30
RANCHEE CIRCLE.
difficulty may be anticipated, but vaccinators have from time to time been
employed in almost every corner of the sub-division, and the villagers generally
must by this date be pretty well acquainted* with vaccination.
Inoculators.
14. Inoculators have not been detected at work in the Ranchee circle during
the year under report.
Vaccinations per-
formed by them.
Thirteen Brahmin inoculators were instructed in vaccination and worked
under the native superintendents.† Two of them, Kasi Punda and his brother,
live at Ginjo in Lohardugga district, where they hold land given to them as
hereditary " Pundas" by the Rajah of Chota Nagpore. Kasi Punda, to whom
a "birt" or number of villages, part of his former "birt" indeed, was assigned
as a trial, had 440 cases during the season, of which 436 were successful. This
I consider a good result, all things considered. All the other inoculators
belonged to Maunbhoom, and next season many more besides these men may
be expected to come to us for instruction. It will be necessary to assign certain
villages or a "birt," as they themselves call it, to the instructed men, and I have
promised the men to arrange this for them if possible, and to let them know
about it before next season begins.
Kasi Punda, the inoculator mentioned above, lives on his " birt," and con-
sidered his rights intruded on somewhat by the vaccinators working in villages
in which of old he used to practise, and he pointed out some of the very people
he had inoculated. I hope to see him so actively employed hereafter as to
leave no need for other vaccinators to enter his "birt."
Proposals regard-
ing their future
employment.
15. If inoculators, after having been properly taught to vaccinate, were
granted a perwannah and registered or licensed to practise in their old birt, or
rather within the jurisdiction of certain outposts or thannahs so as to give
exact borders, the inspection of their work would be made easier than if they
were allowed to work where they liked; and, moreover, the state of the villages
with regard to vaccination in any future year could properly be ascribed to the
activity or idleness of the licensed vaccinator or vaccinators, whose license to
practise in that particular "birt" might be withdrawn if needful, and his
deficiency supplied by a better man. Such better man might I think be found
among the family of the individual discharged or of some of the other inoculators.
16. I think that when the inoculators themselves come to see, as some of
them do, that it is -their interest to take up vaccination upon their old inocu-
lation grounds, and when they are made to understand that Government has their
interest at heart if they will but vaccinate well and systematically, they will
gladly act upon some such plan as that indicated above.
Inspection neces-
sary
The great lack in any scheme for the employment of vaccinators which is
likely to be carried out, is the appointment of native superintendents to direct
the inoculators when they get wrong in any way, and to collect their statistics,
for unless vaccinators are looked well after they are apt to fall into indifference
about minute but essential points in practice, and then there follow want of
success in operating and discredit of vaccination with the villagers.
17. In the event of inoculators being employed during next season, I
would express a desire for permission to detach one of my native superintend-
ents or a trustworthy vaccinator such as I have in Sheikh "Wahid Ally in order
to visit systematically the birts of inoculators at work, to help them by advice
and otherwise, and to ascertain how their work proceeds.
The Civil Surgeon of Purulia has seen a good deal of vaccination done by
some of the inoculators, but the influence of an occasional visit is not so much
what I would aim at as an understanding on the part of the inoculators that
they were directly under observation, and meanwhile on trial, so that they
might be induced to do their best and even originate a spirit of competition
with one another.
* Not so well acquainted with the practice of Government vaccinators, since they generally decline our service.
† Return of the work done by inoculators is attached.