‘Clinical Christianity’ as Philanthropy

Abstract

Abstract This study looks into the role of Protestant Missionary groups in disseminating western medicine and medical practices in Travancore during the colonial period. The institutionalisation of Western Medicine in Travancore was filliped and completed by the process of a triangular patronage. It was not only due to the state’s patronage (both the British and the Princely rulers) that Western medicine was institutionalised in Travancore but also due to the keenness shown by the missionaries to dispense it, particularly among the lower classes. Hence, this study also examines how the missionaries functioned as promoters of western medicine to popularise Christianity in Travancore during the colonial period. As in the case of education, missionaries viewed western medicine as a tool for evangelisation through charity. Missionaries developed Medical Philanthropy to elevate the lower sections of the society in Travancore.