The Writers Building Library, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) holds the administrative records of the West Bengal State government. The known records relating to leprosy cover the years 1869 forward, though a full search of the archives has not been completed. Most of these records are held in the Medical Branch Proceedings.
Many of the records are associated with the establishment, funding, and maintenance of leprosaria, including those at Albert Victor Leper Asylum, Asansol, Bankura, Bhagalpur, Lohardaga (Lohardugga), Muzaffarpur, Puri, Purulia, Rajkumari (Deoghar), and Raniganj. These documents cover topics such as the management of leprosaria, grants and charitable donations, the purchase of equipment, employment of staff (some documents suggest Europeans and Eurasians were offered higher salaries than Indian natives), building alterations, etc.
There are also records relating to official leprosy control policy. Several documents relate to mentally ill people affected by leprosy and the debate over whether they should be housed in lunatic asylums or in leprosaria (with a separate ward eventually created at the Albert Victor Asylum). A small number of individual cases are documented as well as general policy. There are also reports on the numbers of people with leprosy arrested by police. Segregation of the children of leprosy patients is also discussed in some documents.
A few documents mention the involvement of foreign charitable organisations such as the Mission to Lepers (now The Leprosy Mission) and the National Leprosy Fund (UK). There are some reports on medical work with leprosy, including correspondence about an alleged cure discovered by Man Bahadur Nepalee, and copies of reports by physicians such as Henry Vandyke Carter, Isadore Dyer, Dr. Deycke, E.G. Russell, and A.L. Baldwin. Other early medical books and reports on leprosy are also held.
A detailed list of files related to leprosy in the Writers Building Library can be found here.
Entry updated 11 January 2016