Ruling Classes, Missionaries, Non-state Agencies and Health Issues in Travancore in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

The article broadly deals with the initiatives on the part of the government and the non-government organisations in Travancore on health related issues. It would be argued that though the ‘enlightened’ government in the princely state of Travancore realised the importance of developing health programs to cope up with public health issues, particularly because of the frequent incidence of famines, their efforts remained half hearted and the investments remained far low. On the other hand, the missionaries were more active in setting up hospitals and dispensaries and these prove to be beneficial for the ‘lower castes’. However, though the missionaries and the ruling circles in Travancore remained divided in matters related to religion, there was some element of cooperation between them in this respect. The health related issues moved in new dimension altogether when there were active interventions on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation and the proponents of Ayurveda in early twentieth century Travancore.