Beasts, Murrains, and the British Raj: Reassessing Colonial Medicine in India from the Veterinary Perspective, 1860-1900

• Published in: Bulletin of the history of medicine Vol. 85; no. 4; pp. 587 - 619
• Main Author: MISHRA, SAURABH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore, MD The Johns Hopkins University Press 01.12.2011; Johns Hopkins University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Biology; Breeding - history; Cattle; Colonialism - history; History of science and technology; History, 19th Century; Horses; Hospital administration; Humans; India; Life sciences; Livestock; Medicine; Medicine; surgery; pharmacy; Military Medicine - history; Mortality; United Kingdom; Veterinary medicine; Veterinary Medicine - history; Zoonoses - history; Century 19; India; England; Lahore Pakistan; United Kingdom > UK; Epidemic; Cattle; Rearing; military; veterinary; Veterinary medicine; Colonial medicine; India
• ISSN: 0007-5140; 1086-3176; 1086-3176; 1896-3176
• DOI: 10.1353/bhm.2011.0089

Assessments of colonial medicine in India have, until now, focused almost exclusively on questions related to human health. This article shifts attention to the subject of animal health and reexamines existing hypotheses about colonial medicine in India from this new perspective. It looks at the linkages between veterinary medicine and the military and fiscal policies of the colonial state, arguing that animal health in the larger colony remained neglected throughout the late nineteenth century as a result of these policies. In arguing this, the essay examines several areas related to veterinary medicine in India, including bacteriology, veterinary training, horse breeding, and disease control.