The Lamp of Reform: Florence Nightingale’s Health Interventions in Colonial India
Journal: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Humanities
Year: 2026

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) is widely recognised as a pioneering figure of public health reform. While her frontline work as a nurse during the Crimean War brought her lasting fame, her most enduring legacy can be found in decades of policy-driven advocacy, particularly in colonial India—a country she never visited but profoundly influenced. This article examines how Nightingale, without ever visiting India, exerted an influential impact on the public health sector in British India. Doing s