[Reader-list] The Rokefeller Foundation in Travancore, IF, Second Posting

[burton cleetus]

THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION IN TRAVANCORE

The last posting had discussed the emergence of the
notions of science in Travancore and the manner in
which the western institutions evolved in the state.
This is an attempt to understand as to how science was
incorporated, not merely as a new and superior mode of
enquiry, rather how it functioned as a superior
version of societal and hegemonic truth in Travancore.


A history of the engagement of Travancore society with
the norms and practices of the west and their
re-enactment in the indigenous society is addressed
here. The fundamental question that arises in this
context is to how did the Travancorean society in
general became receptive or made to be familiar with
the notions of western science. Was it the belief in
the ability of western medicine to successfully
intervene in the health practices of the indigenous
society that forced the Travancore government to make
large-scale investment in western medicine? How did
this belief in the ability of western medicine and
science emerge in the state?

The introduction of western medicine in Travancore
particularly in the urban centres of the state
signified this mapping of science in the indigenous
societies. Over time, one finds that the faith reposed
in the basic epistemic paradigms of western science
gradually transformed towards the generation, creation
and the management of social fear, and the consequent
generation of unquestioned hope in the emancipation
attached to the larger project of scientific
intervention. This is also a signification of the
functioning of western medicine and the emergence of
the ideology of controlling and regulating of the
physical bodies under the hegemonic dominance of
colonialism. 

It was not merely the control of contagious diseases
rather it meant that social fear on malaria,
filariasis, elephantsis, plague, cholera, etc.,
enabled the state to come forward with a definite
policy, a method, and as purveyors of scientific
knowledge.  Thus the state became the embodiment of
the knowledge of the body, where human bodies were to
be subjected to inspection, control and observation by
the state. A new pedagogical method was constituted by
the state so that the larger problem of bodily
ailments and cure became a social knowledge. 

By the late twenties of the twentieth century, there
was a rapid increase in urban mobility of the state.
The First World War had in many ways economically
aided a large number of the population, particularly
those who were engaged in business and trading
activities. Those who benefited from the export of
coir and other products to the west as a result of the
shortages of raw materials and finished goods due to
war had moved toward the urban centres. The
development of an urban populace who were trained in
the literature and ideology of the instrumentalist
rationality of the west had high belief in western
medicine in terms of its ability to successfully
encounter the contagious diseases. 
 
It was based on these developments that the state
sought the help of the Rockefeller Foundation of
United states in framing a larger policy for the
state. The decision to get aid from the foundation was
a major step in the larger project of governmentality
in the princely state of Travancore. It signified a
new socio-political order, through which a new life
form was to be created. Though, it would seem that the
meticulous re-organization of the department of Health
under colonialism was aimed at the successful
elimination of diseases that were deemed to be
contagious. 

As a health care institution the fundamental aim of
the foundation was to secure close co-operation
between the medical and public health Departments,
between Medical Officers of Health and Practitioners
of medicine. By the time of the arrival of the
Foundation there were two government departments,
which were already engaged, wholly or in part, in
public health work. The expectation was that if a
public Health department is organized its duties will
embrace sooner or later some of the work (vaccination,
sanitation and vital statistics), which the department
of sanitary commission was currenly engaged in.
 
The foundation was of the view that very little
progress can be made towards malaria control until the
Malaria mosquitoes have been identified, classified
and described and their habits in Travancore well
understood. To have this knowledge in advance is
essential if the problem is to be attached in a
scientific and economical manner. For this reason, the
first attempt in this direction was the appointment of
a medical Entomologist.The responsibility of the
identification of the disease in the late nineteenth
century became confined to the entomologist, of
differentiating the disease causing mosquitoes.
The medical Entomologist was to investigate the
mosquitoes, which were responsible for Filariasis, and
the fleas, which carry plague. The symptoms of malaria
were to be examined on the basis of clinically
examining the spleen and blood findings. 

Propaganda work against the nature, causes and spread
of contagious diseases constituted an important aspect
of the activities of the foundation. It was recognized
that educational and propaganda work is an essential
part of a public health department, which should be
developed early. A general programme and a working
procedure was charted out for which the major part of
the activities was dedicated for general public health
principles, supplemented by inspections made in rapid
journeys to all sections of the country. There was
also an attempt to understand and to take into
consideration the habits and conditions of the people
as revealed by the exact knowledge possessed and
furnished by the local medical practitioners.

A new order of disease and medicine emerged in
Travancore, for which, there was a realization that
the indigenous medical system failed to contain. As
the press widely reported the spread of contagious
diseases, the physicians of indigenous medicines put
forward their claim to cure them, which in most cases
was ridiculed by the state.

A primary analysis of the activities of the foudation
points out that the project was not ‘aimed at bringing
the entire public health programme at once’ rather it
was aimed at the generation of public opinion before
each public health initiative is undertaken. The
expectation was that through the careful imparting of
a western medical paradigm through the press, ‘all
false moves will be lessened and steady progress
without any serious setbacks may be expected’.

There emerged a new form of visualising the disease
and its method of cure. There were specialists in the
field of sanitary and health care who identified the
cause of the disease. There were stages in the
identification of the disease and the form of cure to
be imparted to the patient. 


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