Modern Medical Science and Christian Missionaries: A Study of the role of St.Joseph Hospital Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir
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https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i2.022##semicolon##
Dhawa and dhua, Christian missionaries, Baramulla, pregnancyसार
From the beginning of human civilization, dhawa (medicine) and dua (prayer) have interacted to influence healing across religions and cultures. Interdependence is profoundly ingrained in Kashmiri culture, shaping therapeutic ideas and practices. Christian missionaries disrupted this long-standing medical culture in the second part of the nineteenth century. Missionaries promoted allopathic medicine as a moral and civilizational endeavor out of religious duty and evangelistic ambition. Western medical expertise was institutionalized through hospitals and dispensaries in Baramulla, North Kashmir, to change healing landscapes. This shift is symbolized by St. Joseph’s Hospital’s growth from a small dispensary in 1931 to a maternity clinic in 1932 and a major hospital by 1937. Missionary medicine negotiated with local faith- based healing rather than replacing it. This study claims that missionary influence on dhawa and dua created a hybrid medical culture in Kashmir where modern medicine, religious belief, and indigenous healing coexisted in tension and accommodation, reshaping colonial notions of illness, care, and authority.
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