Colonial Medicine as a Tool of Domination in Travancore

Summary

The article examines colonialism's complex dynamics in Travancore, focusing on medicine as a tool of domination and cultural control. It argues colonial power operated through capillary action, permeating daily life rather than emanating from centralized authority. Western medicine, initially serving European communities, became a tool of empire, legitimized by scientific credentials and state/civil society patronage. It marginalized indigenous systems like Ayurveda, which colonial discourse homogenized as the sole representative of traditional knowledge despite India's diverse health practices. Preventive medicine consolidated British rule by framing colonial intervention as civilizing and necessary to control tropical diseases. Public health measures facilitated social segregation and domination, with European administrators viewing medical control as essential for maintaining colonial order. The British Raj's hegemony relied on creating acquiescence through cultural and scientific legitimacy, as seen in Travancore's adoption of Western biomedicine, which displaced traditional systems. The 1805 treaty with the British East India Company transformed Travancore into a dependent vassal state, stripping it of sovereignty and self-defense rights. The Resident held real power, controlling political, administrative, and economic affairs. This analysis highlights how colonialism's structures and discourses intertwined to sustain domination through both coercion and consent.