The South Asian region consisting of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka share a common history of British colonial rule for nearly 200 years. Most of these countries gained independence during the 1940s. Western European ideas of social medicine found considerable resonance. However, through the process of anti-colonial struggle, new ideas on the relationship between society, medicine, and health were brought to light by actors such as practitioners of indigenous systems of medicine, leadership of the nationalist movement, the communist movement, and radical elements within the medical community and society. This chapter explores the engagement of diverse sets of actors from differing ideological positions that engaged in the relationship between society and health in the Indian subcontinent. It further seeks to explore how the Non-Aligned Movement created by postcolonial societies provided a platform for South–South networks in the economy and social sectors to define inclusive development. In medicine and health, there were efforts to redress inequalities through various reform initiatives that had local importance and influenced global health policies.

Property and social privilege are two of the most enduring forms of authority, and families often jealously guard the control and transfer of these sources of influence. This chapter explains the social conventions around the Hindu extended family (encompassing control of property, social alliances, and the politics of mobility and public voice) that govern the intrahousehold distribution of power. After exploring how they have been constructed, I study the unintended consequences of multiple attempts during British colonial rule to legislate gender-equalizing social reforms. The British attempted to homogenize diverse religious, spiritual, and pragmatic traditions into a single code with a tiny elite of highly educated Brahman men at the top. Comfortably, the elite’s sense of “tradition” looked much like the male British colonial ideal of “classical patriarchy” in terms of control of property and social authority. Ironically, this British-Brahman imposition has become integral to India’s legal code. The chapter next details the changes to the ecosystem of norms around women’s traditional property rights, and their enforcement, from independence to contemporary India. Where relevant, I include insights from my field research about the continuity of familial expectations around what it means to be a “good” Hindu son or daughter.