CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION The present work argues against the Colonial economic policies due to which the occupational structure of 19 th century colonial India changed. Poverty occurred on a wide scale and health problems increased.the uneven urbanization, unplanned road and railway construction during British rule and the consequent social, economic and environmental changes, caused spread of epidemic diseases. The poverty stricken people were the worst victims of diseases as they remain below the subsistence level. What actually emerged in British India was Eurocentric development (based upon colonial interests) and the neglect or exploitation of indigenous population. After the colonial conquest many Indian inhabitants began facing the problem of water scarcity, overcrowding, filth and unsanitary conditions. Most of the towns and villages lacked proper drainage or garbage removal facility. The reason was the total indifference of the imperial government. Famines made the conditions of the people worse and even in the times of food shortages the British Government did not stop exporting the food grains. Many scholars have termed the measures taken during British rule like medical and sanitary to stop spread of the epidemic diseases and cited measures like small pox vaccination in 1802. But the measures were too little and largely confined to large Urban Centre. Even there the efforts did not succeed much.
181 The Colonial state expenditure on these measures amply proves that the efforts were highly insufficient. The introduction of irrigation had canals increased the production of food crops, and other commercial crops similarly the construction of roads and railways also led to the development of communication network and made the communication easy for the people. It has met he imperial ambition to augment the economic exploitation. However, the construction works destroyed the rural environment, which resulted in the spread of malaria in epidemic form. Another related development was de-forestation at a wide scale, which has long term consequences. Moreover the low level of colonial expenditure on medicine and public health, the paucity of doctors, hospitals and medical supply vis-à-vis the size of population providing fertile ground for epidemics. The destruction of handicraft industries in the urban Centers and deurbanization has increased population pressure on the rural areas. Subsequent ruination of even rural handicraft works, further put pressure on agriculture. Most of artisans and large section of peasantry forced to become tenant at will and very often they failed to meet subsistence level necessary for survival forcing them into the clutches of money lenders. In the present work an attempt has been made to give an account of the general people s condition in British India, the factors responsible for their ill health and poor livelihood. Montgomery Martin who was appointed by the East
182 India Company to conduct a topographical survey of Eastern India in early 19 th century lamented on the wretched condition of the people and held the government responsible for it. He urges: Two or three harvests in a year of wheat barley, rice, maize, peas, beans etc and yet the people who raise this produce, subject to every loathsome disease and of sickly in firm frame of body, the perpetuation of which is a curse rather than an advantage to any community the grand preliminary measures to be adopted for the oil fare of Hindustan are..ist let the land revenue be fixed at moderate rate throughout India. Ind common justice should be done whatever duties are lived in England and on Indian produce, it equivalent duties be levied in India on English produce; 3 rd Let municipalities suited to the people be established in the principal cities for cleaning lighting etc. 1 It is also argued that a number of diseases surfaced for the first time and many of these took epidemic form in the 19 th century. Cholera, malaria had been endemic diseases but they never occurred in epidemic form in pre 19 th century period. Colonial transformation communication and labour recruitment made it easy to spread in outside areas. 1 Montegomery Martin, The History and Antiquities, Topography and Statistics of Eastern India, First pub-1976 Vol.-5 p.xiv-xxiv.
183 However, the role of preventive medicines and health policies was highly inadequate. Improvements could be done in the fields of Public welfare, if the government s aim towards the indigenous population was sympathetic, or if the common people were aware of the health consequences, cleanliness and nutrition s value of food and in both these sphere, it lacked the direction and will. While discussing about the Imperial Health policies, it is also argued that public was indifferent towards the medical measures and used to go to ojhas and tantriks. The work argues against the colonial miasmatic theory of construction and reformation in 19 th Century India. The first priority of Colonial industrial developments, communications and public health was to protect and benefit European bodies. After the Colonial conquest many provinces especially Berar, Bengal, Bihar, began facing the problems of water scarcity, price rising, unemployment and material degeneration. The rural poor were worst affected by it as these areas were also lacking medical and communication facilities the reason was the total indifference of the colonial state. The extensive forest cutting, expansion of cultivation extraction of revenues and the general commercialization of environmental resources created the desperate problems in the provinces. The export of race material ruined many cottage industries and exports of food grains created by the British Government were justified by the officers in the name of reformation. But there was the absence of proper infrastructural
184 response from the Colonial Government. As stated before, general poverty of the masses was the main reason for the prevalence of high mortality in the country. The people were simply not getting enough nourishment for maintaining normal health. Therefore, we see the total neglect of the British developmental policies in rural areas whatever the measures were adopted, they were only to safeguard the municipal towns where most of the European population lived. One of the reasons for such large scale famines and associated mortality was colonial commercialization of forests and denial of access to the people. In fact most of the famine and distress relief in this province was provided not by colonial establishment but by private charitable relief organizations and philanthropic individuals. However racial superiority and cultural discrimination was the leading factor to create, indifference hatred and fear among the indigenous population. Going through the various reports and facts, as studied and categorized in the different Chapters it is acknowledged that: The factors responsible for poverty and health in 19 th colonial India (as described in the chapter I) clearly reflects selfish aim of the government. The government was not sympathetic towards the indigenous population and everything done by the imperial government whether constructive or destructive was owing to their own interest.
185 It has been stated by Anil Kumar: Indigenous epistemology, having been thrown to the winds by the end of the 18 th century, the indigenous climate, people, diseases and cures and even human body, itself begged for their meanings and definitions to the colonizer, and the colonizer defined them in terms of their advantageous relationships with his or her interests. 2 The present high levels of poverty and ill health and the low expenditure on welfare in many areas of the world which were once the part of British rule did not have a substantial legacy of wealth, health or happiness to its exsubjects. 3 The medical services of the imperial government no doubt limited the death toll due to the most communicable diseases but the low standard of living and under nourishment ensured that the classic diseases of poverty like tuber closes pneumonia, dysentery, diarrhea, typhus typhoid always took a heavy toll and existed every time among the population. These issues were never taken seriously by the British government. The policy makers of the British government always held the Indian tropical climate and unclean habits of the inhabitants responsible for disease. 2 3 Anil Kumar, Medicine and the Raj: British Medical Policy in India 1835-1911 op.cit p.217. B.R. Tomilson, Imperialism and After: The Economy of Empire on the Periphery in The oxford History of the British empire: The 20 th Century Edited by J. Brown & William Roger lovis (Oxford University Press 1999. p.375.
186 But the government never tried to improve the sanitary conditions of rural areas neither they tried to aware the indigenous population of nutritious values of food. It is also acknowledged that the Indian elite class which struggled for the social and educational upliftment of Indians did not talk about health and diseases in particular though they raised many issues of indigenous problems. It was only Gandhiji ran an organized programme of cleanliness and sanitation which also could not become a big issue of mass-struggle. This fact also not ignored by the scholar that indigenous population was also unaware and indifferent towards the health consequences and importance of cleanliness. In the whole of 19 th Century period, the unawareness towards health consequences was seen, as people were not aware about the natural value of food items. Keeping the whole situation into consideration the scholar has assessed poverty to determine the factors of health in rural areas (Chapter- VII) In conclusion it may be emphasized that in pre-british era, poverty existed, diseases were prevalent but they were satisfactorily treated by the indigenous systems of cure and in the colonial period poverty increased and diseases occurred in their most deadly form and the western medicine, health policy of the government failed to control the situation.
187 It is stated truly that some aspects of the various deficiency diseases could not be studied in depth. Since the core of the study was indigenous population which was subjected to poverty, the health conditions of jails, military camps was not studied. However, the conditions of factory workers, workers at port areas, and industrial workers were studied as the people working in these areas were either landless laborers or tenants at will. The policy makers of British government always held the Indian tropical climate and unclean habits of the inhabitants, responsible for the diseases. But the state did not attempt to find solutions. Even the environmental conditions were worsened in the 19 th century, and the result was the most deadly series of famines. Much of the statistical data used in this study is taken from the annual reports of the Government. However, data from some regional records are also used. There are some problems with these figures, with regard to birth and death rates of population estimates of Pre Census Period of some cities are also taken from regional records, which sometimes have been questioned by some eminent historians and scholars. Furthermore, rural statistics were sometimes unreliable because they were seldom registered by a medical officer on the birth records were not kept systematically. Rural deaths were often simply reported to the local police who would keep such records. However, since the figures regarding population and health
188 statistics are the only available evidence they have to be used. No matter there is a variation in statistical data but the tables used in the study tend to show an approximation of the real situation. Certainly, they present the clear picture of the whole situation. It would not be out of place to mention here that the present work needs a more detailed, study which can be conducted by a team of workers and in which a geographer and well as a medical men has to play a very important role to go through the climatic and environmental consequences of health.