I am a researcher with Ashoka University, based in Delhi. My current work focuses on the cholera pandemics of the 19th century in the western Indian Ocean region, with particular emphasis on areas shaped by British colonial influence.
I am seeking archival material related to the Parsi community — particularly private papers, travelogs, diaries, or correspondence belonging to individuals or families who migrated to the Middle East and East Africa during the 19th century. I am especially interested in material that sheds light on the community’s experiences with cholera, both in Bombay and abroad, their interpretations of the disease, ideas of health and sanitation and their contributions to public health and philanthropic efforts. Writings or reflections by Parsi physicians who may have migrated during this period to places like Zanzibar, Muscat and Bushire and engaged with these concerns would be of particular value to my research.
I will be visiting Bombay in September and would be very happy to follow up on any such materials in person during that time. Dr PALLAVI DAS
das.pallavi93@gmail.com
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