Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science, Bangalore-560010, E-mail: anm2002@vsnl.net
* Based on a paper contributed to the 6th World Congress of Muslim Librarians and Information Scientists (WCOMLIS 2011), International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A brief overview of the history and role of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) is presented. Several books, reports, and tracts by officers of the IMS (1600–1947) deal with Islamic topics – Unani system of medicine, places, cultures, language, literature, etc.; some are written in Farsi (Persian), some in Urdu (Hindustani), and some in Arabic. Texts in these languages have also been translated into English and vice versa by IMS officers. IMS documentary contributions include handbooks, dictionaries, catalogues and other reference sources relating to medicine – western, Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha systems - in India. Other notable contributions include services (practice of medicine), the hospitals established and services rendered therein, the medical schools established that enabled the further dissemination of medical knowledge.
Indian Medical Service, IMS, History, Books, Tracts, Reports, Translation, Multilingual knowledge organization
