Bearing and attitude of the people.
(a) With regard to the bearing of the people in the presence of the epidemic the
Deputy Commissioner notes as follows :—
Bearing in the presence of the epidemic
" The attitude of the people with reference to the disease has in the Garhshankar
Tahsil been one of oriental submission to the inevitable. In the other parts of the district
which were newly infected this year some
signs of panic were visible at the time of the
outbreak in the case of some villages, but the people soon settled down quietly.
" The disease has generaly caused some increase in charity and a more frequent resort
to devotional exercises."
The Plague Medical Officer says :—
" The people look upon plague as a visitation of Providence as a punishment for
the sins of the people and bear the calamity resignedly. They say if it is the will of the
heaven they should die, no one can help it."
Of the attitude towards plague measures the Plague Medical Officer notes :--
Attitude towards plague measures.
" The attitude of the people generally towards plague measures is one of distrust or
dislike. They resent the interference, though
when argued with they admit the truth of
what we say that everything we do is for their good, but they are more prone to believe what
mischief-makers tell them to the contrary."
The Deputy Commissioner notes : —
" It may, I think, be said that the definite adoption of a policy of non-compulsion and
comparative laisser faire has commended itself to the great majority. In the early part of
the year there was some slight audible tendency on the part of the people of tracts which
had not hitherto been attacked to cry out for a reversion to the old policy as regards in-
fected tracts, but the gradual advance of the disease towards themselves and the likelihood of
their coming within the scope of compulsion checked the tendency."
The Deputy Commissioner states that he has not been able to discover that the
Effect on trade, agriculture, &c.
disease had any material effect on the pros-
perity of the district or that business or
agriculture were dislocated to any untraceable extent. There was no scarcity in labour
whatever or any substantial changes in litigation or crime.
Preventive measures.
(b) The Plague Medical Officer remarks that a great deal was done by the people to
prevent outbreak or plague, and considers
that but for this the spread of plague would
have been even greater than it was. It is stated that the people avoided visiting infected
villages and postponed marriages and visits of condolence and other social obligations.
Many villagers also attemped to prevent the entrance of persons from infected places until
they had been segregated for ten days under the provisions of Punjab Government Notifica-
tion No. 1086, dated 5th September 1901. With regard to this, however, the Deputy Com-
missioner notes :—
" During the outbreak in the summer of 1901 exclusion of such persons under the
rural quarantine rule was fairly common, but with the change in plague policy this pre-
caution was less often adopted. No doubt fear of the disease operates to a considerable
extent on the people in the direction of inclining them to avoid infected places, to hesitate
in inviting and receiving friends and visitors and to postponing marriages and social
functions ; but it has not, I think, led to any general and organized action for preventing
contact with infection."
Information.
(c) Information regarding plague occurrences in villages was obtained from
Patwárís, who were required to maintain
registers of plague attacks and deaths and
to submit daily reports of infected villages in their halquas, to the Plague Medical Officer,
through the Executive Officer ; lambardárs and chaukidars were responsible for reporting
plague cases and deaths to the Patwárís. The Patwárís' registers were checked by
Girdáwars.
With regard to the reporting of plague occurrences the Plague Medical Officer
notes :—
" It must be noted here that all our statistics this year concerning plague attacks and
deaths are unreliable owing firstly, that Patwárís do not think this as one of their ordinary
duties, and secondly, by being unprofessional they make many mistakes. In the case of some