Evolution Of A Profession
Dhrub Kumar Singh
Indian Sisters by Madelaine Healey Routledge, New Delhi, 2015, 364 pp., 895
June 2015, volume 39, No 6

Indian Sisters: A History of Nursing and the State, 1907–2007 is a comprehensive inquiry into, and, an analysis of the attractions and challenges of the nursing profession as it evolved in India over a century. The author problematizes the impact of colonial legacy and its inheritance by the Independent Indian state in the realm of the nursing profession. The study engages with the heroic saga of those women who despite the stigma associated with this profession, decided to take ‘the road less travelled’ to not only train and qualify as nurses but also distinguished themselves as first generation leaders of the profession in Independent India. The book is a blended study of the evolution of a profession, the impact of the growth of medical education and health policies on the profession of nursing and vice versa. The study is also as much about the power discourse and politics of gender in the realm of the health sector in India. Political interpretation is accorded precedence as a departure point of this study.

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