Reforming Health Sector: Role and Impact of Missionaries in NWFP (1900–1947)

• UZMA

  Independent Scholar

  Author

The Christian medical missions operating within the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of British India between 1900 and 1947 constituted an indispensable and transformative source of accessible medical provision for the indigenous populace. This essay argues that despite the underlying evangelical and, at times, problematic narratives-which often framed local resistance and traditional practices through a lens of 'bio-othering'-the missionaries' healthcare activities fundamentally reformed the regional health sector through localized innovations in service delivery, superior organizational capacity, and specialized medical expertise. Tracing the missions' arrival to the mid-nineteenth century, this analysis details the widespread scope of their work, including patient volumes, surgical operations, and disease treatment statistics, thereby establishing the critical nature of their contribution relative to state-sponsored facilities. Furthermore, the study examines the cultural challenges faced, such as resistance to early hospitalization and the issue of providing care to purdah-nishin women. Ultimately, it demonstrates that the missions' systematic approach to nursing, specialized eye treatment, and culturally adaptive architectural strategies-such as the caravanserai model-facilitated vital social and medical transformation, simultaneously serving both humanitarian goals and, often implicitly, the colonial biopolitical agenda. 

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