Famines in India

There were 14 famines in India between 11th and 17th century (Bhatia, 1985). B.M. Bhatia believes earlier famines were localised and it was only after 1860, during the British rule, that famine came to signify general shortage of foodgrains in the country. In the latter half of the 19th century, there were approximately 25 major famines across India which killed between 30 and 40 million people. The famines were the result of the almost total collapse of India's native industries, as its skilled artisans were driven out of work while British imports flooded the Indian markets.

The famines were a product both of uneven rainfall and British economic and administrative policies, which since 1857 led to the seizure and conversion of local farmland to foreign owned plantations, restrictions on internal trade, heavy taxation of Indians to support unsuccessful British expeditions in Afghanistan like the Second Anglo-Afghan War, inflationary measures that increased the price of food, and substantial exports of staple crops from India to Britain. (Dutt, 1900 and 1902; Srivastava, 1968; Sen, 1982; Bhatia, 1985.) Some British citizens such as William Digby agitated for policy reforms and famine relief, but Lord Lytton, the governing British viceroy in India, opposed such changes in the belief they would stimulate shirking by Indian workers. The first Bengal famine of 1770 is estimated to have taken nearly one third of the population. The famines continued until Independence in 1948, with the Bengal famine of 1943-44 being among the most devastating, killing 3-4 million during World War II.

The Famine Commission of 1880 observed each province in British India, including Burma, had a surplus of foodgrains, and annual surplus was 5.16 million tons (Bhatia, 1970). At that time, annual export of rice and other grains from India was approximately one million tons.

In 1966, there was a 'near miss' in Bihar, when the USA allocated 900,000 tons of grain to fight the famine. It is the closest independent India came to a famine.

The increase in food to the population is also reflected in the fact in the 50 years of British rule (1891 to 1941) the population grew by 35% (from 287 million to 389 million) whereas in the 50 years of democratic rule from 1951 to 2001 the population grew by 183% (from 363 million to 1,023 million). The fact there have been no famines even with a population that has almost tripled makes it an even more impressive achievement for the democratic government.

Chronology
1630-1631: there was a famine in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
1770: Indian territory ruled by the British East India Company experienced the first Bengal famine of 1770. An estimated 10 million people died.
1780-1790s: millions died of famine in Bengal, Benares, Jammu, Bombay and Madras.
1800-1825: 1 million Indians died of famine
1850-1875: 5 millions died of famine in Bengal, Orissa, Rajastan and Bihar
1875-1902: 26 million Indians died of famine (1876-1878: 10 millions)
1905-1906: famine raged in areas with the population of 3,3 million.
1906-1907: famine captured areas with the population of 13 million
1907-1908: famine captured areas populated by 49,6 million Indians.
In 1943, India experienced the second Bengal famine of 1943. Over 3 million people died.
In 1966, there was a 'near miss' in Bihar. The USA allocated 900,000 tons of grain to fight the famine.

References
Bhatia, B.M. (1985) Famines in India: A study in Some Aspects of the Economic History of India with Special Reference to Food Problem, Delhi: Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Bhattaharyya B. 1973. A History of Bangla Desh. Dacca.
Dutt, Romesh C. Open Letters to Lord Curzon on Famines and Land Assessments in India, first published 1900, 2005 edition by Adamant Media Corporation, Elibron Classics Series, ISBN 1-4021-5115-2.
Dutt, Romesh C. The Economic History of India under early British Rule, first published 1902, 2001 edition by Routledge, ISBN 0-415-24493-5
Sen, Amartya, Poverty and Famines : An Essay on Entitlements and Deprivation, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1982
Srivastava, H.C., The History of Indian Famines from 1858-1918, Sri Ram Mehra and Co., Agra, 1968.

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