Bombay as Plague City

  We visit Bombay Presidency at the turn of the 20th century. The port city was a major economic hub, so, when rats onboard ships from Hong Kong carried bubonic plague into Bombay in August 1896, the British Raj reacted vehemently to tamp it down.

There were a multitude of experiences of the plague and disease control, often delineated by class and caste. Maybe you’ve noticed this with Covid19, too?

Cities were divided into white town — the colonial enclave — and black towns — for Indians. And when plague hit, the authorities destroyed houses, precipitating a housing crisis. 

We discuss some of these themes with Tarangini Sriraman, a historian at Azim Premji University in Bangalore.