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Medical Anthropology in the Darjeeling Hills

Discovering the Darjeeling Hills as an unexplored field site

The Darjeeling Hills are ethnographically only marginally explored. The main towns Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong are representative of a pluralistic and urbanised hill society in north India, in which diverse ethnic groups have established multiple identities.

The only data available on ethnic groups in the region dates back to the gazetteers of colonial times (Dash 1947; O'Malley 1999 [1907]; Risley 1894). With India’s independence it was anticipated that the caste system would be abolished by ignoring ethnic groups in data collections. As a consequence, the lack of census data over the past 50 years has led to a lack of knowledge on the historical development of all ethnic groups.

The social and political life is characterised by the Nepali-Bengali conflict which has dominated the area since the incorporation into Bengal of Darjeeling in 1835, Siliguri in 1850, and Kalimpong in 1865. Since then Bengalis have occupied elite positions in education and government. Nepalese have fought this marginalisation through the Gorkhaland movement, which has sought a self-governing state, independent of West Bengal. Some political autonomy resulted in the establishment of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1989, after violent ‘agitation’ (March 1986 to August 1988). In such a marginalising climate, smaller populations, like Tibetan refugees who moved into the area after 1959 have been sidelined.

Socio-economic life is marked by a sense of competition, which has also led to tensions between the populations.

The impact of biomedicine in this region is obvious, but traditional practitioners have integrated biomedical elements into their practice. Likewise, although biomedical doctors are critical about religio-medical traditions, many acknowledge the role of traditional medicine, the cultural background of which they share with their patients. Similarly, Tibetan doctors in the region use an eclectic mixture of Tibetan and biomedical methods in their work, including sphygmomanometers and blood test results, and also refer patients to the monasteries for ritual healing.

Moreover, there are numerous local healers, herbalists (click here to read an article on a local bone-setter), matas (click here to read an article on a Mataji Kumari Cintury), shamans, jakris, etc. which form an integral part of people's decision making in the diagnosis and treatment of illness.

This cultural setting is a valuable site for research into pluralistic medical practices, not only due to its diverse medical, social and religious environment, and accessibility, but also because of the local availability of data and active resources.

ITTM is eager to introduce new researchers to a multitude of medical practitioners and healers.