ABSTRACT
Reconstructing the index of ‘epidemiologic reality’, which could provide a holistic representation of the extent and pattern of opiate consumption in Assam, is complex and intricate. The prevalence of a large number of unregistered consumers who did not wish to reveal their condition is a major deterrent in deciphering the exact nature and prevalence of opium consumption. Late nineteenth century temperance agitations reinforced the image of the Assamese opium eater ‘Kaniya’ a term widely used in popular usage in Assam and which is used to describe a lazy person. Interestingly, the image at the core of this belief has rarely been examined at the time either by contemporaries or more recently by historians. Missionaries and later medical men were instrumental in shaping the rhetoric of opium use being detrimental to the health and well-being of an individual; nationalists were eager to find a scapegoat in imperialism by emphasizing the catastrophic effects of opium use.
