CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER-I

A medical historian described colonialism as "literally a health

hazard"1. The attitude of the colonizer towards the colonized, when the
latter was exposed to the deadly consequences of epidemics and the
priorities of the colonizer during such critical times, which caused
deaths in thousands, in fact, made die colonized to consider colonialism as
a ‘health hazard’. The historiography that has flourished since the days of
colonialism to the present, treat colonialism and the medical policies
of the colonial state as being destructive to the very interests of the
indigenous people.

In India, medical historians have approached the problem with

similar ideas and perceptions as die nationalists did. However, there is
now, a discernible shift in their approach. The historiographical aspects,
however, will be surveyed elsewhere.

The advent of the British in India initiated a process of change in

Indian society and culture. The political subjugation of the sub-continent
and the necessity of establishing an administrative machinery to run the
administration of the territory smoothly induced the imperialists to master
the indigenous systems relating to almost every branch of the society.

1 Denoon, Donald, Public Health in Papua New Guinea, Cambridge, 1889, p.52, quoted in
Kumar, Deepak, (ed.), Disease and Medicine in India: A Historical overview, New Delhi,
2001, p.XVIII.

1
This practical necessity, combined with the unmatched interests in the
oriental society and culture led to the creation of knowledge of the land
and the people. The idea of knowledge as power gained currency.
Knowledge is a resource and whoever can monopolize it has the power of
that resource. As knowledge grows so the struggle for dominance
changes.2 The generation of knowledge was not confined to the branches
of political administration; it affected the medical science and knowledge
too. The British initiated the process of subjugation and captivation of
India's traditional systems by well-developed modem scientific systems of
the West. India became a prized colony for the western science. As the
British had control over die entire sub-continent, the Western science with
the unfailing support of the colonial power, gradually gained upper hand
by dethroning and pushing to the background the indigenous medical
systems. Passing through various stages, the western science and medicine
established their superior position, and it became one of the 'tools of the
Empire' of India as Daniel Headrick has termed it.3

The history of ‘colonial medicine' in India is both interesting and

illuminating. Innumerable literature is available at present on a subject that
attracted historians some decades ago. The trends that could be seen in the
writings present a different and conflicting picture about the nature of
'colonial medicine'. From being a 'medicine' which entered India along
with the British invaders mainly to preserve the health of European
administrators and armymen to a position of domination and hegemony,

2 Bata, Poonam, Imperialism andMedicine in Bengal: A Socio-historical Perspective, New

Delhi, 1991, p.5.

3 Headrick, Daniel R., Tools ofEmpire: Technology and European Imperialism in the
Nineteenth Century, Oxford, 1981, p.ll.

2
the western medicine had a long saga of growth and development in India.
The western medical missionaries relentlessly pursued their agenda to
colonize the 'Indian body' by highlighting the effectiveness of their
medicine and health services and the ineffectiveness of the Indian
indigenous medicine. The success they might have achieved is the theme
of discussion of many a work.

The Historiography of Colonial Medicine in India

The historiography of colonial health services, public health system

and medicine in India focuses on various aspects of their progress and
development.

A few years ago, not many were working on areas of colonial

sciences, medicine and technology, and imperialism in South Asia.4 But in
the course of the last decade, disease and medicine have become
permanent features of historical scholarship. "The medical archive has
been a fertile ground for those wishing to explore, following Foucault and
Said, the relationship between medical knowledge and colonial power; not
to mention medicine's central role in mediating power relationships of a
Patriarchal or 'Communal' kind. Responses to epidemic disease - both
within the colonial administration and in different sections of the
indigenous population- have also attracted social historians, who have
treated epidemics as 'windows' through which to view colonial society."5

4 Pad, B. & Hanison, M., Health Medicine and Empire: Perspectives on Colonial India
(eds.), New Delhi, 2001, p.l.

5 Ibid.

3
 However, others have chosen to examine the long term progress of
medicine and public health in the South Asian context, "concerning
themselves with the scope and effectiveness of medical provisions, and
their legacy to an independent India”.6

Several works have been published during last ten to fifteen years.
Here, a brief historiographical survey of these works has been attempted.
The pioneers in the field of history of medicine in colonial India are David
Arnold and Mark Harrison. Arnold’s Colonizing the Body is a path­
breaking work, which highlights the invasive character of British
medicine, which established its psychological hegemony on Indians7.
His Science, Technology and Medicine in colonial India is a wide ranging
and analytical survey, which demonstrates the importance of examining
the role of science, technology mid medicine, in conjunction with the
development of the British engagement in India and in the formation of
Indian responses to Western intervention.8 Mark Harrison’s Public
Health in British India, Anglo-Indian Preventive Medicine, 1859-1914
(Cambridge, 1994) was the first major study of preventive medicine in
British India.9 Harrison, very affectively, speaks of the purposes, nature
and political significance of colonial medical intervention. He examines
the familiar themes such as medicines’ role in the consolidation of
colonial rule in a new and moTe critical light exposing the gap
between the rhetoric and the reality of colonial medical policy.

6 Pati, B. & Harrison, Ml, op.cit., p.12.

7 Arnold, David, Colonizing the Body-’ State Medicine and Epidemic Disease in Nineteenth
Century India, New Delhi, 1993, p. 10.

8 Arnold, David, The New Cambridge History ofIndia: Science, Technology and Medicine in
Colonial India, Cambridge, 2001, p.25.
9 Harrison, Mark, Public Health in British India: Anglo-Indian Preventive Medicine,
1859-1914. New Delhi, 1994, p.15.

4
The issues discussed are, European attitudes towards India and its
inhabitants, and the way in which these issues were reflected in medical
literature and medical policy, the fate of public health at local level under
Indian control and the effects of quarantine on colonial trade and the
pilgrimage to Mecca. Harrison has made a major study of European
attitudes towards India's climate and their bearings on imperial expansion,
in his Climates and Constitutions.10 Hence, he examines the history of
racial ideas and their place in colonial relations. It shows how early
optimism about acclimatization and the colonization of India prior to
1800 gave way to pessimism and the alienation of Europeans from the
Indian environment. Harrison explores the reasons for this shift in
perception.

Another work,*
11 edited by Harrison and Biswamoy Pati tried to
find answer to the question, whether South Asian Medical historians have
finally managed to shake clear off their old-style nationalists' claims that
the Raj followed policies that were detrimental to Indian public health?
Has the field finally come into the possession of trained historians and
social scientists who are prepared to assess the Indian medical past in a fair
and impartial way? Will it be found that mainstream Indian academics
continue to neglect the field, leaving it in the hands of Britons and post­
colonial, mentally colonialized South Asians, best defined as empire
defenders?

This collection of essays weaves several themes related to the social

history of health and medicine in colonial India. Besides charting out

10 Harrison, Mark, Climates and Constitutions: Health, Race, Environment end British
Imperialism in India 1600-1850, New Delhi 1999, p.59.
11 Pati, B. & Harrison, M., op.cit., p.3.

5
hitherto unexplored areas in the history and historiography of colonial
medicine and its articulation with indigenous systems, this book
demonstrates the rich possibilities of inter-disciplinary research.

The historiography of disease and medicine in colonial India has

inclined to concentrate on epidemics, particularly those that have
produced the greatest political upheavals. On the assumption that
epidemic crises expose latest social tensions, historians have preferred to
treat epidemics as ’windows’ to observe broader social and political
trends. In a number of studies, historians such as David Arnold, Ian
Catanach and Ira Klein have done important work that unravels the
connection between disease, colonial hegemony and indigenous
resistance to British rule. Jane Buckingham's work Leprosy in Colonial
South India, Medicine and Confinement shows how the colonial authority
responded to the outbreak of leprosy in South India.12

As Deepak Kumar has observed, "we had some studies on the

Indian medical tradition as part of philosophical and cultural enquiries
(Indology)"13 Now, even scholars of Modem Indian history have taken to
it in a big way. Recently, several works have appeared on medicine in
politics and the politics of medicine. Deepak Kumar says, ’the social
history of medicine is no less significant a field than the social history of
science or technology. And it should be possible to add to them a cultural
dimension as well’14 Anil Kumar's Medicine and the Raj: British
Medical Policy in India 1835-1911 unravels the political linkages and

12 Buckingham, Jane, Leprosy in Colonial Smith India: Medicine and Confinement,

New Delhi, 1999, p. 10.

13 Kumar, Deepak, (ed.), Disease andMedicine in India: A Historical Overview, op.cit., p.XII.

6
sociological interaction between Western medical science and the British
Empire, focusing on the period I835-I91I.15 However, he too discusses
science, technology and medicine as a 'tool of empire' for maintaining
and expanding the Empire. He traces the introduction and spread of
medical education, and examines the underlying imperial motives and
expediencies. He tries to demonstrate that the British medical policy in
India was clearly subservient to the politico-military needs of the Empire
and that it was another tool of economic imperialism, for, this is evident
from the neglect of medical research, the unabated recurrence of
epidemics throughout the nineteenth century. Poonam Bala assesses the
impact of imperial policies on die medical profession in Bengal during
the colonial rule. She first discusses the indigenous medical systems and
the challenges they encountered when Western Medicine made its inroads
into India. She observes that there was a peaceful coexistence between
those two systems, but by the end of die nineteenth century advances in
western medicine had undermined and eroded the similarities in
approach and practice and asserted its hegemony over its indigenous
counterparts in Bengal.16

Mridula Ramanna's recent work tided Western Medicine and

Public Health in Colonial Bombay 1845-1895 is a welcome addition to a
growing body of literature on colonial medicine in India. In this work, she
covers a wide range of topics from medicine, medical practitioners and
medical institutions to disease, public health, politics, colonial ideas and
policies, and Indian reaction and response. She demonstrates that Indians

15 Kumar, Anil, Medicine and the Reg: British Medical Policy in India, 1838-1911,
New Delhi, 1998, p.22.

16 Bala, Poonam, op.cit., p.5.

7
were largely responsible for the acceptance of western medicine among
the population. Lord Curzon once said that British medical knowledge in
India was 'built on the rockbed of pure and irrefutable science’, but
Ramanna shows that the reality was quite different.17

One of the most recent works that partially touches upon the
medical history of colonial South India is Niels Brimnes’s Civilizing
1R
Natures: Race, Resources and Modernity in Colonial South India.
10
Jeffery Roger's The Politics of Health in India is an important work.
D. G. Crawford’s two volume History of the Indian Medical Service
1600-1913 is another important source of medical information on colonial
India.20 D. G. Crawford.'s Role of the Indian Medical Service, 1615-1930
deals with the biographical information on various medical professionals
who served in British India.21 Another work, Asian Medical systems:
A Comparative Study, also highlights the Indian medical systems and their
encounters with the Western ones.

One of the early works titled The Work ofMedical Women in India
by Margaret Balfour and Ruth Young is still of continued value.

17 Ramanna, Mridula, Western Medicine and Public Health in Colonial Bombay, 1845-1895,
Hyderabad, 2003.

18 Brimnes, Niels, Civilizing Natures: Race, Resources and Modernity in Colonial South India:
New perspective in South Asian History, London, 2003.

19 Roger, Jeffery, The Politics ofHealth in India, Berkeley, CA, 19S8.

20 Crawford, D.G, History ofthe Indian Medical Service, 1600-1913, 2 Vols, London, 1914.

21 Crawford, D.G, Rolaofthe Indian Medical Service, 1615-1930, Calcutta, 1930.

22 Balfour, Margaret and Young, Ruth, The Work ofMedical Women in India, London, 1929.

8
Roy Macleod and Milton Lewis (eds.) Disease, Medicine and Empire:
Perspectives on Western Medicine and the Experience of European
Expansion is another major study in which Radhika Rama Subban
writes about the imperial health in British India during 1857-1900, which
constitutes a shift in the approaches to the subject. Dagmar Engels and
Shula Marks (eds.) Contesting Colonial Hegemony: State and Society in
Africa and India, highlights the medical aspects of colonial India.24
Geraldine Forbes comments on the role of Indian women doctors in her
volume for the New Cambridge History of India: Women in Modem
India25 Curtin Philip examines as David Arnold observes, most
methodically the health of the army in his Death by Migration: Europe’s
Encounter with the Tropical World in the Nineteenth Century.

Apart from these highly illuminating woiks, numerous articles have

appeared on medical profession in colonial India, epidemic diseases,
medical politics, on the relationship between women and medicine,
health of the army, on die emergence of sanitary policy and public
health, etc.

O. P. Jaggi's fifteen volume History of Science, Technology and

Medicine in India looks at science, technology and medicine in the
modem period, but David Arnold opines that, it offers little structured
analysis or critical interpretations.27

23 Macleod, Roy and Lewis, Milton, (eds.), Disease, Medicine and Empire: Perspectives on
Western Medicine and the experience ofEuropean Expansion, London, 1988.
24 Engels, Dagmar and Marks, Shula, (eds.) Contesting Colonial Hegemony: State and Society
in Africa and India, London, 1994.
25 Forbes, Geraldine, Women in Modem India, Cambridge 1996.
26 Philip, D. Curtin, Europe's Encounter with the Tropical World in the Nineteenth Century,
Cambridge, 1989.

27 Jaggi, O.P, History ofScience, Technology and Medicine in India, (15 Vols), Delhi,
1969-84.

9
 All these historiographical surveys clearly show that the medical
historians are not unanimous in their assessment of the character, nature
and impact of medicines on Indian society. If some argue that the medical
intervention formed one of the modes of control of the Colonial society
and that it proved detrimental to the indigenous systems, the others opine
that the western system was accepted by the Indians by and large and
hence, it became popular.

The Geographical Setting

The present topic focuses on Colonial South Canara between 1800

and 1947. However, as the area of colonial South Canara included
territories which are not part of die province any more, the space which
forms the area of study has been defined hare. This research covers the two
districts of Karnataka State viz; Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, (which was
part of Dakshina Kannada till very recently).

During the colonial period, die present day districts of Dakshina

Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada (North Canara) in Karnataka,
together with Kasaragod in Kerala constituted the province of Canara and
Soonda of the Madras Presidency. This province also included the northern
OS
group of the Lacadives known as Amindivi Islands on die Arabian Sea.
The unwieldy size of the Canara region made the British to divide it in
1800 into two parts, namely Southern Division of Canara and the Northern
Division, for administrative convenience.

28 Stuart, Herold A., Madras District Manuals: South Canara, Vol. II, Madras,
1895, p.232.

10
 The Southern Division of Canara which came to be popularly called
as South Canara District had the following Taluks and were further divided
into sub-divisions.29

Table 1.1: Taluks of Southern divisions of Canara District

SI. No. Taluks Divisional

a. Barkur
1. Baikur b. Bilsawar (Brahmavar)
c. Karkala
2. Bekal a. Bekal
a. Buntwal
b. Currup (Kadaba)
3. Buntwal
c. Puttur
d. Vittal
a. Mangalore
4. Mangalore
b. Mulki

The Amindivi groups of Islands formed a part of the Mangalore

Taluk. Ever since the annexation of Nileshwar, which was part of Malabar
(today’s Northern Kerala), to South Canara, the river Kavai (situated
about 50 kilometers south of Kasaragod) constituted the Southern
boundary of South Canara till the reorganization of States in 1956.
Linguistically the Tulu country (South Canara) extended to the south only
up to the Chandragiri river. But culturally the region between the
Chandragiri and the Kavai rivers has remained as a twilight zone between
the Malayalam and the Tulu countries.30

29 Bhat, N. Shyam, South Kanara, 1799-1860: a study in Colonial Administration and

Regional Response, New Delhi, 1995, p.5.
30 Ibid, p.6.

11
 After the fall of Tipu Sultan, Puttur and Amara Sullia sub-divisions
which constituted the foothills of the Western Ghats were ceded to the
Raja of Coorg.31 However, this arrangement did not remain for long, and
in 1834 these subdivisions were re-transferred to die district of South
Canara.32

In 1835, Barkur taluk was divided and the new taluk of

Udupi was formed. In 1852, Bantwal Taluk was divided to form a new
taluk of Puttur. The Canara province was again divided into the two
districts of South Canara and North Canara.33 Thus by 1860, South Canara
consisted of six taluks-Mangalore, Bekal (Kasaragod), Buntwal, Puttur,
Udupi and Barkur. In 1912 a new taluk called Karkal was formed.
In 1927, the Uppinangady taluk was named Puttur Taluk, after its
headquarter.34 There were 6 taluks in 1938, namely, Coondapoor,
Karkal, Udupi, Mangalore, Kasaragod and Puttur and the total area
excluding the Amindivis was 4,018 square miles.35 In 1956, when
the reorganization of states took place, Kasaragod taluk with a few
Kannada speaking areas was separated from South Canara and added to
Kerala State.36 The area on which this research work concentrates will
include the South Canara territory comprising of Coondapoor, Karkal,
Udupi, Mangalore and Puttur excluding Kasaragod and Amindivi Islands.

31 Richter, G., Gazetteer ofCoorg, Bangalore, 1870, p.433.

32 Ibid.

33 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.6.

34 Ayyar, K.N. Krishnaswami, Madras District Gazetteers: Statistical appendix, together with
a supplement to the two district maraudsfor South Ctmara District, Madras, 1938, p. 158.

35 Ibid, p.386.

36 Moorthy, H.V. Sreenivasa & Ramakrishnan, R., History ofKarnataka, New Delhi, 1982,
p.336.

12
 The district of South Canara is situated on the western Coast of
India and it is a long, narrow, strip of territory from the north to the south.
During the colonial rule, it formed the northern-most district of the
Madras Presidency; "It is a broken, low plateau or table-land which
spreads from the foot of the Western Ghats of Mysore and Coorg to the
sea and forms a long and narrow strip of country".37 The district touched
on the north, North Canara (Bombay Presidency), on the south, Malabar,
on the east, Mysore and Coorg and on the west, the Indian Ocean.

The coastline of the district is low and sandy, and the area near the
seaboard is planted with coconut trees. The district receives heavy rains
from the south-west monsoon but the climate is not cool and pleasant,
instead marked by high humidity and the weather is oppressive in the
summer season. From March to May is generally the summer season
which is marked by oppressive heat, and people are relieved by the
monsoons which follows the summer. Though winter season is not
intolerable, people enjoy some relief from the scorching heat from October
to December.

As regards the population, Hindus, Muslims and Christians have

been in a sizeable number. Many of the Hindu groups speak Tulu
language, whereas the Bearys (the Muslims) speak the Beary language - a
mixed form of Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu and Canara Roman Catholic
Christians speak Konkani.

37 Sturrock, J., Madras District Manuals: South Canara, Vol. I, Madias 1894, p. 1.

13
 Table 12 : Hie taluk-wise population of South Canara in 189138

Area in square
SI. No. Taluk Population
miles
1. Mangalore 620 2,78,908
2. Udupi 787 2,53,717
3. Coondapoor 512 1,20,268
4. Kasaragod 1,032 2,80,659
5. Uppinangady 951 1,18,807
Total 3,902 10,52359

The total population including that of Amindivi Islands was

1,247,368.39 However, these figures do not indicate the exact number of
population, for, there was considerable temporary emigration of
labourers every year to the coffee estates of Coorg and Mysore.40 The
total population 'loss' to "the district in 1901 on the movement between it
and these two areas being 14,000 and 40,000 persons respectively.41

Of the total population which was 11,34,713 in 1901, Hindus

numbered 9,14,163 or 81 percent, Musulmans 1,26,853 or 11 percent,
Christians 84,103 or 7 percent, and Jains 9,582 or 1 percent. Musulmans
were proportionately more in number than in any districts except
Malabar, Madras city and Kumool, and most of them were Mappillas or
Malabar Muslims.42 Christians too formed a higher percentage of the

38 Sturrock, J., op.cit., p.3.

39 Ayyar, K.N. Krishnaswami, op.cit.. p.l.
40 Imperial Gazetteer ofIndia, Vol.14, Digital South Asia Library, <http://dsal. Uchicago.Edu>,
p.359,
41 Ibid.

42 Ibid.

14
people in many districts, except in Tinnevelly. The 1901 census showed
that they had increased by 45 percent during the previous twenty years.
Jains were more numerous than in any other district of Madras. South
Canara is a polyglot district with the people speaking Tulu, Malayalam,
Kannada and Konkani.

In terms of caste divisions, the district has been inhabited

proportionately more by Brahmins than any other districts in Madras
Presidency, and as per 1901 census, their number was 1,10,000 or 12
percent of the Hindu population. The Malayalam speaking people were
82,000, Marathi or Konkani speaking people were 1,40,000, and Kanarese
or Tulu speaking people were 6,72,000. The three largest castes in the
district were the Billavas (1,43,000), the Bunts (1,18,000) and the Holeyas
(1,18,000).43

History of the land; a historiographical survey

Historiographically, the period under study (1800-1947) is attracting

scholars, historians, sociologists, anthropologists, economists, geologists
and others in recent days. A few years ago the scenario was not
encouraging as many were not coming forward to light up the ill lit areas;
hence, the colonial period remained for long largely uncultivated.

The pre-colonial history attracted the attention of the scholars

during the colonial period. The earliest contribution to the historiography
of the region was from the administrator-writers of the colonial regime.

43 Imperial Gazetteer, op.cit., p.360.

15
Of course, the administrative compulsions made them ‘discover’ the
history of the region before the coming of colonialism. They collected
enough information on the land and the people of South Canara and used it
to control and administer die territory. Their efforts resulted in the
publication of the Madras district Manuals-South Canara Vol. I & II, and
their suppliment.44 The whole narrative was to project the colonial rule as
'a march of progress', a steady progress in die improvement of the overall
conditions of the state. These official documents have naturally avoided
discussing certain facts inconvenient to their colonial interests. These two
works were supplemented in 1938 and provide information about the land
and people between 1894 and 1938.45

Among the native writers who wrote on the region, pioneering

attempts were made by M. Ganapathi Rao Aigal.46 Aigal's work
concentrates on the political history of South Canara from the earliest
times to the end of the 19th Century. B. A. Saletore wrote die history of
the Tuluva in 1936, in which he provides a detailed information on the
Alupas.47 K. V. Ramesh's work, A History of South Canara (Dharwar,
1970) makes an exhaustive use of the inscriptions; however, it is from the
earliest times to the fall of Vijayanagara.

William Mascarenhas' works on the activities of Haider All and

Tipu Sultan in South Canara focuses more on the anti-Christian policies of

44 Stuart, Herold A., Sturrock, J., and Ayyar, KLN. Krishnasami, op.cit.

45 Ibid.

46 Aigal, M. Ganapathi Rao, Dakshina Kannada Jitteya Pracheerta Ithihasa (Kannada),

Mangalore, 1923.

47 Saletore, B.A., Ancient Karnataka, Vol. I: History ofTuluvas, Poona, 1936.

16
 1A

Tipu Sultan. Guru raj Bhatt’s work deals with the ancient and medieval
history of the Tulu country.49 However, architecture and iconography of
the region occupies more space in the volume. Apart from this work, Bhatt
has published a number of research works and articles on the history of
South Canara.

K. G. Vasantha Madhava is another native scholar and historian

who has written extensively on the history of South Canara, mainly on the
medieval period. Political administration, trade and commerce, religious
conditions are some of the aspects that he has dealt with.50 K. V. Ramesh
and M. J. Sharma together in their work, have made a survey of the
C4

various feudatory dynasties and religious conditions during this period.

A number of unpublished doctoral theses submitted to Mysore

and Mangalore Universities over a period of the past 20 years have
immensely contributed to our understanding, especially of colonial

period. A few dissertations are mentioned here. B. Vasanth Shetty's work

on Barkur, the capital of die Alupas, throws light on the importance of
Barkur town and port during the time of the Vijayanagara Empire.52

48 Mascarenhas, William X., “Haidar All and Tipu Sultan in Canara”, unpublished M. A.
thesis, submitted to Indian Historical Research Institute, St. Xavier's College,
Bombay, 1931.

49 Bhatt, P. Gururaja, Studies in Tutuva History and culture, Manipal, 1975.

50 Madhava, K.G. Vasantha, “Political history of Canara, 1565-1763: A study mainly based on
Inscriptions”, unpublished Ph D. thesis, submitted to Dharwar University, Dharwar, 1977;
Religions in coastal Karnataka 1500-1763, New Delhi, 1985; Western Karnataka: Its
Agrarian Relations AD 1500-1800, New Delhi 1991.
51 Ramesh K.V, & Sharma M.J., Tulunadina Arasumanethanagalu mdtu Dharmasamanvaya,
Ujire, 1985.

52 Shetty, B. Vasantha, “Barakur-A Metropolitan City of Antiquity: Its History and Culture”,
unpublished Ph.D. thesis, submitted to University of Mysore, 1984.

17
H. R. Kaninakar's thesis has added to our understanding of the socio­
economic conditions in South Canara from 1860 to 1956.53 Bhat, Shyam

N. in his work on South Canara, has made an attempt to study the British
colonial administration that precipitated various resistance movements in
the region between 1799 and I860.54

Peter Wilson Prabhakar made a detailed study of the activities of

cc
the Basel Mission in South Canara during the colonial period. Trade and

commerce in colonial South Canara from 1799 to 1862 forms the theme of
Malathi Murthy's doctoral work.56 B. Jagadecsh Shetty’s work throws

light on the medieval South Canara. Mohan Krishna Rai’s work made a
detailed study of the process of urbanization of Mangalore city during the
colonial period.57

Detailed and interesting information about the Canara region

was collected by the colonial administrators as early as the first decade
of the 19th century. Francis Buchanan who conducted a survey during
1800-1801, provides us details of the land and people of the Canara region
of that time.58

53 Karunakar, H.R., “Socio-economic conditions in South Canara, 1860-1956”, unpublished

Ph.D. thesis, submitted to Mysore University, 1985.
54 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit.
55 Prabhakar, Peter Wilson, “Basel Mission in South Canara, 1834-1947”, unpublished Ph D
thesis, submitted to Mangalore University, 1988.
56 Moorthy, K. Malathi, “Trade and Commerce in colonial South Canara, 1799-1862”,
unpublished Ph.D. thesis, submitted to Mangalore University, 1991.

57 Rai, Mohan Krishna, “Urbanization of Mangalore: A Colonial Experience, 1799-1947”,

unpublished Ph.D. thesis, submitted to Mangalore University, 2003.
58 Buchanan, Francis, A Journeyfrom Madras through the countries ofMysore, Canara and
Malabar, 1800-1801, 3 Vols., London, 1807, (Reprint, New Delhi, 1988).

18
 One more recent work adds to our understanding of medieval South
Canara.59 The Decennial Volume of Mangalore University marks a
historiographical shift on the 19th century South Canara and colonialism,
by taking up colonial issues with new perspectives.60

The South Canara District Gazetteer brought out in 1973 provides

some information on the history of the region. It also throws light on the
evolution of various institutions during the colonial period. But as a
Gazetteer, and as an official publication, it fails to take a critical approach
to some of the imperialist perceptions.61 Apart from these published
works and unpublished dissertations, we have a vast collection of
articles published by scholars working on different aspects of the history
of South Canara.

It is heartening to note that during the past twenty years or so, the
historical understanding of the South Canara region has been greatly
widened. However, the colonial period has been attracting more number
of scholars than the pre-colonial ones.

The Objectives of Study

The present study has taken up one of the aspects of the British
colonial rule in South Canara, viz, die health services in South Canara

59 Prabhu, Ramadas, “State Formation in Early Deccan”, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, submitted
to Mangalore University, 2005.
60 Rao, B. Surendra, “South Canara in the 19th Century: Contradictions in the Colonial
Discourse” in Perspectives on Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu, Mangalore University,
Decennial Volume, Mangalagangothri, 1991, pp.64-72.

61 Abhishankar, K., (ed.), Karnataka State Gazetteer: South Canara District, Bangalore, 1973.

19
(1800-1947). One of the major reasons for choosing this area for
investigation is that the colonial medicine, science and technology has
become an important area of research now-a-days. It is being studied as a
’tool of empire' by a number of scholars. The historiographical survey that
has been made above, clearly shows that the various facets of the colonial
rule in South Canara have beat studied except the public health and
medicine of the period.

South Canara came under the direct rule of the British after the fall
of Tipu Sultan of Mysore in 1799. It was made a part of the Madras
Presidency and the new administrative institutions were imposed on the
people. The penetration of colonial institutions provoked a number of anti­
colonial resistance movements in the nineteenth century, which the British
suppressed and established their political domination.

The coming of the Europeans and their subsequent settlements here

in a region known for humidity and oppressive heat, brought to the fore the
concerns about the health of the European officers and army in the same
way as they did in other parts of British India. Hence, health services were
created; dispensaries and hospitals were established in different parts of
South Canara. Improvement of health of people by providing preventive
and curative medicines became a major task of the colonial government.
The expansion of the system was also an encouragement for the expansion
of the pharmaceutical industries of British.

By 1947, a number of hospitals - both Government and Private/

Charitable, were started and they functioned successfully in their missions.
Today, South Canara is one of the major health destinations in India.

20
This study intends to:
• Find out the means by which the colonial medical system was
established and expanded.
• Study ways in which people of South Canara perceived the
introduction and expansion of an ‘alien’ or ‘western’ system of
medical services and treatment.
• Assess the extent of impact of the western system on the native/
indigenous systems.
• (Find out whether) examine the relationships between the two
systems.

It is interesting to observe the responses of the people to the new

system, for, South Canara had a diverse population; every religious
element was present in a sizeable number - Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Jains, and others. They reacted to the colonial medicine differently, being
subject to the influence of their religious tenets and social traditions.

Methodology

This work makes a survey of the perceptions and attitudes of the

indigenous practitioners. One of the reasons that has influenced the
selection of this topic is that this had been an untouched area for long.

The colonial take-over marked a major change in the history of

South Canara. The transfer of power from the indigenous dynasties to the
British changed the character of the regional economy.

21
 The colonial experience to which South Canara was subjected and
the significant transformation which the region experienced during this
phase of history are important areas of investigation. However, these areas
remained fallow for a long time.62 The reclamation of these areas is
important, not only to reconstruct the modem history of South Canara but
also to understand the working of the colonial policies and their impact in
the region. The medical history of South Canara, the story of the
introduction and expansion of Western system of medicine, Medicare and
health services and their impact is one of such major areas which has not
been studied with the seriousness it deserved. This study intends to fill
that lacuna.

Sources

As regards the source material, the colonial records are the primary
source of information. As die region was under the direct administration
of the Madras Presidency, die administrative reports of the period relating
to the various departments provide us with significant information on the
policy decisions, their implementation and their success or failure. The
proceedings of the medical department, the reports of the hospitals, the
reports on the Municipal and local development, reports of the Basel
Mission Society, proceedings of the District Boards and various
municipalities, the corporation proceedings etc., are primary sources.
Besides these colonial and official records, reports and documents, sources
such as newspapers, journals, magazines, souvenirs and pamphlets provide
us useful infoimation on the topic.

62 Rao, B. Surendra, op.cit., pp-64-72.

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 The Colonial Gazetteers trace the origin, progress and expansion of
the medical facilities briefly. The District Records Office in South Canara
and die archives of the Karnataka Theological College also provide details
about the activities of the Basel Mission in South Canara The divisional
office of the Karnataka State Archives in Mysore, the Karnataka State
Archives, Bangalore, the Tamil Nadu State Archives at Egmore, Chennai,
the Connemara Library in Chennai and the National Archives, New Delhi
have a substantial collection of colonial records which shed light on the
expansion and character of colonial health services in South Canara.

A brief Historical Sketch

Prior to the advent of the colonial rule, South Canara witnessed the
rule of the Alupas, Vijayanagara kings, the Keladi dynasty and of Mysore
rulers. The Alupas, a local ruling house administered the territory from the
middle of the seventh century to the end of the fourteenth century.63 The
Alupas never ruled the territory as independent rulers as superior political
sovereigns outside their domains imposed their political suzerainty on
them from time to time. Hence they had to be content with the status of
being feudatories of die Chalukyas of Badami, the Rastrakutas of
Malkhed, the Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra.64
When the Vijayanagara Kingdom came into existence, South Canara
became part of it. The decline of the Alupas gave rise to a number of local
ruling families in South Canara.

63 Ramesh, K.V, A History ofSouth Canara: From the Earliest times to the Fall of
Vijayanagara,, Dharwar, 1970, p.XXVUI.

64 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.17.

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 They were the Savantas of Mulki (C. 1411 to 1700), the Choutas of
Ullal or Mudabidre (C. 1160-1801), the Bhaimrasa Odeyar of Karkal
(C. 1240 to 1650), the Ajilas of Venur (C. 1418-1800), the Bangas of
Bangavadi (C. 1410-1800), the Rajas of Kumbla (C. 12th Century to
1800) and the Rajas of Vittal (C. 1436 to 1800). The territory of the Rajas
of Nileshwar was annexed to South Canara in 1737 and they too continued
to rule up to 1800.65

South Canara under Vijayanagara was split into two rajyas or

provinces called Mangalore and Barkur headed by Governors. For the
Vijayanagara Empire, the long coastal line that South Canara possessed,
proved to be a source of income as it facilitated trade and commerce,
export and import. A number of ports along the Canara coast like Bekal,
Kumbla, Mangalore, Barkur and Basarur linked the Empire with the outside
world and brought in prosperity.

In the beginning of the European intrusion into India, the Portuguese

were very active and promoted and gained immensely from the coastal
trade.66 As they had done in other parts of the world, here too the
Portuguese fought hard to put an end to die competition from the Muslim
merchants. Trade was followed by gospel and the Portuguese secured
facilities for the spread of Christianity in South Canara from the local
chieftains. Trade in local agricultural products such as rice, coconuts,
areca nut, pepper, pulses, sugarcane etc., brought income to both the
parties-Portuguese and the native rulers. Foreign visitors of the period,
viz., Barbosa, Caesar Frederick and Cabral testify to the fact that
agriculture and trade were in a flourishing condition. Agricultural produce
65 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.18.

66 Abhishankar, K, op.cit., p.152.

24
and trade brought South Canara in touch with West Asian Kingdoms as
well as South East Asian territories.

The decline of die Vijayanagara power after the famous battle of

Talikota in 1565 facilitated the Nayakas of Keladi to tighten their grip on
South Canara.67 One of the Keladi Rulers, Venkatappa Nayaka (1582-
1629) had the title of the master of die Western Ocean.68 The political
relations between the Nayakas of Ikkeri and the local chieftains of South
Canara such as the Chouta, the Banga, die Ajila and others were not good
and the hostility many a time resulted in the uprisings of the local
chieftains.69

The hostility and resistance to the Keladi rulers was for many
reasons. First of all the traditional feudal chiefs wanted to safeguard their
position and maintain their hereditary status in their home land. Besides,
the change in the amount of revenue brought about by the Keladi ruler
who imposed an additional assessment was resented by both the feudal
chieftains and the people of South Canara. However, British administrators
have noted that, the assessment was so heavy as to discourage the people
from extending agriculture. The Keladi rule too facilitated the
continuation of trade and commerce between the Canara region and the
outside territories. "From 1560's onwards, South Canara became the
lifeline of Goa...”71 However, by the middle of the seventeenth century, the

67 Ramesh, K.V., and Sharma, M.J., op.cit, p.47.

68 Chitnis, K.N., Keladi Polity, Dharwad, 1974, p.15.

69 Ibid, p.87.

70 Sturrock, J., op.cit., p.97.

71 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.31.

25
Portuguese were driven out of their pockets in the coast of South Canara.
The weakening of Portuguese influence, created room for another
European company i.e., the English East Indian Company to lay
foundation for its commercial activities. By die first half of the eighteenth
century, ports such as Kasaragod, Kumbla, Manjeshwar, Mangalore and
Basrur were witnessing bride sea trade, because of the extension of British
commercial activities.72

With the annexation of Bednur to Mysore by Hyder Ali in 1763, the

Keladi rule in South Canara came to an end. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan
had to contend with die British to maintain control over South Canara. For
both the rulers- Hyder and Tipu, the possession of die coastal strip was
vital to the security of their Kingdom and trade and commerce. The
Mysore rulers in order to improve the conditions of their treasury,
enhanced the revenues that they derived from the minor chieftains of
South Canara, which of course created dissatisfaction against Mysorean
sultans and helped British to gain foothold in the region.

Colonel Wilks in his work on Mysore observes "it was part of his
(Haider Ali’s) system to squeeze the sponges which absorbed his peoples'
surplus wealth".73 Of course we cannot accept the statements of a colonial
administrator without verifying the same with the help of other records.
Thomas Munro too gives a very bleak picture of the condition of South
Canara in 1799-1800.74

72 Bhal, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.31.

73 Baden-Powell, B.H., The Land-Systems ofBritish India, Vol. Ill, Oxford, 1892, pp.10-11.

74 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.36.

26
 He opined that there was enlightened administration in Mysore,
whereas in the outlying peripheral regions, it was exploitative in character.
South Canara suffered from what could be branded as "internal
colonization" wherein we find both over assessment and misuse of power
by the revenue officials. The opposition to the Mysore rule increased
during Tipu’s period, which made him take actions against them. The
colonial writers show special interest in highlighting the alleged
conversions of Christians to Islam in Mangalore, Hindus to Islam in Coorg
and Malabar. Religiously speaking, during the pre- colonial period
Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Jainism flourished with the patronage
extended by the local chieftains as well as die native rulers, such as
Vijayanagara kings. One of the most interesting features was that, South
Canara became one of the major centres of the Jain community in India.
Karkal, Venur and Moodabidre were important Jain settlements.75

Islam entered the territory through the Arabian traders as early as

8th century.76 Christianity found its way with the coming of the
Portuguese in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Franciscans
established a regular mission in Mangalore. Apart from these traditions,
Natha Pantha, described as a changed form of Mahayana Buddhism or as a
combination of Mahayana Buddhism and Shaivism also became popular
in parts of the land. Virashaivism received a great boost when South
Canara came under the Keladi rule.79

75 Ramesh, K.V., op.cit., p.296.

76 Madhava, K.G. Vasantha, Religions in coastal KanuMaka, J50(1-1763, op.cit., p.4.

77 Ibid, p.104.

78 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.24.

79 Madhava, K.G. Vasantha, op.cit., p. 143.

27
 Coming to the period of Haider Ali and Tipu, it is observed that
they were generally tolerant towards all religions, though colonial writers
have many things to say to the contrary. They focus on the forcible
conversion of Coorgies and Christians of Mangalore and Nairs of Malabar.
The Christians were punished by Tipu Sultan as he perceived them to be
the supporters of the British. During the pre-colonial period, the upper
crust of society generally consisted of Brahmins and Bunts. Brahmins
followed Vaishnavism and Shaivism.

There were sub-sections among the Brahmins such as the Sthanikas,

Kota, Havyakas and Sivallis. The Gowda Sarasvaths or the Konkani
Brahmins who spoke Konkani language came to South Canara from Goa
The Jains, like the Brahmins, occupied a high position in the society.80
The Bunts, the Billavas and the Mogaveeras were non-Brahmin castes
who were numerically more in the region. The Tulu Gowdas were also in
a substantial number in certain parts of South Canara. The Bunts were
agriculturists and controlled land, which made them influential. The
lowest strata of society was occupied by the Holeyas or ’untouchables'.
Trade and Commerce was die main occupation of the Muslims of South
Canara, while the Christians generally seemed to prefer cultivation.81
Majority of the people spoke Tulu, which had no script. During the period
QO

of the native rajas, Kannada was the official language.

80 Saletore, B.A., op.cit., p.463.

81 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.26.

82 Kamath, S.U., A concise History ofKarnataka, Bangalore, pp.313-18.

28
 The above survey clearly shows that during the pre-colonial period,
a process of acculturation was unleashed, which went on over the
centuries. Trade, commerce and agriculture had received a great deal of
patronage and in flourishing condition, catering to the needs of the local
population. However, the local chieftains considered Mysorean rule,
detrimental to their interests and politically opposed them. At this point of
time, the British appeared before them as liberators.

The defeat and death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 brought to an end, one
of the inveterate enemies of the British in India; he was a major stumbling
block, the man who had foreseen the dangerous prospect of entire
Hindustan falling into the evil clutches of the "alien race".

South Canara and Soonda came under the direct rale of the British.
The acquisition of South Canara was of immense advantage to the British.
It secured an "uninterrupted" tract of territory from the coast of
coromandel to that of Malabar together with the entire sea-coast, Mysore
and the base of all the eastern, western and southern ghats", as the Earl of
Momington had observed.83 It provided an uninterrupted tract of coastal
territory between Madras and Bombay, as also a land and water
connection between Malabar and Bombay. Apart from the undeniable
commercial advantages, South Canara also had a strategic value in the
context of the Napoleonic Wars. The British did not want to share the
territory with their Indian allies.84 The coastal province was placed under
the authority of the Madras Presidency.

83 Bhat, N. Shyam, op.cit., p.62.

84 Ibid.

29
SYNOPSIS
The plan of the thesis is as follows: It consists of five chapters.

I. Introduction
The first chapter deals with a survey of studies that had been
undertaken on colonial medicine, public health, health services, etc, in
colonial India - recent trends in the historiography. It also discusses the
Reasons for taking up the topic and its relevance in the present context -
Survey of works on the colonial South Canara - Neglect of study of public
health and health services - methodology of the research - interdisciplinary
approach to the study of a colonial aspect of administration. It also makes a
survey of the geographical region under study- (Map) - physical features-
climate and environment. Sociology of South Canara - Various caste and
tribes, religious and linguistic communities - history of the land.

II. Introduction and Expansion of Western Medical System and Health

Services in Colonial India
Europeans in India - Policy of Imperialism and establishment of
Political domination on Indian territories by the British - Entry of western
science and medicine in to India - Imperatives for their introduction -
Protection and preservation of European health in a new and ‘hostile land’ -
Formation of Indian Medical Service (IMS) as different from ICS - European
health in tropical Asia and the so-called ‘tropical medicine.’ Progress of
western medical Systran and health services; Indigenous system of medicine
and health services - Co-existence of two systems and attempts at
assimilation/synthesis - Competition and the effectiveness of both the
systems - Colonial state, its policies and the domination of the Western
system and the subjugation of India’s indigenous systems- expansion of
health services- establishment of hospitals, dispensaries, primary health units,
training institutes, etc. - at Presidency towns, urban centres and rural areas.

30
 Private initiatives-Role of Missionaries in providing health services-
partieipation of Indians in the colonial health systems - Break out of
contagious diseases in colonial India and response of colonial medical
system- Health services, sanitation, and state of Public Health in Colonial
India - Vital statistics- the state of Indigenous system - Ayurveda, Sidda,
Unani-tib, etc in relation to the alien system.

The nationalist critique of western medical system-health services and

public health.

III. Beginnings, Expansion and the state of Medical and Public Health
Services in South Canara, 1800-1947

South Canara under direct rule and introduction of new policy

measures -administrative, political, economic medical, etc. A brief reference
to the pre-colonial medical system, state of health services and public health.
Beginnings of the new system- extension of health services of the Madras
Presidency to South Canara - medical encounters of Europeans with Canara -
Nature of administration in the beginning - the reach of medical staff and
health services and their effectiveness - how serious was the colonial
administration in improving the hygiene and sanitary conditions in the
Canara? - Availability of funds, and extension of facilities - the coexistence
of two systems.

Situation after 1857 - Madras Government, South Canara district

administration and health services - establishment of dispensaries, hospitals
etc.- Wenlock Hospital as the centre of health services and symbol of public
health in the district - quality and capacity of these health services in coastal
areas - disease and health services -Sources of diseases such as plantation
labourers - Role of Municipal councils in various taluks of South Canara -

31
The Basel Mission and its role in the extension of health services - the attitude
of the government towards it. Introduction of homoeopathic medicine - the
role of St. Joseph’s Leprosy Hospital (Fr. Muller’s Hospital). Response of
various communities towards the western system - how popular the western
medical services in a colonial society? Differential responses - reasons - the
state of indigenous medicines. State of Health services and public health at the
turn of the 19th century.

Expansion and strengthening of the system: State of Health services -

1900-1947: Madras Government and South Canara district administration -
character of administration - resource mobilization- and expansion of
facilitates - local fund for health services. Increase in population - rise of
urban centres - migration of population to towns and cities - pressures on
medical machinery- Establishment of government hospitals at taluk
headquarters - Attempts to reach rural and disadvantaged groups-
Dispensaries and primary health centres - geographical distribution of
hospitals and health units - ratio between population and hospitals.

Establishment of Public health department in South Canara after 1923 -

Health staff and their role - New challenges and response of the Government
- pattern of the staff - Participation of Indian medical staff in the health
services - government’s willingness to open the system for Indians.

Missionaries and the expansion of health services - The Church of

South India (Basel Mission) in Mangalore and Udipi - Wenlock Hospital,
Lady Goschen and Fr. Muller’s as the main promoters of public health in
South Canara.

Health Services at the time of Independence.

32
IV. Colonial Health Services and Canara Society

The response of the people to the new system in the initial stages -
changing attitude towards the western system - factors of change - education -
efficacy of western system in relation to indigenous system - differential
response; Hindus in general and various denominations with in the Hindu
fold - Muslims - Christians and others - Women and western medical system -
social restrictions and the urge for efficacious treatment - Society’s response
to women’s needs - the role of education. Health services and cost factor -
quality of services and facilities - opportunities of better services outside the
district and willingness of die people and die cost factor - Colonial attempts to
penetrate into the domain of indigenous system - clash for hegemony and
absolute supremacy of western system.

V. Conclusion

A brief summary of the system of health services from its beginnings in

the early 19th century up to independence in 1947. A critical assessment of
the colonial system and die summing up of die findings of the research.

* * * 3fc :fc

33