Chapter 7: Contribution to Healthcare.
The contribution of the Jewish community of Bombay is not limited to education, economy, and architecture alone; they had some very important contributions in the field of healthcare as well. Earlier all initiatives behind medicine and public health were depicted to be entirely British efforts . However this thought was challenged by David Arnold who was a later scholar who states, “It is certainly important to recognize the extent to which western medicine in India relied upon state action for its propagation and to take into account the influence of Indian resistance to its development, it is also necessary to appreciate the role of Indian leadership and indigenous strategies….one largely neglected aspect of this wider process is the role of Indian patronage.”
Thus there was indigenous contribution to healthcare in the colonial…show more content… Masina Hospital is more than a century old. It is the first privately run Hospital which was established in 1902.This Hospital was established by Dr. Hormasji Manekji Masina. Dr. Masina acquired the palatial building called “Sans Souci” (which means “without care”, though care is at the heart of its business) from the well known Sassoon family. It was the first house of David Sassoon in Byculla and was initially the hub of activities of the Baghdadi Jews. David Sassoon was so impressed by the service rendered by Dr Homasji Manekji Masina that he gave the entire property, measuring around 8 acres for a humble sum of Rs.25, 000.
David Sassoon also donated 1,000 rupees to the Medical Women for India fund. . According to Shaul Sapir author of the book Bombay: exploring the Jewish urban heritage, the role of Flora Sassoon is very important while looking at the healthcare facilities in Bombay. He says, “She played a very important part in the plague epidemic in Bombay (especially), thousands were saved by her through her