PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1081
(65)
*LEPERS
1176. Dr. Deshmukh : ( a ) Will the Minister of health be pleased to refer to the answer given to starred question No. 1326 asked on the 8th April 1948, regarding lepers and leper-asylums in India and state whether Dr. Dharmendra who was deputed to U.S.A., U.K., South America and the Philippines has since returned ;
( b ) If so, what is the result of his tour;
( c ) What work is he doing at present;
( d ) Has the treatment of the lepers undergone any radical change since his return and if so, in what way;
( e ) What steps have been taken for the establishment of a Central Teaching and Research Institute for Leprosy;
( f ) Has a permanent cure as well as an effective preventive against leprosy now been discovered;
( g ) If so, to what extent are the people of India benefiting from this?
The Minister of Law(Dr. Ambedkar): ( a ) Yes, on the
12th November, 1948.
( b ) During his tour he studied anti-leprosy work carried on in the various countries he visited.
( c ) He is at present the Head of the Leprosy Research Department at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine. His activities include research, teaching and clinical work. He is also the Editor of the Journal “Leprosy in India” published by the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh.
( d ) With the introduction of sulphone treatment for leprosy the duration of treatment has been shortened.
( e ) The Central Leprosy Institute Committee recommended the location of the institute in Madras State, by taking over and expanding the Lady Willingdon Leprosy Sanatorium at Tirumani, and the silver Jubilee Children’s Clinic, Saidapet, both in Chingleput District, Madras State, on certain financial conditions being satisfied by the Government of Madras. The
*P. D., Vol. 9, Part I, 20th September 1951, p. 1527.