The Lamp of Reform: Florence Nightingale’s Health Interventions in Colonial India

Abstract

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) is widely recognised as a pioneering figure of public health reform. While her frontline work as a nurse during the Crimean War brought her lasting fame, her most enduring legacy can be found in decades of policy-driven advocacy, particularly in colonial India—a country she never visited but profoundly influenced. This article examines how Nightingale, without ever visiting India, exerted an influential impact on the public health sector in British India. Doing so, the article analyses her own writing, official sanitary reports, and correspondence between officials, alongside existing historiography. Through her collection and interpretation of data on British soldiers’ health, her role in the establishment of the Royal Commission on Army Sanitation in 1859, and her advocacy for rural hygiene, hospital design, and nursing reforms, Nightingale vastly contributed to the early public health administration in British India. While Nightingale strongly promoted colonial military interests, she advanced humanitarian grounds for the colonised populations by advocating for their health welfare. By situating her dual legacy within the broader context, this article attempts to highlight the tension between imperial interests and humanitarian concerns.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.), Vol. 70(2), December 2025, pp. 251-271