Research on Parsis
Natasha Sarkar requires the below information. It seems to be an intresting topic. So if any one has answers, would request you to write in to her and also on the Blog so that we may all get a bit more knowledgable too.
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Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to procure information about the response of the Parsi community during the plague epidemics that ravaged India from 1896 to 1925. I’m doing research on the history of the plague epidemics in India which was part of the third worldwide pandemic which started in 1894- China and spread across the world. As such, I wish to learn more about the response of the Parsi community—doctors and laypersons to plague policies.
I would appreciate it if you could direct me to private archives,institutio ns or libraries where I might locate the historical contributions of Parsis during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Does the Bombay Parsi Panchayat maintain such records?
Any help would be invaluable.
Thank you so much.
Regards
Natasha Sarkar
Regards
Natasha Sarkar
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Dear Natasha,
I have no knowledge about the connection between Parsis and the plague epidemics, but there should be a wealth of material in Parsi news sources. Do you read Gujarati? If so, take a look at Parsi/Parsi-published papers such as Jam-e-Jamshed, Bombay Samachar, Kaiser-e-Hind, etc. There might also be information kept in the volumes of Parsee Prakash, a compilation of news stories relating to the Parsi community kept in select libraries .
Those select libraries include KR Cama Institute in Bombay and Meherjirana Library in Navsari. I can’t think of any particular book on Parsis in the medical profession or Parsis and medical history, unfortunately, but if you visit either library you could look at their catalogues. You might also want to try Maharashtra State Archives to see if there is anything particular relating to measures the Parsi community undertook. I do not think that you would find the Bombay Parsi Panchayet terribly helpful, unfortunately.
Best regards,
Dinyar Patel
Ph.D. candidate, History
Harvard University