Imperial Hygiene and Popular Culture in the Colonial Hill Stations in the Indian Himalaya

Abstract

The nineteenth century European colonialism introduced wide-ranging changes in social, cultural, economic and political spheres in Asia and elsewhere. Recent researches show that the hills occupied a critical position under the British Empire and their concerns on sanitation reveal the anxieties of the Empire in their Himalayan outposts. The present article primarily focuses on the introduction of western medicine and public health policies in the region of Himalaya, in particular, Indian hill stations of Shimla and Darjeeling. The article has two sections: the first section studies the introduction of the western notions of medicine, health and hygiene in the two hill stations. The second section explores the tension between western medical practices and traditional belief systems in the hills.