Abstract

This thesis explores the processes by which biomedicine and pharmaceuticals have entered the standard repertoire of treatment options in rural Punjab, India. The author conducted participant-observation and interviews with various medical practitioners and patients in Punjab for three months in Autumn 2001. It was found while biomedicine is a global phenomenon; many of its users approach it using their reality as agriculturalists as a starting point. More specifically, the Punjabis integrate their use of biomedical pharmaceuticals with their understanding of Green Revolution agrarian practices, constitution of the body, and diet. This thesis argues that their use of biomedicine allows them to maintain functional health and accommodate the compromising working and living conditions brought about from reliance upon chemically-based substances such as pesticides and cleansers which are customary in the everyday lives of rural Punjabis.