Colonial Apathy against Medical Plurality

The western medical policy was initiated in Bengal by the colonial government during the early eighteenth century and expanded in a large scale thereafter. This work engages in revealing the attitude of the colonial government
towards western medicine vis-à-vis traditional therapeutics. It studies the comparative political outlook of the government towards medical practices other than colonial medical therapy. The focal period under review is the early twentieth century, when imperial policy took a definite shape.

Within the purview of a history of colonial medicine, ambivalence of both the systems exposed some limitations, inadequacies and failure of the government, along with a novercal attitude towards the existing traditional medicine. The government made every attempt to victimise traditional therapy for exclusive colonial interests and economic surplus. Ultimately traditional therapy was forced to get antiquated due to political pressure.