Bureaucratic Illness: Institutional Indifference and the Narrative of Helplessness in Anand's "Rogam"

Abstract: Literary representations of illness often extend beyond biological suffering to reveal the institutional structures that shape human vulnerability. Malayalam writer Anand’s short story “Rogam” (“Disease”) presents illness not merely as a medical condition but as an experience mediated by bureaucratic healthcare systems. Set in a government dispensary for serving and retired government employees, the story depicts the struggles of an ordinary patient attempting to obtain treatment within a rigid administrative framework. Through scenes of humiliation, procedural delays, and the paralysis caused by institutional strikes, the narrative reveals how bureaucratic systems intensify rather than alleviate suffering. The dispensary becomes a space where administrative rules override compassion, transforming illness into an experience of prolonged waiting and helplessness. Anand further strengthens this critique through symbolic imagery, including the episode of the abandoned dog and the helpless patients waiting outside the closed dispensary. By portraying institutional indifference and the erosion of human dignity, “Rogam” expands the meaning of disease beyond the body to include systemic failure and administrative apathy. The story ultimately suggests that the real “disease” lies within the bureaucratic structures that govern public healthcare.

Keywords: disease narrative, bureaucracy, helplessness, institutional apathy, public healthcare