Pandemic India with David Arnold

David Arnold (Warwick University, emeritus) joins Merle and Lee to chat about his recent book on pandemics in India since the 19th century. After the standard introductions, David reflects on the definition of pandemic and how it began to be used in the 1860s, with discussions of the role of Alfred Crosby’s book and the broader phenomena of writing about disease. The conversation then focuses on the three main diseases in India over the past couple of centuries: cholera, plague and influenza. David begins with the 19th century cholera pandemics, situating what turned out to be international events at their Indian source. He contrasts cholera and its memory between India and Britain, and examines how Indians conceptualized cholera at the time. He then moves on to the plague pandemic (“the Third plague pandemic”) and connects it to colonial politics and resistance, as well as by examining Indian responses to it. Finally, David reflects on why India is left out of the standard discussions of the 1918 influenza pandemic despite the high mortality it experienced at the time. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion of the impact and influence of Covid-19 in India.