A unique museum in Mumbai--Acworth Leprosy Museum.

The newly expanded Acworth Leprosy Museum at Wadala, Mumbai which was opened by the Municipal Commissioner, Dr. Jairaj Phatak, on 9th June 2009, is not just about a disease. It holds a mirror to Indian society through the ages, by depicting how it dealt with a dreaded, misunderstood as highly infectious, and apparently incurable deforming disease (Figure 1). The ‘Homeless Leper Asylum’ (today better known as the Acworth Municipal Hospital for Leprosy), was established in 1890 to mitigate the nuisance caused by ‘leper’ beggars infesting the streets and public places in Bombay, by confining them to a shelter (Figure 2). The Asylum owed its existence to the energy and initiative of H. A. Acworth, the then Municipal Commissioner of Bombay. It was the result of the interaction between the Corporation, the Government, and prominent citizens of Bombay. The Museum is dedicated to the nameless millions of leprosy sufferers throughout history, to the philanthropists and social workers who ameliorated their sufferings, and pays tribute to those whose labours delivered remedies and other benefits to the most marginalised of human society.