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Control and Resistance The Working of the Contagious Diseases Acts

in Bombay City Focusing on the 1870s and the 1880s, the article looks into the controversy generated by the Indian Contagious Diseases Act among colonial officials and native Indians regarding the act's efficacy and implementation procedures to curb the spread of venereal diseases

among the residents, especially the soldiers and sailors, of Bombay.

MRIDULA RAMANNA

t was the high incidence of venereal diseases in the 19th century among the oldiers of the British army, and the

need to control their spread that led to regulation through the Contagious Dis- eases Acts. The Royal Commission on the Sanitary State of the Army in India had described the disease as a 'scourge'; while the report of the president, Sanitary Com- mission, noted in 1864 that one-third of the army was affected, the number in some stations being 50, 60 or 70 per cent of the total strength of the soldiers. With the sole object of protecting British sol- diers, clauses 9 and 25 of Section 19 of Act xxii of 1864 were enacted providing that rules be made to inspect 'houses of ill fame.' A further provision was made for the extension of this Cantonment Act, beyond the- limits of the cantonment, whenever necessary.1 The Indian Conta- gious Diseases Act was passed in 1868, providing for the compulsory registration of brothels and prostitutes and for the medical examination and treatment of those women found to be diseased; and could be introduced in places specified by the local government, with the prior sanction of the government of India. This paper focuses on the working of this act in Bombay city. There appears to have been a division of opinion among the colonial officials, here, about the need for this act and, once introduced, over the implementation procedures. The Bench of Justices reluctantly shared the expense with the Bombay government, in working the act for the year of 1870; and its sub- sequent refusal to contribute anything, led to the act, being wound up in 1872. Most western educated Indian doctors, with private practices, found that the regulation had no effect on the incidence of the disease in the city. The authorities

could not distinguish between 'kept' women and hereditary prostitutes, caus- ing resentment. The local press con- demned the act. Some of the contempo- rary opinions regarding the efficacy of the measure are interesting. The paper of the conservative reformer, V N Mandlik, the Native Opinion held that it should be applied to 'males and females equally, it is unjust to compel the latter only to subject themselves to unnatural outrages of modesty'.2 The Nyayasindhu, published from Ahmednagar, also observed that venereal disease could be controlled only if the men who frequented the houses of prostitutes were also treated. This paper while declaring that it hated prostitutes, condemned the tyranny of the act and the loss of liberty.

During the next decade, while the health officer, T S Weir, noted a decline in the number of deaths from syphilis at the J J Hospital, the army recorded an increase. Consequently, the act was re- introduced in 1880, despite widespread opposition. In a petition, the bishop of Bombay and a number of prominent citizens, characterised it as 'a quasi governmental sanction of vice',3 while the chairman of the municipal corpora- tion, Vishwanath Narayan Mandlik, de- clared it to be a 'retrograde' measure.4 The working of the act, the second time, saw the citizens' campaign and counter campaign over the location of the sex workers on a particular Bombay street, providing an interesting insight into contemporary societal pressures. The act was suspended in 1888, not having made any difference to the incidence of venereal diseases. Facilities were made available, thereafter, on a voluntary basis, but no women came forward to be exam- ined and treated.

The First Phase

Following the Crimean war, and in- creased concern in the health of the British army, the first Contagious Diseases Act had been passed in Britain in 1864. Before this regulation, it was estimated that the annual loss to the army from the 'invaliding' of soldiers for venereal dis- eases amounted to a total of three regi- ments while the daily loss in the Navy numbered 386. The committee of inquiry, of the house of commons had reported in 1862, 'The facts are so appalling that we feel it a duty to press on goverment the necessity of at once grappling with the mass of vice, filth, and disease - which saps the vigour of our soldiers and sail- ors'.5 The acts of 1864, 1866, and 1869 attempted to control the spread of venereal disease. Derived from France, the acts required the prostitutes to register and undergo physical examination and if found to be infected with venereal diseases, were confined to the Lock Hospital for com- pulsory treatment for three months. The first inquiry into the working of the act by a committee of the House of Lords in 1866 reported a decrease of the disease and claimed a decline in prostitution. The' committee of the House of Commons in 1869 reported that the acts have 'both directly and indirectly promoted the ob- jects of sanitary and municipal police,' and recommendedthe extension of the act.

Here in Bombay, both the sanitary commissioner's report, 1868, and the Secretary, Bombay Chamberof Commerce pointed to the need for regulation of prostitution, in view of the wide preva- lence of venereal diseases among sea- men.6 The Contagious Diseases (CD) Act, whose purpose was to conduct the regis- tration and examination of sex workers,

1470 Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000

went into operation in May 1870.7 For the purpose of implementation, the island of Bombay was divided into five districts, the extent of each district being decided according to the supposed number of pros- titutes. Each district included many wards, the limits being identical with those of the health department. They were (1) Colaba, Fort, Esplanade, Dhobi Talao, (2) Market, Mandvi, (3) Bhuleshvar, Khara Talao, (4) Girgaum, Mahalaxmi, Walkeshvar, and (5) Parel, Kamatipura, Sewri, Mahim. Six district officers were posted in various parts of the town, within walking distance of the 'great haunts' of the prostitutes, who were required to register themselves. Under the act, all prostitutes and brothel keepers residing within city limits had to obtain permission from the commissioner of police. The latter were required to report all cases of disease occurring in their brothels, and female brothel keepers were also to be subjected to medical examina- tion. During the time a prostitute was under observation, a prostitute had to submit herself regularly for inspection. The Lock Hospital was set up at Mazagon, in a building called Esplanade Hotel.8 W F Knapp, L S, professor of anatomy and curator of the museum, Grant Medical College, was appointed superintendent, and Heam was appointed resident medi- cal officer.9 Assisting Knapp were two Parsi doctors Rustomjee Nadirshaw and Burjorjee Framjee. Though the Indian Medical Gazette cautioned, 'We feel convinced that many medical men would refuse to be held responsible for such disgusting duty',10 obstacles to imple- menting this act came from the prostitutes. It was assumed, on the basis of the ex- perience of London, that the women would present themselves voluntarily for exami- nation. The government of Bombay had insisted that there could be no 'domicili- ary' visits, and the prostitutes should come to medical officers, but this proved dif- ficult to implement.'1

Shortly after the introduction of the act, there was something like a general panic, because of rumours that the women were being subjected to outrage and indignity. Many fled to neighbouring districts of Bassein and Thane. Then began the oppo- sition of the brothel keepers and landlords who had lost their tenants and rents. The unregistered 'discovered ' how easy it was to carry on their trade 'unmolested.'12 The authorities found it difficult to prove some were prostitutes, since witnesses were reluctant to come forward. The Yajdan Parast observed that while it was sup-

posed that 10,000 prostitutes would reg- ister, only 1,600 registered.13 Mark Harrison has referred to the women who were employed by the police as 'spies' to extort information about prostitutes.14 To register 'kept women' proved to be more difficult. There was great 'consternation' among naikeens or hereditary prostitutes. 15 Women from Goa, who earned their live- lihood, singing and dancing at parties of the native gentry, seem to have secured exemption.16 A petition from Belgaum pleading with the government that the act should be abolished, declared that its application to the dancing girls was 'both a disgrace and a shame, to face which death itself is preferable.'17 A small fee was collected from each registered pros- titute, but Knapp felt that the levy of 4 annas was too minimal, since some of the women were opulent, one of whom he noted, even owned two large brothels. On the other hand, there were prostitutes, in the lower part of the town, whose visitors were only coolies and sailors.18 Else- where in the presidency, a Poona news- paper Loka Kalyanechu, had interesting comments to make. It felt that since the measure was intended to preserve the health of soldiers, it could not be made applicable to prostitutes of the 'native' city, who never admitted soldiers because of their caste; and declared that though the women were 'low, they had regard for their modesty', and were not 'as shameless as European prostitutes'.19 Besides, the measure called upon the women to subject themselves to submit themselves to ' a foreign medical treatment in which they had no confidence'. Further, the writer observed that 'to tolerate this profession, discreditable and immoral as it is, is to hedge around and protect as it were the morality of the remaining women'.20 The Vritta Waibhava, a Marathi weekly from Ahmednagar, contended that it was not necessary for government to interfere, and the act would not check immorality.21

The government of India had decreed that the Bombay government and the Bench of Justices would pay a sum of Rs 40,000,each, towards the expenses of working the act. Though the justices were not fully convinced, they did make their contribution for 1870, but reduced the sum by Rs 10,000 for the year 1871, and government did likewise. They subse- quently changed their decision and re- fused to contribute anything leaving the government with the full burden.22 As Ballhatchet has pointed out, this was a time of bitter conflict between the Bench

and the municipal commissioner, Arthur Crawford, whose extravagant improve- ment schemes had been very unpopular with the tax payer.23 The government found that the cost of examination and treatment of prostitutes was Rs 27 and 8 annas, per registered prostitute, with 616 out of 2,003 registered prostitutes being diseased; while the cost was only Rs 10 and 8 annas in Calcutta, where 4,506 out of 6,752 registered prostitutes had been found to be diseased. Crawford also showed that a large number of the prosti- tutes were not reached by the act and that the employment of the police, to enforce it had led to unrest.24 The paper Akhbari Saudagar reported that richer prostitutes got away, while the poorer ones were subjected to the CD Act and the Sakhya Wakta observed that it had 'inflicted an equivalent evil' on the surrounding dis- tricts, to which the prostitutes had fled.25 The health officer, T G S Hewlett found Knapp's functioning unsatisfactory. The latter's failure to keep a register had led to the same women appearing two or three times. The view of private practitioners, namely, Atmaram Pandurang, A M C Coutinho, J C Lisboa and Shamrao Narayan was that there had been no appreciable change in the number of venereal cases. Only Duraji Edalji and Gomes recorded a slight reduction.26 While the Yajdan Parast held that the work required no skill and could be performed by a police of- ficer, the Bombay Samachar was very critical of the high salary of Rs 1,200 per month paid to the superintendent, and contrasted it with the low salaries of Rs 100 and Rs 125 paid to Grant Medical College graduates.27 The Times of India remarked, 'This is what our unlucky municipality obtained for its Rs 30,000 a year. If government do anything, they ought to put an entire stop to this farce of the CD Act'.28 In 1872, the Bench of Justices unanimously declined to sanction any contribution, and the governor-in-council declaring this to be a breach of obligation, terminated the Act.29 The press welcomed the move. The Jam-e-Jamshed com- mented, 'it is notjust to tax the honest and the moral for the convenience and benefit of the vicious,' while the Yajdan Parast was 'glad' that the government and the municipality had seen the undesirability of spending on the CD establishment.30

In England, throughout the 1870s and early 1880s, there was continued oppo- sition of an alliance of women activists, physicians and civil libertarians to the expansion of the state into medical super-

Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000 1471

vision, as Roy Porter has described it, both in and out of the British parliament in- cluding the press.31 The 1869 act was suspended in 1883 and finally repealed in 1886. In India, the acts were part of 'im- perial' legislation, and were used most advantageously to secure the interests of the empire. In fact, even as the agitation for abolition was going on in Britain, the British medical establishment, here in Bombay, wanted to bring back the act.

Re-Introduction of the Act, 1880

While the statistics of venereal diseases at J J Hospital recorded a decline in the 1870s, they consistently rose in the army. This was attributed to the short service enlistment, which had led to an increase in the proportion of men in the army, under 24 years of age, a diminishing portion of married soldiers, and the frequent move- ment of troops, which provided 'opportu- nities to men of consorting with women of a class not met within a cantonment'.32 Hewlett submitted a report in 1876 on the increased prevalence of venereal diseases and the measures that he considered nec- essary. But no steps were taken at the time. In his minute of 1879, Sir Richard Temple also pointed out that the increased preva- lence of venereal diseases, and its effect on the physique and constitution of many of the inhabitants, had been attested to by every authority. Advocating the re- introduction of the act, which had been in force in Calcutta and Madras, he con- tended that 'in no other respect was Bombay surpassed by any city in India'.33 The visit of the sailors of HMS Beacon on shore leave, resulting in eight of them being infected, led to the government re- introducing the act with effect from:April 1, 1880.34 They wanted the town council -and the corporation to contribute its-share towards the working of the act. The sub- ject had been discussed by the corporation in 1877, when it was decided that there were no objections but that 'they were not in a position with their-limited means to supply any portion'of the requisite funds for the purpose of carrying out the pro- visions of the act'.35 The health officer also supported the measure. The munici- pal commissioner was asked to present the statistics pertaining to the incidence of venereal diseases in Bombay, and to as- certain what success the act had met with in the other presidency towns.

However, the protest petition against the re-introduction signed by the bishop of Bombay and a number of prominent

citizens referred to the Royal Commission of 1871 which had recommended that the registration and examination of prosti- tutes should be discontinued. They held that there was no precedent for the appli- cation of the act to such a large city as Bombay, and the reduction of contagious diseases by acts was doubtful and it would only expose 'a peculiarly helpless class, the poorer native women to oppression of a most cruel kind and in increasing cor- ruption among the native police'.36 The government, in its reply, assured that measures would be taken to protect indi- viduals from oppression.

The chairman of thecorporation, Vish- wanath Narayen Mandlik, spoke against the measure at a meeting of the town council on July 6, 1880, citing the con- clusions arrived at by the British parlia- mentary commissions in 1871 and 1877- 78, and-the opinions:of Indian doctors that the working of the act had not lessened the incidence of the disease. The health officer, Weir, had also shown there had been a decrease of deaths due to syphilis, from 111 in 1875 to 35 in 1879, when the act had not been in operation. This was attributed to the 'better habits of people, advance of general education, and medi- cal science'.37 Countering-Dosabhoy Framjee's contention that like compulsory smallpox vaccination, the CD act could also be implemented, Mandlik argued there was no similarity between the two. 'Small- pox is an infectious disease, likely to affect the general population, without their being able to prevent it, but no man need get the venereal disease, unless he seeks it - I regard those who fall into the vice as objects of pity and I look upon it as the duty of their fellow men to assist them in their suffering but nothing more'.38 He proposed a motion that the municipal corporation decline to contribute towards the cost of the working of the act, though when finances permitted, the corporation could contribute Rs 15,000 per annum, towards:the mitigation of the disease.39 In October 1880, the government proposed that the corporation should contribute their share since their finances were now prosperous. It was further pointed out that the surgeon general's report had shown that of 624 prostitutes examined, no less than 166 were diseased. The government in its haste adjusted the expected contri- bution of Rs 15,000 from the corporation, by diminishing its allotment to the police. Memorials were consequently submitted to the viceroy and the secretary of state, protesting against the 'abduction' of these

funds. The government of India took two years to respond, when it called upon the Bombay government to re-imburse the amount. The municipal corporation con- tinued its opposition to the act and ob- served that since the House of Commons and the government in England had re- scinded the act in England, they should do likewise in Bombay.40

The working of the act had many pro- blems. An increase in the number of syphilis cases at J J hospital was noted by the surgeon general.41 It appears that many cases were imported into the city. The chief medical officer, Bryce Gordon, had earlier attributed the rise in the num- ber of cases in 1882, to the Egyptian expe- dition.42 In the six-month period from June to November 1886, 1,477 women were registered at the Lock Hospital, from 296 brothels. However, a total number of 6,166 prostitutes were examined and 4.1 per cent were found to be diseased. Those evading medical examination were punished, and even imprisoned. Besides, the hospital cost Rs 13,657.43 Hewlett surmised that prostitutes' houses were 'hotbeds of disease other than venereal complications'.44 He attributed the spread of enteric fever to the water taken from ghurrasin prostitutes' homes, which were dark, damp and badly ventilated.

Surgeon General Moore delineated the difficulties that the authorities faced: they could not intrude on the privacy of a woman and unless she was caught in the 'act' it was impossible to prove that she was there 'for such a purpose. He referred to Inspec- tor Foard's report, which had noted that often women visitors of prostitutes, who claimed to be friends or relatives, were in fact there for prostitution. Foard had also encountered cases of women giving fictitious names and addresses, and pro- ducing marriage certificates over-night. It was impossible to get 'respectable' people to come forward to give evidence in 'such loathsome cases'.45 Since the word 'pros- titute' had not been defined under the act, it was difficult to adduce evidence that a woman was a prostitute. Women would present themselves for one or two exami- nations and afterwards 'abscond,' but would manage to solicit. There were oth- ers who worked as masons during the day and prostitutes at night. Some women would be convicted twice and yet not register. While every brothel keeper was bound to furnish information, when two minors were found at a brothel, the au- thorities were informed that they were domestic servants. Defaulters and unreg-

1472 Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000

istered women were regarded responsible for the spread of the disease. It was ob- served that sailors were found to be- less liable to venereal disease than soldiers, because sailors went straight, to a regis- tered house and did not 'wander about'. Moore concluded that it was impossible, under the act to register all the women who were prostitutes in Bombay. Many es- caped registration, by claiming to be kept women or even wives. The chief medical officer had pointed out that since the act applied only to the town and island, up to Mahim, a number of women finding themselves diseased took refuge in Bandra to evade the police.46

The measures recommended for better enforcement of the act were a stricter surveillance over defaulters, increased police strength and the law to be altered so as to give the police summary jurisdi- ction in some cases. However, the govern- ment regretted its inability to make the law more stringent. In England, the act of 1866 had provisions for ajudge to order medical examination in c;: . of a v)man, believed to be a common . ostitute, and similar powers were grantee :nderthe act of 1869. But it was noted that there were no such provisions in Bombay.47 The officials were all not agreed about the success of the act. While the commissioner of police felt that the sooner it was abolished the better, and the government would be spared an un- profitable expense, the medical officer at the Lock Hospital believed in the neces- sity of the act. Comparing the situation with London, he observed, 'we have no such virulent syphilis in Bombay as there is to be seen at the clinic of Berkeley Hill in Dean Street, Soho'.48 He also quoted the view of Reverend J Jordan, chaplain of Woolwich, who had at first believed the acts to be undesirable, but was then prepared to give evidence that prostitutes were 'more flagrant,' and that the number of juvenile prostitutes had greatly in- creased, after the act had been abolished. He further maintained that the vivid pic- ture contained in Moore's Diseases of India was not to be seen among the lowest prostitutes of the city. He concluded, on the basis of his own experience that in the diminution of the virulence of the disease was to be found the true test of the working of the CD act. He asserted that the large number of admissions at the Colaba sta- tion Hospital were from the troop ships from England where the act had been abolished in 1886. Although the disease was contracted in England, it could not be detected by medical examination, before

it developed.49 It was also observed that during the Queen's jubilee celebrations many prostitutes had come to Bombay.

Moore presented a case in favour of the act in his memorandum of October 1886. Refuting the view that regulation only increased vice by rendering it safe, he contended that the fear of disease had little restraining influence on the 'passions' of men. While it was the duty of the state to promote social purity, it was equally its duty to care for those afflicted with 'loath- some' diseases. The opinion that exami- nation exerted a deteriorating moral influ- ence on women, he held, was counter- balanced by the 'good moral and physical results' of the act. As for the system being unjust to women, he maintained that the acts were not directed against women as a class but towards those who were dan- gerous both to themselves and to men. Any one acquainted with the 'ravages' of syphilis would see ample justification for restraining the liberty of the subject. Countering the argument that syphilis was not a destructive malady, he pointed out that in children, it proved fatal. 'Indirectly there is no disease which caused a greater mortality, as well as all kinds of misery'. He stated that diseases of the eye ending in blindness, of the spinal cord, resulting in paralysis of the brain, and of the heart - the latter being the forerunner of dropsy - were all the result of syphilis. He summed up the advantages of the act: prevention and cure of disease, and diminution of the severity of the disease, which had been achieved in Bombay. As for social im- provement by the reduction of brothels and lessening of juvenile prostitution, and opportunities given to women for reform, he noted that this had been achieved in England.50

On the other hand, a paper presented at the Medical and Physical Society, Bombay, by Major D Blair Brown FRCS (Edinburgh) presented a critique of the act. Brown not only referred to the absur- dity of examining prostitutes, week after week, but contended that the system was unjust to women, as it exerted a deterio- rating influence on them, interfered with the liberty of the subjects and observed that there was'rarely a true case of syphilis in the Lock hospitals, which in any case had 'an unsavoury reputation'.51 He also stated that there was a large class beyond the act: servants, who were 'fond of the British uniform,' ayahs, native widows and private persons who solicited. The men who used them often refused to give their names, for if they did, 'the women

would be ruined for life.' Brown noted that the influence of caste was too strong to allow a woman who erred to return to work. As for the argument that it led to a diminution in the severity of the disease, he referred to a case of three generations of public prostitutes, who were 'fat, well nourished, and had saved money'. To the view that there was a cure of the disease, he countered that this was misleading for only a temporary treatment was affected.52

While the views of individual officials varied, the stand of the Bombay govern- ment was that the objective of the act, i e, the protection of the soldiers and sailors, and to stamp out the virulent type of syphilis had been achieved. Amongst troops in Colaba, and sepoys of the 21st regiment a decrease of 42 per cent and 73 per cent respectively were noted. How- ever, the expenditure incurred was im- mense. Taking the figures for primary syphilis as a test, it was found that while in 1879, the number of cases was 1,769, in 1882, after the Act was re-introduced, it was 1,391, a reduction of 378 cases having been attained at the expense of Rs 33,000. The governor-in-council con- cluded that it was worth the expense.53 They were aware of the objections of a large and influential body in England, but contended that moder legislation aimed at improving the evil-doer, since venereal diseases affected not only the 'guilty individual' but also theirdescendants. They further observed 'the principle that the state must not recognise vice by suitable laws and must ignore it would lead to abnormal consequences if carried out logically'.54 Yet if, as a concession to popular desire in England, the general CD Act was abolished, they wanted the Acts for cantonments to be preserved. Since marriage for soldiers was impossible in India, there was the danger of the spread of venereal disease among them which would weaken the army. They also be- lieved that the special sensibility of Eu- ropean women to corporal examinations was absent among the same class in India. 'The regulation of courtesans in the public interest offended no native susceptibility, although in the general eagerness to find fault with government measures, a certain class have shown themselves ready to borrow a cry on this subject as they would on any other from European agitators - in a homogeneous community this would hardly be without risk, in a community where there is race distinction this would be full of peril'.55 The government of India's policy was declared to be the

Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000 1473

maintenance of the law particularly in the cantonments, 'until some restraining in- fluence of a more unexceptional and equally effectual character can be de- vised'.56 During the administration of Ripon, the Liberal viceroy, the experiment of closing the Lock hospitals in the can- tonments of Mhow, Ahmedabad and Neemuch in Bombay presidency had led to an enormous increase in the disease, and the hospitals were re-opened.57

The Cursetji Sooklaji Street Impasse

Even as the discussions were being held about the future of the Act, the protests over the location of prostitutes of the Cursetji Sooklaji Street (CS Street) pro- vides a perception into the ramifications of the issue. The house owners of the street petitioned against a police order asking prostitutes, who had lived as their tenants, to re-locate themselves. This was consequent to a 'strong representation' by the Bohra community, who had a 'Jamat Khana' on the street. The petitioners averred that the women had been on the street for 30 years, and that neither on the street nor in the neighbourhood was there a house inhabited by a 'private gentleman or a private respectable fam- ily.' The seven signatories including three Hindus, three Parsis, and one Muslim, had first appealed to Frank Souter, police commissioner, and when he refused to reconsider the order, had approached the governor, Lord Reay. Twenty-five women, all with European names, also petitioned Souter, stating that it was impossible for them to find a street where they could reside. The latter, in his reply, pointed out that before 1871, these women would locate themselves wherever it suited them, and under the powers given by the CD Act, he had moved them to CS street, which was then an out-of- the-way location; but after 15 years, this had become a crowded area. He further noted that the women were at the mercy of the landlords who charged them exorbitant rents. Meanwhile, 3,000 inhabitants of Fort, Chowpatty, Khetwadi and 'other places in the town of Bombay' submitted a petition to the governor that the police order had inconvenienced the general public, as evidenced by the daily com- plaints to the Bombay Gazette and pleaded that it should be withdrawn. Bearing the signature of B Ferozesha, the petition contended that CS street was best suited for 'these people,' with not a single

respectable house, and surrounded by 'unpleasant sights' like the bhanzgis' quarters, the morgue, the CD inspection house, public privvies and the night soil depot.58 The governor-in-council wanted the commissioner to review his orders, in conference with four or five of the me- morialists. A conference was held on January 7, 1888, but the commissioner was unwilling to take action. While the chief secretary, Nugent wanted Souter to re-consider his order, the latter held that he was unable to find any street where these women could re-locate.59 Nugent has noted, in his hand writing in the margin, that Souter's action had pleased no one.60

The women carried on their trade under cover of confectionary and ice cream shops. The merchants and traders of Forbes Street and Apollo street petitioned that the removal of the prostitutes from C S street had led to the women operating in the 'respectable' business districts, where they would carry on their 'calling' under cover of cold drink shops. The police com- missioner consequently closed five of these shops. The most interesting of the petitions is from Bebee Vaziran, who refers to herself as the widow of the Nawab of Mazagon, protesting against the halal- khores, who lived near her bungalow, which she could not rent out. Twenty-two years earlier, when the bungalow had been built, railway officers had lived in the vicinity, but they moved out when, halalkhores were located there, on the orders of the municipal commissioner, Arthur Crawford. They rose early, 'drin- king, singing and using indescent [sic] language".61 Her tenants had been Ger- man and Italian prostitutes, who had been forced out by the commissioner's order. She prayed that she should either be al- lowed to lease out the bungalow or that government should make arrangements for her maintenance, since she was in debt. Next, the residents and property owners of Trimbuk Parshuram street protested to the governor twice that European prosti- tutes had located themselves on their street, resulting in scuffles among seamen.62 In a subsequent appeal they maintained that they looked to the governor as maa baap, and doubted 'whether such nuisance would have been allowed to exist for a single day in any European quarters and because we are poor nobody ever cares for us'.63 Another petition by residents of the same street denied the scuffles among seamen, and held that the European prostitutes were a change for the better, from earlier

times, when the street was inhabited by prostitutes of the lower class and breaches of peace were common.64

The possibility of the order being re- scinded led to more petitions, by E W Popkiss and others, by residents of Grant Road, Bellasis Road and their vi- cinity, and by the chief and Sole Mulla of the Bohra community.65 The last mentioned pointed out that the only source of entrance to the Dawood Bagh was through the C S street. Built by Abdool Kayoom, at a cost ofRs 12,000 for meetings of men, women and children of the com- munity, the Bagh had been in existence long before the prostitutes had located themselves on the street. The 'nuisance was most offensive' to a community, of which 'the female portion came under the designation of purdah, ladies who were exempt from attendance in courts of jus- tice, their evidence being taken at their own house'. Besides, he contended that the younger members of the community would be exposed to evil influences and 'revolting sights' like drunken and riotous soldiers and sailors. The community had grown in strength to 15,000 members, and had to use the street but found it impos- sible after sundown.66 The inhabitants of Kamatipura protested against the street being re-opened for the habitation of prostitutes. They began their appeal on a plaintive note, 'It is a notorious fact that the inhabitants of Kamatipura are a dumb people having few educated and influential men to take up their cause and represent their grievances.' Further, being devotees of Marotee, they had to visit the temple, with their family and children, at all hours.67

The government was apparently un- willing to act for Ferozesha, in another letter, referred to a news item in the Bombay Gazette, that an order had been passed two months earlier bringing the prostitutes back to C S street; but nothing had been done, by the commissioner, and brothels had opened near Grant Road station.68 Nugent, in his noting on this letter, remarked that nothing was done because it was not in accordance with the commissioner's views.69 A government resolution subsequently informed the commissioner that the orders of the gov- ernment had to be carried out.70 Appar- ently, even this was ignored, for Ferozesha forwarded a copy of the notice, put up at inspection house, wherein it was 'left to the option' of European prostitutes to remove themselves from their present quarters. He prayed for urgent action,

1474 Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000

as the CD Act was to be suspended in the near future. Finally, eight days before the suspension of the Act, the commissioner informed the government that all Euro- pean prostitutes had been again allowed to use C S street.71 But this did not remove them from the 'respectable lo- calities' of the city, as the persistent Ferozesha pointed out to government in September 1888.72 In November, Jamaspji Dastur Minocheherji and others made a similar complaint.73 This brought an admonitory resolution from govern- ment noting a systematic disregard on the part of the police of the wishes of the governor. It had been within the powers of the commissioner, when the govern- ment orders had been issued earlier, to replace the expelled courtesans in their former quarters ; but through delay, the time for action had passed, until in July 1888 the operation of the CD Act had been suspended. Conse quently, no action was possible under Act xiv of 1868.74 Yet another petition by Jamaspji Dastur, in the following month, complained of police inaction, tt which the commis- sioner, Colonel W AI Wilson pointed out that he had done the preliminary work for summoning the accused and wit- nesses but all decisions had to be taken by a magistrate.75

Suspension of the Act

When the CD act was suspended with effect from July 1, 1888,76 there were 45 European and 1,434 Indian prostitutes on the register. The former were recorded as being chiefly Jewesses from Russia while the latter included 21 Jewesses, 423 'Mohemmadans', 687 Hindus, 250 mahars, 6 dheds, 12 mangs, 5 Portuguese and 30 Asiatics.77 This categorisation is characteristic of the colonial medical records. On the government of India's suggestion Lock hospitals were replaced by hospitals and dispensaries where all classes of patients suffering from venereal diseases could voluntarily avail of treat- ment. Despite Nugent's scepticism, the Lock Hospital and Kamatipura dispen- sary, were retained under the charge of Apothecary W West and P C D'Souza L M, respectively. The former institution was re-named Bombay Venereal Hospital since the word 'Lock' was no longer adaptable to an institution of a 'strictly voluntary character'.78 But the voluntary method failed, only three patients came to the dispensary in the month of July, none in August and one in September. As for

the hospital, there were 33 patients on June 30 and 31 left without being cured.79 The hospital was consequently closed from November 1888.80

Consequent to the suspension of the Act, the cantonment rules were also af- fected. In the meanwhile, on June 17, 1886, a military order known to the oppo- nents of state regulation as the 'Infamous Circular Memorandum,' not only recom- mended measures to look into the health of soldiers, but also proposed that attrac- tive women be provided for soldiers. Katherine Bushnell and Elizabeth Andrew in The Queen's Daughters in India, quoted a 'Christian Englishman', holding a res- ponsible position in the government and vouched for by the editor of the Bombay Guardian. The former held that in four cantonments he had seen the order being executed, and poor innocent young girls of 14 years and below, replaced diseased women who were removed from the can- tonments by the police.81 This memoran- dum of Lord Roberts, commander-in-chief, was sent to England by a 'Christian gentle- man,' where it was reprinted and distrib- uted to every member of the House of Commons. This showed that existing Cantonments Act must be condemned and were superseded by a new Cantonment Act (act XIII of 1889) which came into effect at the start of the 1890s. Though there was no mention of prostitutes or venereal disease or Lock Hospitals, there would be hospitals for the treatment of contagious diseases, and those who re- fused hospitalisation could be expelled from the cantonment. The advocates of the abolition of licensed prostitution protested. Geraldine Forbes has pointed out that the nationalists were reluctant to take up social issues in the early years.82 Social reform- ers took more interest, thus Behramji Malabari called for a 'national thanksgiv- ing' at the time of the repeal.83 While he hoped that there would be no more 'shame- less demands' for pretty girls, he called for caution, while implementing the can- tonment regulations. As Ballhatchet has shown, Roberts assured Malabari that there would be no compulsion.84 On the other hand, K R Kirtikar I M S, then civil surgeon, Thana, in his paper presented at the In- ternational Congress on Hygiene and Demography, 1891 regretted the abolition of the Act.85 Philippa Levine has shown that the debates that raged in this decade over venereal disease or the behaviour of the troops or the morals of the local people were vital issues that struck at the 'heart of Britain's ability to rule'.86

Conclusion

The above review, focusing on the two decades of the 1870s and 1880s, has revealed the paradoxes within the Indian response to state intervention on this sensitive issue in Bombay City. While Mandlik had opposed regulation, seeing those who fell into vice as 'objects of pity' requiring assistance from their fellow men and 'nothing more',87 others wanted state assistance to confine, what was regarded a social evil, to certain sections of the city, beyond 'respectable' areas. The view that the forcible suppression of public prosti- tution would lead to domestic adultery and 'thus poison the very spring of domestic happiness and vice' is interesting.88 There is no concern however for these deviant women. In fact, the Bombay Chabuk commented, 'Though human governments are powerless to cope successfully with this vice, nature has provided her own remedy to check its progress. She pun- ishes those who indulge in it with painful disease.' Another aspect seems to have been domestic adultery. The Samsher Bahadur wanted the Act to book adulter- ous women 'because under the cloak of privacy and respectability, private women led the life of prostitutes'.89 To the medical establishment both civilian and military, the preservation of the health of their soldiers and sailors was the main concern. Interestingly, so was the case with the Cape Colony in South Africa. Elizabeth Van Heyningen has shown that the Indian experience related directly to the situation in the Cape, since military doctors fresh from India were most pressing in their demand for the regulation of prostitutes.90 The moral issues being debated in En- gland do not seem to have been important, with the local officialdom. Yet the gov- ernment of India was cautious and had observed in 1888, before the Act was suspended, 'There appears to be no doubt that the good that it affects is apt to be misinterpreted while its enforcement involves interference in the private con- cerns of many persons, which is apt, unless the supervision be effective, to lead to great abuse and which is not justified unless counter balancing advantages are secured'.91 [1

Notes 1 General Department Volumes, government

of Maharashtra Archives, (GD), 43, 1888, Government of India/Secretary of State, March 27, 1888.

2 Report on Native Papers, [RN] Native

Economic and Political Weekly April 22, 2000 1475

Opinion, January 8, 1871; Nyayasindhu, August 3, 1873.

3 GD,43, 1888, Government of Bombay (GOB)/Government of India (GOI), October 28, 1889.

4 N V Mandlik, Speeches and Writings ofV N Mandlik, Bombay, 1896, p 351.

5 GD, 43, 1888, Memorandum on CD Act, pp 123-24.

6 Report of Sanitary Commissioner, Bombay, (RSC) 1868, p 179; GD, 1, 1869, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce/ GOB, p 405.

7 Administration Report ofthe Municipal Com- missioner, Bombay, 1870 (ARMCB),p 12.

8 RSC, 1870, pp iv-viii. 9 GD, 14, 1871, Working of the Act, Super-

intendent, CD Act/Municipal Commissioner, p 297.

10 Indian Medical Gazette, June 1, 1866, p 163. 11 GD, 1, 1869, GOB/GOI, p 357. 12 GD, 14, 1871, Working of Act, p 303. 13 R N, Yajdan Parast, February 23, 1871. This

paper was a Gujarati weekly from Bombay. 14 Mark Harrison, Public Health in British India,

Anglo-Indian Preventive Medicine, 1859- 1914, Cambridge, 1994, p 73.

15 GD, 14, 1871, Working of Act, p 307. 16 Sunday Review, June 12, 1870. 17 GD, 14, 1872, p 271. 18 GD, 14, 1871, Working of Act, p 308. 19 RN, Loka Kalyanechu, November 4, 1871. 20 Ibid. 21 R N, Vritta Waibhava, May 3. 1868. This

was a Marathi weekly from Ahmednagar. 22 GD, 14, 1872, CD Act in Bombay City,

pp 385-86. 23 K Ballhatchet, Race, Sex and Class under

the Raj, Imperial Attitudes and Policies and Their Critics, London, 1980, p 45.

24 GD, 14, 1871, Municipal Commissioner/ GOB, p 318.

25 RN,AkhbariSaudagar, June 3, 1870; Sakhya Wakta, June 9, 1870.

26 GD, 14, 1871, pp 593-96. 27 R N, Bombay Samachar, May 3, 1870. 28 The Times of India, April 26, 1871. 29 GD, 14, 1872, GOB/Bench of Justices,

March 18, 1872. 30 R N, Jam-e-Jamshed, May 10, 1871, Yajdan

Parast, May 18, 1871 . 31 Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind,

London, 1997, p 421. 32 GD, 43, 1888, GOI/Secretary of State, March

27, 1888. 33 Ibid, GOB/GOI, October 28, 1889. 34 Michael, History of the Municipal Corpor-

ation, p 419, G R no 739, March 11, 1880. 35 Ibid, pp 419-20. 36 GD, 43, 1888, GOB/GOI, October 28, 1889. 37 Mandlik, Speeches, p 357. 38 Ibid, p 361. 39 Ibid, p 369. 40 Michael, Municipal Corporation, pp 420-25. 41 GD,45, 1885, Surgeon General/GOB,

January 22, 1885. 42 Ibid. 43 GD, 37. 1887, Report on CD Act, June 1,

1886 to November 30, 1886. 44 T G Hewlett, Report on Enteric Fever,

Bombay, 1883, pp 35, 44. 45 Ibid, Surgeon General/GOB, April 19, 1887. 46 Ibid, 13thReportonCD Actto May 31, 1887. 47 Ibid, GR no 1540, May 20,1887, Letter from

Rembrancer, Legal Affairs, May 31, 1887. 48 Ibid, Report on CD Act, to May 31, 1887,

p 292. 49 Ibid.

50 GD, 43, 1888, Memorandum, October 1886, pp 123-29.

51 Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society, Bombay, pp 91-95.

52 Ibid, pp 81-89. 53 Ibid, no 320, 1888, GOB/SOS, January 28,

1888. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 56 Ibid, GOI, Home, Sanitary/SOS, March 27,

1888. 57 GD, 45, 1885, GOI, Military Department,

January 5, 1885. 58 GD, 42A, 1888, original petition, October

20, 1887, Second request, January 2, 1888. 59 GD, 37, 1887, March 3, 1888. 60 Ibid, March 9, 1888. 61 Ibid, February, 29, 1888. 62 Ibid, February 4, 1888. 63 Ibid, December 22, 1887 and April 25, 1888. 64 Ibid, April 6, 1888. 65 Ibid, March 31, 1888 and April 6, 1888. 66 Ibid, April 12, 1888. 67 Ibid, April 23, 1888. 68 Ibid, May 21, 1888; Bombay Samachar,

May 14, 1888. 69 Ibid, May 27, 1888. 70 Ibid, GR No 1883, June 1, 1888. 71 Ibid, June 22, 1888. 72 Ibid, September 26, 1888. 73 Ibid, November 13, 1888. 74 Ibid, GR no 4437, p 431. 75 GD, 50,1889, Police Commissioner/GOB,

p 173.

76 GD,43, 1888, G R no 1895, June 4, 1888. 77 GD, 50, 1889, 15th Report on the Act, to

July 1, 1888, p 129. 78 GD, 43, 1888, no 3734, October 22, 1888. 79 Ibid, No 470, October 5, 1888. 80 Ibid, G R No 3737, October 22, 1888. 81 Katherine Bushnell and Elizabeth Andrew,

'The Queen's Daughters in India, 1898' in Penelope Tuson (ed), The Queen's Daughters, Ithaca Press, 1995, pp 180-84.

82 Geraldine Forbes, 'The Politics of Res- pectability: Indian Women and the Indian National Congress' in D A Low (ed), The Indian National Congress: Centenary Hind- sights, Delhi, 1988.

83 Indian Spectator, June 10, 1888. This was an English bi-weekly from Bombay.

84 Ballhatchet, Race, p 65. 85 GD, 29, 1891, Transactions of the VII

International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, vol xi, p 128.

86 Phillipa Levine,'Rereading the 1890s:Venereal Disease as "Constitutional Crisis" in Britain and British India', The Journal ofAsian Studies, 55, 5, August, 1996, pp 595-612.

87 Mandlik, Speeches, p 363. 88 RN, Loka Kalyanechu, November 4, 1871. 89 Samsher Bahadur, June 4, 1873. 90 Elizabeth B Van Heyningen, 'The Social

Evil in the Cape Colony, 1868-1902: Prostitution and the Contagious Diseases Acts', Journal of Southern African Studies, 10, 2, April 1984, p 173.

91 GD, 43, 1888, GOI/SOS, March 27, 1888.

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