Health, religion, and politics: re-assessing the role of Christian missionaries in colonial Assam

Abstract

Most studies of Christian missionaries in British Assam have focused on their role in promoting Christianity or education, not to mention their contributions to the development and standardization of local languages. There has been a singular lack of studies concerning the immense contributions made by the missionaries in setting up a healthcare infrastructure in the region. This absence has further distorted the debate on whether the missionaries operated as independent agents or as auxiliaries of the state. This paper dwells on the medical work carried out by the missionaries in British Assam and contends that the missionaries fulfilled multiple roles and functions in the province. We argue that the significance of the work of the missionaries is enhanced by the utter neglect of healthcare by the colonial state in the frontier region.