Volume-II, Issue-II, November 2025
Volume-II, Issue-II, November, 2025 |
Received: 29.10.2025 | Accepted: 10.11.2025 | ||
Published Online: 30.11.2025 | Page No: 451-459 | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.02W.228 | |||
ঔপনিবেশিক ও পরবর্তী ঔপনিবেশিক যুগে পুরুলিয়ার ইতিহাসে কুষ্ঠ ব্যাধি ও জনস্বাস্থ্য ব্যবস্থা: প্রসঙ্গ দ্য লেপ্রসি মিশন হাসপাতাল স্বাগতা রায়, গবেষক, ইতিহাস বিভাগ, কল্যানী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Leprosy and Public Health Systems in the History of Purulia During the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods: A Study with Reference to The Leprosy Mission Hospital Swagata Roy, Research Scholar, Department of History, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
The district of Purulia is located on the western part of West Bengal and is a part of the Chotanagpur plateau. Most of its inhabitants belong to the tribal community. The district was known as “Manbhum” during the colonial period. During the colonial rule, Bengal was suffering from endemic diseases like malaria, smallpox, cholera, etc. In this case, Purulia was not an exception. Apart from these dreadful diseases, another was leprosy, which has had a significant impact on the body and health of tribal communities. To cope with this situation, the Leprosy Mission Hospital served as a pivotal institution in the medical and humanitarian history of Bengal as well as eastern India. This hospital was founded in the year 1888 as an initiative by the Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Mission. This paper is an initiative to discuss how the hospital evolved and impacted the medical history of a regional district, Purulia, historically characterized by poverty and ecological challenges. The research article will also emphasize the hospital’s role in public and rural health care during the colonial and post-colonial periods, respectively. | ||
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