This book charts India’s vaccine journey from colonial testing ground to global manufacturer

In June 1897, Poona city (currently Pune) was rocked by a double murder, a gruesome killing of two high-ranking British officers. The head of the Special Plague Committee, WC Rand, who was also an officer in the Indian Civil Services, and his military escort Lt Ayerst (no second name) were shot dead as they were returning from the diamond jubilee celebrations of the coronation of Queen Victoria.

The events that culminated in the June 1897 assassination had begun months earlier. In February 1897, the Plague epidemic was spiralling out of control in Poona, with one of the highest mortality rates. Panic ensued, causing half the city’s population to flee. In response, a Special Plague Committee was hastily formed, chaired by Rand who enlisted European troops to combat the outbreak. The Government of India, on its part, passed the Epidemic Diseases Bill for “better prevention of the spread of dangerous epidemic diseases.” The Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA) continues to hold sway till date and a wholesale revision was only attempted in 2022 after the Covid-19 epidemic.

The measures adopted by the British, however, were draconian and invasive. The committee forcefully entered people’s homes, sometimes in the dead of night, to take the infected away. They even resorted to digging up floors because of a prevailing belief that the plague bacillus bacteria seeped into the floors of afflicted houses. To intensify control, they made it mandatory for the principal occupant of a building to report all deaths and suspected plague cases. Funerals were prohibited until deaths were registered, and the committee had the authority to designate specific grounds for plague-related burials. This heavy-handed approach that commenced in early March of 1897 and continued through May came at a high cost. The estimated deaths caused by the plague crossed 2,000 in no time. Unsurprisingly, these stringent measures fuelled public resentment against the regime. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who lived in Poona, vehemently criticised these actions through his newspapers Kesari and Maratha.

However, for the British, it was essential to protect the city. Poona was a bustling military town with an important military base, where a significant number of British soldiers and officers were stationed, along with their families. Infectious diseases were spreading like wildfire. Since the British population was constantly interacting with locals, it was necessary to protect the larger populace to protect their own people. In addition, the IMS included many British doctors who had pledged the Hippocratic oath – to serve everyone with integrity, humility, honesty and compassion – unlike the colonial bureaucrats and army officers.

As the need for public health initiatives became apparent, authorities began taking measures such as mass vaccinations and improved sanitary conditions. Yet, the implementation of these health strategies encountered many setbacks due to a clash of cultures and, at times, the imperious demeanour of colonial officers, which often ignited public discontent. The growing public resentment culminated with the assassination of Rand and his escort Ayerst, who were shot by two revolutionary nationalists, the Chapekar brothers, on 22 June 1897. Ayerst died on the spot and Rand succumbed to his wounds a fortnight later.

These gruesome murders triggered a reassessment of public health policies across British India, thereby bringing in a delicate equilibrium between public health imperatives and the respect for individual rights. In the aftermath, the British government focused on strengthening public health and bacteriological research in the country as a strategic response.

The institutional momentum had been building for some time. Almost a decade earlier, in 1889, the establishment of the Imperial Bacteriological Laboratory in Poona had heralded a significant milestone in serotherapy. The laboratory found its initial home within the premises of the College of Science, thanks to a generous donation of 5.5 acres of land. Under the administrative control of the Government of Bombay, the laboratory, led by distinguished bacteriologist Dr Alfred Lingard, commenced its journey. Lingard, with support from a clinical assistant and the superintendent of the Bacteriological Survey, was tasked with investigating diseases in domesticated animals across India. His mission was later extended to conducting biological research, both on-site and in the laboratory, to prevent and cure such diseases.

During the laboratory’s initial years in Poona, Lingard focused on studying surra, a fatal parasitic disease affecting horses, sheep and cattle. However, the challenging tropical climate hampered the smooth functioning of the laboratory, especially the preservation of the vaccine. Additionally, concerns arose about the presence of bovine blood in the laboratory, which was at odds with the religious sentiments of the Hindu students at the College of Science.

In 1893, much to the disappointment of the locals, a pivotal decision was made to relocate the laboratory to the hills and Muktesar (now Mukteshwar) in the Kumaon Hills in the north was chosen as the new site. The meticulous process of packing scientific instruments and laboratory fittings began in February 1895. By mid-May 1895, around thirty tonnes of goods were dispatched by rail to Kathgodam, which were then transported by bullock carts to Bhowalie, the closest point to Muktesar on the Kathgodam–Ranikhet road.

However, due to the insufficient number of porters, the transportation of goods to the laboratory site faced an unexpected delay. When news of the delay reached Poona, it sparked hope among a few civilian Europeans that they could appeal to the government to bring the laboratory back to Poona, given that it had not yet commenced operations in Muktesar. A petition was swiftly dispatched to Governor William Mansfield and was published in the Bombay Telegraph and Courier on 9 October 1895.

Despite the petition and the pressure from the media, the Governor stood firm, and the laboratory officially commenced its operations in Muktesar in 1896. Over time, it evolved into an integral part of the Indian vaccine research and development, with its major contribution being the production of vaccines for animal diseases rinderpest and anthrax. A year after its opening, renowned bacteriologists Dr Robert Koch, Dr R Pfeiffer and Dr G Gaffky visited the centre and appreciated the work going on there. In time, it would undergo three name changes – in 1925, 1930 and 1936 – to finally become the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in 1947 after the country gained independence. Soon thereafter, the centre shifted its headquarters from Mukteswar to Izatnagar in the current-day Uttar Pradesh.

In 1763, over a century before the establishment of the Poona Laboratory, the Bengal Medical Service had been formed with a team of forty surgeons to meet the needs of both civilians and armed services – a number that increased steadily. On its initial success, the Bengal Medical Service was replicated in Madras and Bombay. In 1857, the Indian Rebellion led to the transfer of administration of India from the East India Company to the Crown and different departments of civil services were developed. A year later, a separate civil medical department would be formed in Bengal. In 1869, the Public Health Commissioner (PHC) and the Statistical Officer would come under the Government of India.

The 1894 Indian Medical Congress made recommendations to conduct thorough research in bacteriology. In 1896, all three medical departments – of Bengal, Bombay and Madras – were amalgamated to form the Indian Medical Services (IMS). The Army Medical Department, later called the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), was formed under the IMS in 1898, responsible for providing medical care to the Royal Indian Army.

This arrangement would continue until 1919, when the Montgomery-Chelmsford Constitutional Reforms led to the transfer of public health, sanitation and vital statistics to the provinces – the first step in the decentralisation of health administration in British India and subsequently in the Republic of India.

Excerpted with permission from Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India, Ameer Shahul, Pan Macmillan India.