the creation of homogeneous representations of the Indian response to colonial anti-plague measures. Current research, therefore, aims to locate disparate voices from within the Indian community. Medical philanthropy engaged the urban elite as well as missionaries, and it is the kind of motivation that supported these initiatives that has been explored. An analysis of the administrative mechanics of the government in addressing the epidemic and the subsequent response of the Indian community to Western medicine, remedies offered by the indigenous medical practitioners, homoeopaths as well as peddlers of popular medicine, have also received attention; the aim being¿to provide a comprehensive study of the plague years.