Environmental change, health and disease in Bengal’s Western frontier : Chotanagpur between 1800-1950s

Taking a long-term view spanning the early 19th century and the 1950s, the paper explores some of the changes affecting the landscape of the plateau zone between the plains of North India and deltaic Bengal since the 19th century. In particular, it analyses the manner in which the spread of rice cultivation and the reduced forest cover, the construction of railways and multi-purpose river valley projects refashioned the natural landscape and brought about changes in the means of livelihood among the people of the region, and eventually led to the phenomenon of widespread hunger. Secondly, it provides an overview of the diseases prevalent among the Adivasi/tribal population in Chotanagpur and Santal Parganas and examines in this context colonial beliefs regarding the racial implications of disease. Thirdly, it analyses the factors behind the increased incidence of malaria in the southern and eastern parts. Finally, it looks at the proliferation of disease in the overcrowded urban settlements with references to an epidemic in the mining town of Jamshedpur where new employment opportunities attracted people from all over the country.