“As Funds Permit”: Colonial Management of the Lunatic Asylums in the United Provinces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66871/ihj.v1i1.013الكلمات المفتاحية:
colonial psychiatry، Lunatic asylums، United Provinces، fiscal prudence، lunacy administrationالملخص
Institutionalisation of insanity in the form of the lunatic asylum was a by-product of colonial rule in India. As one Superintendent of an asylum observed, lunacy administration was the “veritable Cinderella” of colonial institutions, receiving limited attention and investment. Asylum authorities faced chronic fiscal constraints in managing, maintaining and improving the lunatic asylums. Drawing upon the annual reports of the lunatic asylums and correspondence between asylum administration and government, this paper examines the administration of the four lunatic asylums of the United Provinces – Agra, Benares, Bareilly, and Lucknow - from the mid-nineteenth century to 1947.
This paper argues that the development of the asylum system was consistently shaped by financial constraints. Phrases such as “as funds permit” and “for want of funds” recur throughout the official records, revealing the extent to which fiscal prudence influenced asylum administration. Overcrowding, accommodation shortages, inadequate sanitation, dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate staff quarters, water supply issues, and recurring outbreaks of epidemics were persistent features of asylum life. Although officials repeatedly acknowledged the need for reform, major recommendations, such as the centralisation of asylums and the deployment of specialised psychiatric staff, were weighed primarily in terms of fiscal efficiency.
Drawing on case studies of lunatic asylums in the United Provinces, this paper argues that fiscal considerations shaped lunatic administration in India. Consequently, the asylums remained overwhelmingly custodial, while psychiatric care remained relegated to mere rhetoric.
المراجع
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