Abstract
INDIA - what a panorama of pictures it brings
before anyone who has traversed that land: Pictures
which alternate from the densest darkness to the
brightest light; from black shadows to uninterrupted
sunshine - from utter ignorance and superstition to
wide intellect and understanding. */, shadows of
beauty and of light are perhaps nowhere so marked and
varied as in Hindustan. This in itself attracts and
holds the mind which is in anyway susceptible to the
lure of the East.
When one considers the length and breadth of the
land and takes note of its vast population of nearly
400,000,000, with its innumerable languages - some
220 - it at once becomes evident that it is well nigh
impossible to speak of it as a whole. What is true
of the North is far from being applicable to the South
and this is especially so when the Punjab is the
province under consideration. A Punjabi does not
think of himself as primarily an Indian; he is a
Punjabi first and foremost. This may be because the
Punjab differs in so many respects from the rest of
India. The Punjabi possesses characteristics which
make him stand out from Indians of other provinces
and of the States. Climate, customs, diet, heredity,
and history all play their part in producing these
differences. These factors are so woven into the
life on the Punjabi that he could not merely be
classed as an Indian.
Before one can appreciate the subject of
Obstetrics in this great land, it is necessary that a
brief outline of its history, geography, and people
be given. Without this, it is impossible to understand
the circumstances amidst which work is carried
on, nor can the problems and difficulties be appreciated.
