Category: History of Medicine

Cinema & Bollywood · History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

How B&W Bollywood has preserved a multi-hued snapshot of India’s public health story

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This was published on 28 Sep by the Wire India, here. Below are some excerpts: “TB was, and is, a formidable enemy but the foremost public health enemy in the early and mid-1900s in India, accounting for almost a quarter of all deaths every year, was malaria. Observers used terrible superlatives to describe it, such… Continue reading How B&W Bollywood has preserved a multi-hued snapshot of India’s public health story

Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital, 1921, Women students in a laboratory [Wellcome Collection] A short history of Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College, with pictures
History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

A short history of Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College, with pictures

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

Lady Hardinge Medical College, located in the heart of New Delhi, is one of the premier medical institutions in the country. Established in 1916, it recently celebrated a centenary of existence. The seeds of its foundation, however, lie in the late 1800s, when the British colonial government began to take some reluctant interest in providing… Continue reading A short history of Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College, with pictures

Some historical nuggets about India’s premier medical institute: AIIMS, Delhi
History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

Some historical nuggets about India’s premier medical institute: AIIMS, Delhi

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

AIIMS Delhi has a fascinating history. Most of what follows is indebted to the PhD thesis of Anna Ruddock, formerly at King’s College London. The thesis is titled ‘Special Medicine: Producing Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)’. The genesis of the idea of AIIMS lies not in independent India, but in… Continue reading Some historical nuggets about India’s premier medical institute: AIIMS, Delhi

History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

How did George Washington, the first US President, die? (Hint: much blood was spilled)

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I am reproducing this from the Medium website where I published it on Dec 28, 2020. Here is the link to that platform.   “George Washington at Mount Vernon at the end of his life, 1799,” by Howard Pyle. Accessed through Digital Commonwealth One of the most important concepts one learns during training as a… Continue reading How did George Washington, the first US President, die? (Hint: much blood was spilled)

Culture & Life · Fiction · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

A riveting 1947 short story featuring India’s medical education system

Kiran KumbharLeave a comment

Popular representations of medical systems, professionals, and of illness itself, are an important source of knowledge for historians of medicine. During my research into the history of the Indian (bio)medical profession in the post-independence period, I recently came across a very interesting short story, published in a Sunday edition of the Indian Express in October… Continue reading A riveting 1947 short story featuring India’s medical education system

History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors

How the 1835 Calcutta Medical College catalyzed the ascendancy of biomedicine in India

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

Two versions of this essay were published recently. I wrote one for the KEM Hospital Mumbai’s internal publication, named ‘Reflections on Medical Humanities’. The other version was published by the Wire on 29th March 2019, full article here. Below are some excerpts: One of the most striking developments in the first year of the CMC was human… Continue reading How the 1835 Calcutta Medical College catalyzed the ascendancy of biomedicine in India

History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors · Public health · Recommended movies, books etc.

Review of the book ‘Healers or Predators: Healthcare Corruption in India’ by Nundy, Desiraju, Nagral

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This review was published in Wire.in on 18 Oct 2018. Here is the full article. Below is an excerpt: As a former physician now studying the history of the medical profession in India, I found the chapters written by veteran doctors most interesting. M.K. Mani, who has been in medicine for the last 60 years,… Continue reading Review of the book ‘Healers or Predators: Healthcare Corruption in India’ by Nundy, Desiraju, Nagral

Culture & Life · History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Religion

Why do some Indians like to obsessively make outrageous claims about ‘ancient Indian science’?

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I wrote the following as an answer to the question on Quora What were some of the global events that had the greatest impact on the history of India? I will write about a very obvious global event and its very under-appreciated impacts on India’s history. The event is British colonialism. The underappreciated impacts are… Continue reading Why do some Indians like to obsessively make outrageous claims about ‘ancient Indian science’?