About this book:

*Medicine and Science in South Asia* explores the evolution of healing and astronomical traditions in the Indian subcontinent, moving from ancient Vedic foundations to the complexities of colonial and postcolonial modernity. The book highlights indigenous systems—Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa Rigpa—not as static relics, but as dynamic, experimental repertoires that navigated shifting social, political, and ecological landscapes. It traces the transmission of knowledge through itinerant practitioners, elite textual lineages like the *Caraka* and *Sushruta Samhitas*, and the pervasive role of *Jyotisha* (astronomy/astrology) in timing medical interventions and harmonizing human life with cosmic rhythms.

The narrative shifts significantly with the arrival of European traders, missionaries, and the eventual rise of the Company-State. The book details how colonial institutions—such as medical colleges, hospitals, and botanical surveys—reoriented scientific authority by introducing new logics of measurement, human dissection, and the laboratory. This "epistemic conquest" sought to render South Asian resources and populations legible for imperial governance. However, the text emphasizes that this was not a simple replacement of one system by another; rather, it was a period of intense translation, circulation, and hybridization, where indigenous practitioners adapted to and contested Western biomedical standards.

A central theme of the work is the social life of expertise, specifically how gender and caste dictated access to knowledge and the practice of healing. While formal texts were often the preserve of elite males, the book uncovers the vital roles of midwives (*dais*), household healers, and artisanal castes whose technical skills were essential to scientific instrument-making. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these social dynamics intersected with nationalist movements. Indigenous medicine became a symbol of cultural sovereignty, leading to reform and revivalist efforts that sought to "scientize" traditional systems to gain legitimacy against colonial "quackery" narratives.

The final chapters examine the postcolonial trajectory of South Asian science, focusing on the institutionalization of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) and the globalization of Ayurveda. The book concludes with a methodological and ethical reflection on the archives of South Asian science, urging scholars to look beyond colonial records toward multilingual manuscripts and oral histories. Ultimately, the book presents medicine and science in the region as an entangled, ongoing dialogue between ancient holistic philosophies and modern experimental methodologies, asserting their continued relevance in contemporary global health.