This introduction to a special section brings together three papers first presented at a panel, ‘Medical Professions in South Asia: Historical and Contemporary Analyses’, at the 26th European Conference on South Asian Studies, held in Vienna, Austria and online, in July 2021. All three papers deal with aspects of the professionalisation of biomedical doctors in India since its independence in 1947. The authors bring together historical and sociological approaches to illuminate the growth of specialisms, patterns of practitioner–patient interactions and efforts to maintain occupational closure and maintain status in the face of growing challenges. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these papers for the sociology of health and illness in India and beyond.

中文翻译：

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印度医学历史社会学：专题介绍

本专题介绍汇集了三篇论文，该论文首次在 2021 年 7 月在奥地利维也纳举行的第 26 届欧洲南亚研究会议上的“南亚医学专业：历史和当代分析”小组上发表所有三篇论文都涉及印度自 1947 年独立以来生物医学医生专业化的各个方面。作者汇集了历史学和社会学方法来阐明专业的发展、医生与患者互动的模式以及维持职业封闭和维持职业封闭的努力。面临日益严峻的挑战。引言最后讨论了这些论文与印度及其他地区健康和疾病社会学的相关性。