THE SANITARY AWAKENING OF INDIA 195 



I can only deal very briefly with the subject of the All-India 

 Sanitary Conferences. The first of these was held in Bombay 

 in November 191 1, and the second in Madras in November 1912, 

 whilst the third will meet in Lucknow in January 1914. Their 

 popularity may be judged from the fact that whereas at the first 

 conference twenty-nine delegates attended and the proceedings 

 lasted for only two days, at the second conference seventy-three 

 delegates were present and the proceedings extended over a 

 week, with both morning and afternoon sittings. For further 

 information as to the subjects discussed and the important 

 resolutions passed, I must refer the reader to the published Pro- 

 ceedings. All I wish to say here is that the value of these 

 conferences lies not so much in the conclusions reached as in the 

 opportunity which they afford of informing and interesting the 

 public, and of interchange of views between men working under 

 varying conditions in isolated parts of India. I have already 

 pointed out that sanitary measures possible and effective in the 

 West may not be suited to Indian conditions. Similarly it must 

 be clearly understood that there cannot be one sanitary pro- 

 gramme for all India. Sanitation is rightly decentralised, and it 

 is only by the examination of results obtained under differing 

 conditions that we can arrive at definite conclusions as to what 

 is suitable for a particular locality. That is why the conference 

 is held each year in a different place. The last two meetings 

 have been in large presidency cities ; the next will be in an 

 up-country town, where I need hardly remark the conditions are 

 very different from those existing in Madras and Bombay. 



In conclusion I must say a few words about the reorganisation 

 of the sanitary services in India. In 191 2 the Government of 

 India decided to create eight additional appointments of Deputy 

 Sanitary Commissioner. As these posts did not fully meet the 

 needs of the provinces, the Secretary of State for India has 

 recently approved of the addition of four appointments to this 

 class. 



The twelve appointments will be allotted as follows : three 

 to Bengal, two each to Madras, the United Provinces and Behar 

 and Orissa, and one each to the Punjab, the North-West 

 Frontier Province, and Burmah. 



For the present three of the twelve appointments will be held 

 by officers of the Indian Medical Service and the remaining nine 

 are open to officers recruited in India. Six Indians have already 



