NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
1ó
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
and in the recently erected Asylum at Matoonga. Numbers of
lepers were also seen in the streets of the city. During
the present year the inmates of the Trombay Asylum have
been transferred to Matoonga. Vagrant lepers, and many
from the Dharmsala, are now also in the same Institution.
The Asylum at Trombay lies to the north of the city and is
distant about six miles. It is quite isolated and stands upon
rising ground. The site was given by a Parsi, who in 1885
erected a large well-built bungalow for the use of lepers of
all castes and creeds. It is a semi-religious charity, the
inmates, twenty-four in number, being all Native Christians.
In the middle of the bazaar, closely surrounded by houses,
is the Dharmsala founded by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. This
is entered from Duncan Street. A colony of about one hun-
dred and seventy lepers—-.men, women, and children, healthy
and diseased—inhabit the place, which consists of several
alleys along which water trickles in a central gutter, with badly
built mud huts on both sides. The lepers are free to come or
go, and by the provision of the founder each man and woman
receives daily one seer of rice and three pie (about d.), and
each child half a seer of rice and two pie.
The Superintendent of the Dharmsala has been resident
there for twelve years and continued free from leprosy. His
predecessor lived in the same quarters for thirty years and
did not develop the disease. The indigent quarter of the
Dharmsala is close to the leper colony, yet no instance
could be discovered showing that the disease spread to the
former.
The recently erected Asylum at Matoonga lies about six
miles north of Bombay fort. The Institution was founded by
subscriptions and municipal funds. On a site of several acres,
enclosed with wire fencing, a number of blocks of buildings
are raised. Each block is built upon slightly rising ground.
The walls consist of a single course of bricks ; the roof is con-
structed of palm leaves. The interior of each block is com-
Local Notes :—-Bombay.
17
pletely divided lengthways by a sheet of corrugated iron, eight
feet high, so as to form two wards in each block. The floors
are concrete and the walls whitewashed. Each ward contains
about twenty beds. The whole is well ventilated. The sexes
are separated. The sanitary arrangements are very good. The
solid excreta are collected, removed, and subsequently thrown
into the sea. The liquid matters run into gullies and thence
into a main pipe which terminates in a percolating cesspool,
made of morrhum and ballast. A shaft, filled with chloride
of lime, intercepts the drain, so that this disinfectant is slowly
washed away into the interior of the pit.
POONA.
The David Sassoon Infirm Asylum is on the outskirts of
the native city. It was founded in 1865 and contains seventy-
seven inmates, among these thirty-five lepers (males twenty-
three, females nine, children three). The lepers come from
the neighbouring districts and are admitted at their own request.
After admission they are not permitted to go out and beg, and
if an inmate leaves without permission he is not re-admitted.
The lepers live in detached bungalows, the sexes being sepa-
rated. Separate buildings and latrines are arranged for the
leprous and non-leprous inmates. Both the Superintendent of
the Asylum, who has lived there for sixteen years, and the
medical assistant, whose service has been seven years, are
quite free from disease. No birth among the leper colony has
occurred for many years. With the exception of the latrines
the hygienic arrangements are good.
Forty-five cases were examined here, and among these
there was only one Muhammadan. A single Brahmin was
an inmate. Thirty-six p'atients were married, and the total
number of children was forty-seven, giving 1.3 for each marri-
age.
Seventeen lepers had been vaccinated.
c
i8
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
YERROWDA PRISON (POONA).
The Yerrowda Prison lies about four miles north of Poona.
The leper criminals of the Presidency are collected here, and
lodged in a separate building and do not mix with the healthy
prisoners. One Brahmin was seen here and one Rajput be-
longing to the Bansi caste. According to the statement of
this patient, members of this caste never, under any circum-
stances, eat fish, even in times of great scarcity. If fish were
even at such times able to be procured, this would not be
eaten. One prisoner has developed leprosy since admission to
the Goal. To the ten married lepers twenty children had been
born, or 2"o children to each marriage.
Punjab.
DELHI.
There is no Asylum here, but twelve persons were collected
for examination by the Civil Surgeon. Of these eleven were
lepers, of whom six were Hindus, all of low castes (Chamar
and weaver), and five Muhammadans. Nine were married and
had thirty-three children in all, or 3.6 to each marriage. Ten
were unvaccinated or inoculated. Where enquiries were made
as to fish, all admitted they were frequent fish-eaters. It
appears to be a common belief here that if fish is eaten and
then milk drunk directly afterwards, that probably leprosy will
.be produced. It does not matter if fish be eaten on one day
and milk on the next. It was also mentioned that at Garh-
muktesar, twenty-five miles from Meerut, on the banks of the
Ganges, there were a great number of lepers. One case of
syphilis was produced as leprosy.
Loeal Notes:—Punjab.
19
DHARMSALA.
A small colony of lepers inhabit two well-built huts, sur-
rounded with gardens, .situated on a hill some distance from
the cantonment.
Five men occupy one hut, and seven
females the other ; a compounder and his family occupy a
third building on the same hill. He has been there thirteen
years, and both himself and family are perfectly healthy.
LAHORE,
There is no Asylum at Lahore, neither is the district
afflicted with leprosy to any marked extent. Two cases only
were seen at the Civil Hospital, and both of these were vagrants
who had come from Kashmir.
The prevalence of leprosy in the division and district of
Lahore, according to the census of 1868 and that of 1881, is
shown in the following table :—
Lahore Division
Lahore District
1868
.1881
1868
(.1881
•
-
•
•
•
•
Population.
1,889,495
789,666
924,106
Total
number of
Lepers.
633
333
106
84
Proportion
per 10,000 of
population.
3.3
15
1.3
'9
MOOLTAN.
Leprosy appears to be rare in this district. There was no
case for examination, and during the past three-and-a-half
c 2
20
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
years not a single leper, either in the city or district, had been
seen by the Civil Surgeon.
The following table shows the population and number of
lepers in the district and division of Mooltan, according to the
census of 1881 :—
Mooltan Division
.
Mooltan District
.
.
.
.
Population.
1-712,394
551,964
Total
number of
Lepers.
215
67
Proportion
per 10,000 of
population.
1.2
1.2
PESHAWAR.
This city and district is to a great extent free from leprosy,
and although many cases were collected by the authorities,
only two undoubted cases of leprosy were seen. The other
patients were generally suffering from syphilis.
The accompanying table shows the population and number
of lepers in the division and district of Peshawar, according to
the census of 1881.
P e s h a w a r D i v i s i o n
.
.
.
.
P e s h a w a r D i s t r i c t
.
.
.
.
Population.
1,181,289
592,674
Total
number of
Lepers.
269
90
Proportion
per 10,000 of
population.
2.2
1.5
RAWALPINDI.
The Leper Asylum is situated about one mile east of the city.
There was accommodation for about thirty-six lepers in 1883,
but since that time, by the addition of new buildings, fifty lepers
Loeal Notes:—Punjab.
21
can be admitted. Medical aid is rendered, and the establish-
ment supervised by the Assistant Surgeon in charge of the Civil
Hospital. The cost per annum of maintaining each leper is
about R 50.
Food consists chiefly of spiked millets during the winter
months and wheat mixed with barley in the summer ; meat,
ghee, and vegetables according to their means. 2
The Asylum contained forty-seven lepers and one patient
free from the disease. Of this number forty-six were Muham-
madans. A considerable number of lepers came from the Native
State of Punch on the eastern boundary of Kashmir. Thirty-
two cases were married with fifty-two children, giving 1.6 to
each marriage. Five cases had been vaccinated. Thirty-two
cases had been inoculated.
SUBATHU.
This hill station lies about twenty-three miles south-west
of Simla. There is a Leper Asylum here, supported by the
American Mission to Lepers in India and by public contribu-
tions. It is under the superintendence of a resident missionary
and a medical assistant. There is accommodation for eighty-
five inmates. They occupy several buildings which are ex-
ceedingly comfortable. The patients are allowed to go out-
side the Asylum on certain days of the week. In addition to
lepers other patients are received from charity. Medicine and
advice are also given to lepers and patients suffering from other
diseases. Forty-six lepers were examined here. Five patients
stated that they had never eaten fish or meat. Forty-three
were married and had forty-eight children.
SlALKOT.
The Leper Asylum at Baba Lakhan was founded in 1866.
It is situated nine miles south of Sialkot. The buildings consist
( 2 ) "Rawalpindi Gazetteer."
22
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
of three double barracks accommodating seventy-two lepers, a
cookhouse, barrack for servants, two wells, and a garden.
Medical attendance is given by the Assistant Surgeon of Sialkot.
A few out-patients are also treated here. The average number
of inmates from 1878 to 1891 was sixty-five. The cost per
annum per inmate was about R40.
The food of the people is chiefly grain and vegetables.
Meat is a luxury few can afford. Fish is seldom eaten even by
those residing near rivers. 3
The Asylum has at present forty inmates, of whom thirty-
two are Muhammadans and eight Hindus. Thirty-seven are
married with fifty-seven children in all, giving 1.5 to each
marriage. Ten cases had been vaccinated and two inoculated,
while twenty-three had suffered from small-pox.
TARN TARAN (AMRITSAR).
The Leper Asylum at Tarn Taran is situated about one mile
west of the town of that name. It was built in 1858. The
buildings are two double rows of huts in lines of thirty-five
each, and they will accommodate one hundred and forty inmates.
Owing to the reputation that the water of a tank close to the
temple founded by Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, has for
healing powers in leprosy, large numbers of lepers, who bathe
in and drink the water, congregate in the town.
The Asylum is under the supervision of the Civil Surgeon
of Amritsar, an Assistant Surgeon being in charge of the
Institution. The Leper Asylum is maintained by the municipal
funds of Amritsar, the expenses of lepers from other districts
being recovered from the places to which they belong.
There are at present one hundred and forty-six inmates
one hundred and six of these being married. The total number
of children is one hundred and eighty-five. Among twenty-
( 3 ) "Sialkot Gazetteer."
Local Notes :—Punjab.
23
two intermarriages of lepers it was found that eighteen children
were born.
In 1889 the inmates numbered one hundred and eighteen,
of whom seventy-five were males and forty-three females.
Fifty of these were Muhammadans. An analysis of the total
number 4 showed that of one hundred and fourteen lepers—
Thirty-one admitted that fish was never eaten.
Five admitted that fish was seldom eaten.
Forty-two admitted that fish was often eaten.
Thirty-six admitted that a mixed diet was eaten.
Many wealthy lepers live in a separate quarter of the town of
Tarn Taran. It was not possible to obtain any information
from them.
UMBALLA.
The Asylum was founded in 1856. It is situated north-
east of the city. The average number of in-patients is thirty-
two, though there is accommodation for forty. There are no
out-patients. It is under the superintendence of the American
Missionary. Medicines are supplied gratis by the City Chari-
table Dispensary, and the Civil Surgeon visits the Asylum
from time to time. The yearly expenditure is about R 1,700.
Voluntary subscriptions for the most part defray the expenses.
Clothing, food, medicines, and accommodation are given by
this Asylum.
• The staple food of the people is wheat and gram ; dâl is
also largely consumed.
Thirty-two lepers were examined.
Twenty-nine lepers were Hindus. With the exception of
one Brahmin, most of these belonged to the Chamar, Dhobi,
and other low castes.
Three were Muhammadans and Rajputs.
( 4 ) Communication on January 8th, 1890, to Epid. Soc. of London by P. S.
Abraham.
24
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION :
Twenty-nine lepers were married, and fifty-eight children
were born in all, or 2.0 to each marriage.
Vaccination undergone by
.
.
.
.7
Inoculation
ditto
do.
.
.
.
.2
Small-pox
ditto
do.
-
.
.
.
.7
Syphilis was not enquired into here.
Diet.—The Brahmins denied ever eating fish. This matter
was fully gone into here, and out of the total thirty-two lepers
it was found that—
Fifteen owned to never eating fish, or 46.9 per cent.
Twelve owned to sparingly eating fish, or 37. 5 per cent.
Five owned to frequently eating fish, or 15.6 per cent.
This Asylum contained one or two paupers, who were not
lepers. One such case examined was hereditary syphilis.
Feudatory States.
KAPURTHALLA.
A small colony of ten lepers exists here, who live on the
outskirts of the native city. All were Muhammadans. Of
this number six were married, with a total of twelve children.
Four cases had been vaccinated.
PATIALA.
Nine lepers were seen here, and several other patients
collected with these were suffering from syphilis and other
diseases. Six were Hindus, and among these two Brahmins ;
three were Muhammadans. To seven married lepers there
were born seven children. No case had been vaccinated.
Loeal Notes:—North-West Provinces and Oudh.
25
North-West Provinces and Oudh.
AGRA.
A leper colony is collected in a building close to the walls
of the Taj Mahal. A set of buildings arranged as two quad-
rangles, the larger one for men and the smaller for women,
so that the sexes are separated, are occupied by fifty-four
lepers. Among twenty Hindus there were three Brahmins.
Thirty-eight lepers were married. The number of children
was sixty-seven. Seven cases had been vaccinated.
ALIGARH.
Cases were examined at the Civil Hospital. Among ten
cases seven were Hindus and three Muhammadans ; included
in the former was one Brahmin. Among eight marriages there
were in all thirty-five children, or 4.3 to each marriage.
ALMORA
The establishment of the Almora Leper Asylum is the work
of Sir Henry Ramsay, who, in 1840, was appointed Resident
Civil Officer in Kumaun. At his own expense he raised a
building on the eastern slope of Almora which could accom-
modate about thirty inmates, and with the help of friends
sustained the expense of the maintenance of these. In 1850
the Institution was handed over to the London Missionary
Society, and subsequently the site changed to the present one
on an isolated hill, south-east of the station. There are now
seven barracks which will accommodate one hundred and
thirty inmates, a bungalow for the resident care-taker, a dis-
pensary, a store-room, a school and a church, together with
out-houses for servants and attendants. All the buildings are
of stone with slate roofs. Each barrack is divided into com-
26
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
partments, one of which will accommodate three inmates.
A wall surrounds the compound which is well planted with
cherry, plum, and other fruit trees within this area. Crops
of potatoes, vegetables, and grain of all sorts are cultivated
by the inmates, who themselves use the produce. The trench-
ing system is adopted as a sanitary measure.
The number of inmates is generally greater in summer
than in winter, for residence is quite voluntary. The sexes
are strictly separated, and children born here removed into an
Orphanage in Almora.
The income of the Institution is derived from a yearly
grant made by the Mission to lepers in India of R2,4oo, and
one of R120 from the Almora Municipality, aided by a few
private subscriptions. There is also an endowment which
yields yearly R2,145, During the year 1890 the expenditure
was as follows :—
R
a.
Diet, clothing,
firewood
.
.
.
.
4,740 12
Repairs, medicine, funeral expenses
.
.
662 4
Establishment, including care-taker
.
.
647 o
6,050 o
By the rules of the Institution attendance at the church and
school is voluntary, and all are treated alike without refer-
ence to race or creed. Bathing once a week in the bath-
rooms provided for the purpose is compulsory, and the cloth-
ing must be washed at the same time. Any inmate dis-
regarding the rules is either excluded for a time from the
rest of the community, or expelled from the Institution, accord-
ins: to the gravity of the offence. 5
Leprosy is prevalent in the district of Kumaun. The
figures available show that about twenty per ten thousand of
the population are lepers, the ratio for the whole of India
being five to ten thousand. Possibly this fact may be explained
( 5 ) This information was kindly supplied by the Revd. G. M. Bulloch.
Local Notes :—North-West Provinces and Oudli.
27
by assuming there is an immigration from Nepal, in which
country it is said that lepers have been buried alive. 6
There are at present one hundred and eight inmates,
ninety-three are Hindus, sixteen Brahmins, and a single
Muhammadan. A certain number of these come from Nepal
and Garhwal. Very few are from the plains. Sixty-one lepers
were married. Number of children one hundred and seventeen,
that is, 1.9 to each marriage, Forty-two cases had been
vaccinated, and forty-one inoculated.
BENARES.
Thirty-six lepers were examined here at the Secrole Dis-
pensary. Four patients who had been collected were not
lepers. Details as to religion, in twenty-eight cases, showed
that twenty-six were Hindus and two Muhammadans, and
among the former six Brahmins, all of whom state that they
had never eaten fish. When enquiring about the Koeri caste
(cultivators and gardeners), it appeared that there are two
sub-divisions of this, the Sakatiha who eat fish and meat, and
the Bhagatiha who never eat fish and meat.
Twenty-seven lepers were married ; the total number of
children was sixty-four, giving 2.3 children for each marriage.
The number vaccinated was four.
CAWNPORE.
In the opinion of the Civil Surgeon there were very few
lepers in Cawnpore. Those that were seen appeared to be
confirmed beggars. Ten lepers were examined here. Nine
were Hindus, among these three Brahmins. One was a
Muhammadan. All were married. Total number of children
born fifteen, ten before and five after the disease appeared
in the parent, or
5 to each marriage. None had been
( 6 ) Report on Leprosy in India; Lewis and Cunningham, Calcutta, 1877.
28
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION :
vaccinated. The three Brahmins denied that they had ever
eaten fish. Little information was gained here. There were
eight anaesthetic cases and two examples of the mixed form
of the disease. No evidence of hereditary or collateral taints
was elicited by examination.
DEHRA DUN.
The Asylum which Surgeon-Major G. G. Maclaren com-
menced to build in 1877, stands upon a site, about four acres
in area, which lies south of the town of Dehra. The money
for this was raised by voluntary subscriptions and donations
put aside for the purpose since 1872. After the erection in
1878, Government gave an annual grant-in-aid of R 1,500,
and the total income of the Institution in 1890 was R5,28o.
The number of inmates that year was one hundred and one, so
that there is a yearly cost per inmate of about R52.
The whole compound is enclosed. About two-thirds of
this space is occupied by a garden in which fruit trees (mango,
guava, jack, plantain) and tea bushes are cultivated for the
use of the inmates. The remaining space is divided into two
by a high wall, on either side of which a long building,
divided into compartments, each capable of accommodating
eight to ten people, is constructed. The sloping roofs of these
two buildings project forward about six feet, and form a ver-
andah. The men's quarters are on one side, the women's on
the other of this wall, so that there is complete separation of
the sexes. The dry-earth and trench systems are adopted
as sanitary measures.
By the rules of the Asylum admission is voluntary, but
when a leper has availed himself of this benefit, his permanent
residence here is insisted upon. There is no objection, should
a leper from a distant district wish for admission. As a
matter of fact a large number come from Garhwal. It is rare
for a Muhammadan to become an inmate.
Loeal Notes :—North-West Provinces and Oudh.
29
There are eighty-eight inmates,- sixty-nine Hindus, thirteen
Brahmins, three Muhammadans, and one European. Seventy-
one lepers are. married, and the number of children one hun-
dred and seventy-four, or 2.4 children to each marriage.
Fifteen patients had been vaccinated.
FYZABAD AND AJODHYA.
In Fyzabad, together with Ajodhya, five miles distant,
eighteen lepers were examined. Among this number was one
Brahmin. Thirteen were married ; number of children twenty,
or i*5 to each marriage. One case that was seen was not
leprosy.
LUCKNOW.
There is no Asylum at Lucknow, but fourteen lepers occupy
the poor-house, and are under the charge of the Civil Sur-
geon. Of these six were Muhammadans. Eleven were married.
Number of children thirteen. Among the lepers there were
two intermarriages, but no children had been born. One
patient who had been admitted as a leper was suffering from
epilepsy.
NAINI AND ALLAHABAD.
Sixty-six lepers collected from the prisons of the district
were seen in the Gaol at Naini. One Brahmin and one
Burman were among this number. Fifty-three patients were
married, and the total number of children was seventy-four,
giving 1.3 to each marriage.
Twelve lepers had been vaccinated.
NAINI TAL.
Leprosy is not very prevalent here. Only two cases were
examined, both were Hindus. One was married and had a
single child. One case had been vaccinated.
3°
REPORT OF THE LEPROSY COMMISSION:
Central Provinces.
JUBBULPORE.
Thirty-eight cases were examined in the compound of the
hospital. Only fifteen were lepers, a large proportion of the
other cases (twenty-two out of twenty-three) being patients
who had leukoderma, which is especially prevalent in this
district, and is frequently regarded as leprosy. Eleven lepers
were married. Number of children twenty-six, or 2.3 to each
marriage. Only two cases had been vaccinated. It was im-
possible to ascertain to what extent leprosy prevails in Jubbul-
pore, as a large proportion of the population was absent at a
religious fair.
NAGPUR.
One hundred and eighty-eight cases were seen here at the
Civil Hospital. It appeared from enquiries that leprosy is
very prevalent in the district.
Of the cases examined one
hundred and seventy-four were lepers ; of these one hundred
and thirty-seven were married. The total number of children
was two hundred and ninety-five, or 2.1 to each marriage.
Thirty-seven cases had been vaccinated.
In Nagpur Muhammadans appear to suffer more from
leprosy than do Hindus. About thirty or forty Brahmins are
lepers. In this district fish is a great luxury, and the rivers
which are in the neighbourhood are small streams for the
greater part of the year and yield but little fish at any time.
Some lepers were seen selling articles in the bazaar.
Central India Ageney.
GWALIOR.
There is no Asylum in this State, but a census made in the
autumn of 1890 showed the leper population of Gwalior, and