Famines Under British India

**the systematic causes, major tragedies, and the eventual (though often inadequate) administrative responses to famines during colonial rule.

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📌 Table of Contents

1. 🔍 Factors Responsible for Repeated Famines
2. 💀 The "Great Famines": A History of Mortality
3. ⏳ Chronological List of Major Famines (1765–1947)
4. 🛡️ Remedial Measures & Famine Commissions
   • Baird Smith Committee & Campbell Commission
   • Richard Strachey Commission & The Famine Code
   • McDonnell Commission (1900)
5. 🧐 Historiographical Analysis: Diverse Perspectives

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1. 🔍 Factors Responsible for Repeated Famines

Famines in British India were not merely natural disasters; they were exacerbated by colonial economic policies.

• Commercialization of Agriculture 📈:
  • Production of commercial crops (indigo, cotton, etc.) rose by 85% between 1893 and 1946.
  • Production of food crops decreased by 7% in the same period.
  • This shift prioritised profit for the Empire over food security for the peasants 🌾🚫.
• Lack of Political Will & Safety Nets 🛡️:
  • Florence Nightingale argued that famines were not caused by food shortages in a region, but by inadequate distribution and a lack of a social safety net for the masses.
• Tribal Infiltration 🏹:
  • British "Forest Acts" limited tribal access to products and outlawed Jhum (shifting) farming. Forced "peasantization" led to starvation in tribal belts.
• Flawed Export Policies 🚢:
  • The British followed a strict Laissez-faire (free market) policy. For example, during the 1896-97 famine, districts like Ganjam and Vizagapatam continued to export crops while the local population starved.
• Deindustrialization 📉:
  • The destruction of local handicrafts decreased the purchasing power of the poor, making even available food prohibitively expensive.
• Lack of Moral Values (The Lytton Era) 🧊:
  • Lord Lytton famously displayed a lack of empathy. During the 1877–79 famine, he refused to stop grain exports, stating that saving lives at a cost that would "bankrupt India" was not the government's responsibility.

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2. 💀 The "Great Famines": A History of Mortality

• Great Bengal Famine (1770): Resulted in the deaths of approximately 10 million people (nearly 1/3rd of the population of Bengal) 🕯️.
• The Great Famine (1876–1878): Caused by intense drought in the Deccan Plateau. Affected Madras and Bombay Presidencies. Mortality estimates range from 6.1 to 10.3 million 🦴.
• Bihar-Bengal Famine (1943): Occurred during WWII. Starvation claimed 1.5 million lives, while epidemics (cholera, malaria) pushed the total death toll to 3 million 🥀.

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3. ⏳ Chronological List of Major Famines

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4. 🛡️ Remedial Measures & Famine Commissions

Early Attempts (1860–1866)

• Baird Smith Committee (1860): First committee formed (Delhi-Agra region). Recommendations were largely ignored 📂.
• Campbell Commission (1866): Formed after the devastating Orissa famine (where 1 million died). This committee held the government system responsible for the failure ⚖️.

Richard Strachey Commission (1880) & The Famine Code 📜

Appointed by Lord Lytton, this commission provided the foundation for future famine policy.

• The Famine Code (1883): Divided into four parts:
  1. Part I: Vigilance during routine times.
  2. Part II: Relief efforts during scarcity.
  3. Part III: Official responsibilities of officers.
  4. Part IV: Mapping of famine-prone areas.
• Famine Fund: A dedicated fund and budget head for relief and insurance were introduced.

McDonnell Commission (1900) 📋

Appointed by Lord Curzon after the 1899 famine. Key recommendations:

• Emphasized Ethical Policy in relief.
• Immediate disbursement of funds for seeds/animals.
• Appointment of Drought Commissioners in provinces.
• Opening of Agricultural Banks and improvement of irrigation and transport 🚂.

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5. 🧐 Historiographical Analysis: Diverse Perspectives

• B.M. Bhatia 🏘️: Argued that pre-colonial India had a "caste and joint family system" that looked after the destitute, meaning the state rarely needed to intervene. Colonial rule destroyed this social cohesion, turning scarcities into famines.
• David Hardiman 📦: Suggested that free trade and hoarding, sponsored by the colonial state, made conditions significantly worse in Western India.
• Tirthankar Roy 🏗️: Offered a different view, arguing that misery was due to limited means (poor info, meager infrastructure, small fiscal capacity) rather than purely "capitalist" ideology. He noted that famines became rarer in the 20th century as statistical and scientific prediction improved 🧪.
• Simultaneous Epidemics 🏥: Famine mortality was often compounded by simultaneous outbreaks of cholera and malaria (e.g., the 1898 epidemics).

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💡 Study Tip: For UPSC Mains, remember to link the Laissez-faire policy to specific famines like the 1896-97 Madras famine to show how economic theory led to human tragedy. ✍️✨