The Plantation Enclave, the Colonial State and Healthcare: A Study of the Tea Industry of Jalpaiguri Duars (1902-1947)

Abstract

During the pioneering years of tea plantation, medical care was probably not available in the tea gardens in Duars. Hunter found that the principal endemic diseases in duars were malaria and blackwater fever. On the initiative of the Indian Government, the Malaria Commission of the Royal Society, London, visited duars in 1902. The members included J.W.W. Stephens, S.R. Christophers and C.W.W. Daniels. Based on the reports of Christophers and Bentley, the Government of Bengal and Assam formed the Duars Committee in 1910 for the improvement of the sanitary and medical condition of the duars region. They emphasised imparting training to the resident doctors, the establishment of dispensaries and recommended provision of potable water and quinine in coolie lines to prevent various diseases. Milligan commented in 1919 that the chief need of the district was an increase in the number of qualified doctors. This paper is an attempt to study the nature of various diseases, including the shortage of qualified doctors, and also to argue that disease control acted as a mode of colonial power, governance and intervention in areas of productivity.