Colonialism and Transnational Psychiatry

The first detailed and comprehensive historical assessment of South Asian psychiatry in the twentieth century, breaking new ground on questions of globalisation and medicine in colonial India.

This book provides an in-depth case study of a psychiatric institution within the context of colonial rule during the early twentieth century. It focuses on patient statistics, medical treatments and diagnoses, and considers the ‘indigenisation’ or ‘Indianisation’ of the colonial medical services and the significance of international professional networks.

This book focuses on the Ranchi Indian Mental Hospital, the largest public psychiatric facility in colonial India during the 1920s and 1930s. It breaks new ground by offering unique material for a critical engagement with the phenomenon of the ‘indigenisation’ or ‘Indianisation’ of the colonial medical services and the significance of international professional networks. The work also provides a detailed assessment of the role of gender and race in this field, and of Western and culturally specific medical treatments and diagnoses. The volume offers an unprecedented look at both the local and global factors that had a strong bearing on hospital management and psychiatric treatment at this institution.