Organization of Public Health and Medical Services in India

physiography, climate, flora, fauna, anthropology, history, etc., came under the influence of European civilization at a relatively late date, but very material advances in almost all directions have resulted from this contact. Even in regard to this influence, however, the contrasts presented in different parts of the country bring out very vividly the vast nature of the extremely varied problems which had and have to be faced in the length and breadth of this great sub-continent. Confining our remarks, as it is proposed in this communication, to the public health and medical services in this country, it is apparent that side by side with the most modern, up-to-date and efficient machinery such as is to be found to-day in any other part of the world, the state of affairs in many of the areas is almost as primitive as it was during the Moghul times or even earlier. During the early times there was a relatively highly evolved system of curative medicine in vogue throughout the country. This was particularly well developed during the hey-day of Buddhism in the country, but the highly important preventive side was, as in almost all other countries during this period, non-existent. Contact with the West marked a material change, and one of the outstanding points of this change was that, with the exception of a relatively small number of private practitioners of the indigenous systems of medicine, the State assumed almost the entire responsibility for providing medical relief to the country. Hospitals, dispensaries and other adjuncts, together with the necessary personnel, were provided