The India Office Records at the British Library are the documentary archives of the administration in London of the pre-1947 government of India. They include the archives of the East India Company (1600-1858), the Board of Control or Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India (1784-1858), the India Office (1858-1947), the Burma Office (1937-1948), and a number of related agencies. The records cover territories now included in India, Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh, and occasionally include materials related to neighbouring or connected areas, including Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
The records related to leprosy include reports, correspondence, and other documents on the following topics: surveys of leprosy and its control in India, dating from 1874 and later; details of apparent outbreaks; descriptions of current leprosy treatments and experiments in treatment trialled in India and overseas (including gurjun oil, cashew nut oil, and others); attempts to cultivate the leprosy bacillus; the murder of people affected by leprosy; the provision of leprosy hospitals and their admissions records; international anti-leprosy work by health organisations and research centres, such as BELRA; details of East India Company employees, soldiers, and prisoners affected by leprosy, and arrangements made for them; and measures to prevent the spread of leprosy throughout the British Empire. The archives also include medical illustrations and photographs, including photographs of hospital scenes and of treatment.
One significant collection in the India Office Records is the Archives of the Friends of Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital, and of their predecessor, the British Board of the Hospital (1916-1996).
A more detailed description of documents related to leprosy in the India Office Records is available here (PDF).
Additionally, detailed descriptions of many India Office materials can be found via the Archives and Manuscripts catalogue: http://searcharchives.bl.uk. A source list of individual document references is available upon request.
Entry updated February 2016