Resistance and response to colonial bio medicine: A critical study of survival of ayurvedic tradition in rural India

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to establish how despite the introduction of the Western medical system during the colonial era, the primary Indian medical system- Ayurveda- remained intact,especially in rural India. Moreover, it has also been analyzed as how the efforts to advance Ayurveda's position in relation to Western bio-medicine helped pave the way for spreading anti-colonial ideology during the colonial period. Data Source: Data for this study has been collected mainly from a variety of primary and secondary sources. The literature produced during the colonial era has received particular attention. Review Methods: In light of several research questions, especially those pertaining to the persistence of the Ayurvedic system and its challenges to Western biomedicine, a narrative and analytical review of all the sources has been conducted. Conclusion: The study clearly concludes that the Ayurvedic system was well-established even throughout the colonial period, and attempts to make it stronger at the time posed a unique challenge and resistance to colonialism.

Keywords

• allopathy
• ayurveda
• bio medicine
• colonialism
• disease
• ethnobotany
• herbs