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which had been under consideration for some years, came to fruition
and the first Pasteur Institute was established at Kasauli in the Simla
Hills in 1900 with Semple as its first Director. This Institute also served
as a research centre on general subjects and much effective work has
been done there. Three years later the King Institute was established
at Guindy, Madras, for the manufacture of calf lymph and for general
bacteriological work and provided a centre at which facilities for research
were available. The central laboratory was opened at Kasauli in 1906
as the Central Research Institute, Semple from the Pasteur Institute in
the same station being its first Director also. The laboratory organiza
tion was extended in succeeding years by the creation of the Pasteur
Institute, Coonoor, in 1907, the Pasteur Institute, Rangoon, in 1915 and
the Pasteur Institute, Shillong, in 1917.
4. The question of staffing the earlier Institutes had to be considered
and the small group of research workers who had been deputed for
special studies could first be drawn upon for the purpose. These officers
were incorporated in a cadre called the 'Bacteriological Department'
which was formed by the Government of India in 1905 for permanent
employment in medical research and allied duties. This department at
first consisted of 13 officers only, these being employed in the Laboratories
and Pasteur Institutes as they were formed or on field research work
under the Government of India.
5.
The increasing amount of routine work thrown on the officers of
- the Bacteriological Department (later called the Medical Research Depart-
ment who were appointed as Directors and Assistant Directors of the
Institutes, owing to the extent to which manufacture of vaccines, sera
and other biological products had to be taken up and also to the demand
for assistance in routine laboratory diagnosis, resulted in these officers
becoming immobilised and not sufficiently available for field work or for
employment on whole-time research on important subjects which
demanded investigation. This made it necessary to extend the cadre
further and for this purpose the Government of India increased it by 15
officers in 1914, 2 more being added in 1915 to allow for Directors of the
-new Institutes in Rangoon and Shillong.
6.
Unfortunately with the outbreak of War in 1914 the scheme for
extended staff and extended activities could not be brought into effective
practice and the. War brought recruiting and research largely to a stand-
still for a period of six years. Research again became active after the
War and while trained workers were difficult to obtain and there had been
a serious hiatus in the recruiting for the Medical Research Department,
the effect of which is still felt, it was possible gradually to enlarge research
activities and again build up the cadre.
7.
In the post-War period two new important agencies for medical
research were developed. The necessity for a School of Tropical Medicine
in India had long been realised and in 1920 the School was established
at Calcutta largely through the efforts and enthusiasm of Leonard Rogers.
The School was intended to provide training for a diploma in Tropical
M