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InterviewSolution
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Describe the serious problem faced by the modern part of Hanoi in 1903. |
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Answer» (i) In 1903, the modern part of Hanoi was struck by bubonic plague. The large sewers in the modern part of the city, a symbol of modernity, were an ideal and protected breeding ground for rats. The sewers also served as a great transport system, allowing the rats to move around the city without any problem. (ii) A rat hunt was started in 1902. The French hired Vietnamese workers and paid them for each rat they caught. The bounty was paid when a tail was given as proof that a rat had been killed. So the rat-catchers took to just clipping the tails and releasing the rats, so that the process could be repeated, over and over again. Some people, in fact, began raising rats to earn a bounty. (iii) The rat menace marks the limits of French power and the contradictions in their civilising mission. And the actions of the rat-catchers tell us of the numerous small ways in which colonialism was fought in everyday life. |
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