Medical officers, Justices of the Peace, disinfecting staff and search parties ready to start work. Pics/C Moss, 1896/Plague visitation, Bombay/Wellcome Library

The session is a synthesis and summary of Dr Kidambi’s research through the years, which delves into the interface between British imperialism and the history of modern South Asia. The bubonic plague proved to be a worthy subject of discussion as it offers lessons for the city grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic today.

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Although civic authorities had confirmed the presence of the plague in September 1986, the city continued to be ravaged by the disease through the next decade.

Dr Prashant Kidambi

“Currently, India is still in the early stages of the pandemic so there’s a long way to go. I’ll be focusing on the first two years of the plague. Back then, when the epidemic broke out, people were suspicious of hospitals and the faith in science as a solution wasn’t the case for ordinary people. There are interesting parallels that can be drawn,” Dr Kidambi shares. The UK-based historian adds that he expects an eclectic set of attendees given that it’s his first online lecture and that the content will even intrigue those with no exposure to history.

Sameera Khan, vice president, BLHS, also tells us that the event has generated a huge interest so far. The society will gauge the response from this lecture to come up with new digital events as well as begin work on their celebrated journal, The Bombay Explorer. They will follow a multi-pronged approach to cater to both new members and old ones who might not be as technologically adept. She says, “This is a new experiment for us and it has taken effort. But the future will be easier. We don’t want to lose our old members while we are out to get new ones.”

On July 25, 5.30 pm
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