Influenza pandemic and the development of public health infrastructure in Bombay city, 1919

Influenza pandemic and the development of public health infrastructure in Bombay city, 1919–1935

Satam, Mrunmayee

The arrival of the influenza pandemic and the end of the First World War had a definite impact on the policies associated with the development of public health infrastructure in the inter-war period. The influenza pandemic was crucial in generating awareness about the insufficient medical relief infrastructure for a city like Bombay (present day Mumbai) with a growing population. In this paper, I therefore elaborate on the politics surrounding funding of public health and development of hospitals in interwar Bombay. The paper uses health planning in the aftermath of the influenza pandemic as a lens to understand colonial power and transitioning governance in the late colonial period. It evaluates how colonialism operated through health planning and how it catalyzed the transformation of power relations between colonial and local Indian powers. Secondly, I argue that, while the government authorities designed plans, it was the native population that bore the financial responsibility of these projects. It becomes evident that the unwillingness displayed by the colonial state to improve healthcare infrastructure resulted in the native inhabitants taking it upon themselves to cater to the demands of the general population.