The sixth cholera pandemic lasted from 1899 to 1923. The pandemic was particularly devastating in India where it is estimated that over 800,000 people died from cholera. Cholera is spread through unsanitary, contaminated water. One contributing factor to cholera’s exceptional prevalence in Bengal throughout the nineteenth century is the region’s physical geography. As the location of the Ganges delta, it is naturally more susceptible to waterborne illnesses. Other factors include cultural and historical reasons, such as the importance of ritual bathing in Hinduism and the aggravating effects of famines which occurred throughout the period. 

Haimabati Sen practiced medicine in India during the sixth Cholera, and she describes her experience treating cholera patients, saying “Around this time there was a religious festival followed by an outbreak of cholera on a horrendous scale. Every day we had fifty to sixty cholera patients admitted to the hospital.” (222) Her mention of the religious festival shows how the spread of cholera was linked to certain water rituals. In this passage, she goes on to describe how she caught cholera during this pandemic. Her description of the disease includes several characteristic features of cholera, such as its very sudden onset. 

Citations

Arnold, David. “The Time of Cholera.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 15 Aug. 2022, academic.oup.com/book/45381/chapter/389323124#. 

Azizi M, Azizi F. ​​​History of Cholera Outbreaks in Iran during the 19(th) and 20(th) Centuries. Middle East J Dig Dis. 2010 Jan 2.