A History of Intoxication: Opium in Assam, 1800-1959

by Kawal Deep Kour

Overview

This volume unearths the emerging pattern of consumption of opium in colonial Assam and the creation of drug-dependency in a social context. It analyses the competing forces of the empire which played a key role in the production and distribution of opium; national politics alongside international drug diplomacy and how these together shaped the discourse of opium in Assam; the wider implications of opium production and consumption in the agrarian economy and the narrative of the nationalist critique of intoxication.
Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032654249
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/25/2024
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kawal Deep Kour is an independent researcher on narcotics and drug policy. She has presented her work at various national and international forums. She is currently Member of Board at the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Tastes that Turned History: Tea, Sugar and Opium – Intersecting Stories and Intoxicating Connotations 3. Thinking Imperially: Intertwined Interests of Colonial Science, Medicine and Opium 4. On a Route Laced with Opium: Networks of Commerce and Consumption in a Colonial Hinterland 5. From Assam Kanee to Behar Abkaree 6. Opium Reduction Campaign: 1921-1938 7. Towards Total Prohibition: Opium Eradication Campaign in Assam, 1935-1959 8. Kaniai Khale Asam Desh: A Reconsideration of the Nationalist critique of the ‘Imperialism of Opium’ 9. Conclusion