Causes and consequences The Great Famine of 1876 Causes and consequences

Beginnings During the British Raj, India experienced some of the worst famines ever recorded, including the Great Famine of 1876, in which approximately five million people died. The famine initially struck the Deccan Plateau, which makes up "the entire southern peninsula of India south of the Narmada River." This area, high above sea level is drier than the coasts. It includes the modern Indian states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

1876: Failed Monsoon The monsoon had failed in 1876 in much of central and southern India. Without "the timely arrival of generous winter rains" the area faced a famine. Peasants tried to hang on by eating roots, but without the ability to grow more food, they would not be able to survive.

British Famine Relief The British responded to the situation with minimal famine relief. Heavy labor was required for those who sought relief, and relief consisted of fewer calories than were provided to inmates of Nazi concentration camps.

Early 1877: Peasants Lose Their Means of Production As winter is commonly dry in India, so was the winter of 1877. Peasants "in district after district sold their "bullocks, field implements, the thatch of the roofs, the frames of their doors and windows" to survive the terrible first year of the drought. Without essential means of production, they were unable to take advantage of the little rain that fell in April-May 1877 to sow new crops. As a result they died in their myriads in August and September."

Late 1877: A Second Failed Monsoon In the second half of 1877, the monsoon failed again for a second year. During this period, grain prices doubled. Coupled with the lack of British "famine relief," this was deadly. Additionally, cholera broke out. Ironically, jails were some of the safest places to ride out the famine.

Late 1877: The Famine Heads North "In contrast to the south, the northern harvests were abundant in 1874-76 and ordinarily would have provided ample reserves to deal with the kharif deficit in 1878. But subsistence farming in many parts of the North Western Provinces had been recently converted into a captive export sector to stabilize British grain prices. Poor harvests and high prices in England during 1876-77 generated a demand that absorbed most of the region's wheat surplus. Likewise, most of the provinces' cruder grain stocks like millet were commercially exported to the famine districts in Bombay and Madras Presidencies, leaving local peasants with no hedge against drought. The profits from grain exports, meanwhile, were pocketed by richer zaminders, moneylenders and grain merchants - not the direct producers."[17]

June 1878: Normal Monsoons Return "Much of the seed grain distributed by relief committees was bad, while that which sprouted and pushed its way above the ground was instantly devoured by great plagues of locusts.“ Another problem was that so many people had sold off their assets (cattle and, most importantly, their land) during the famine. Those who didn't do so in order to eat had to do so in order to pay their taxes. "The resulting auction of lands in arrears may have been a windfall for rich peasants and moneylenders, who had already profited from famine-induced sacrifice sales of cattle and land mortgages, but it crippled the recovery of an agrarian economy that traditionally depended on the energy of (now ruined) smallholders to bring cultivable wastes under plough."

British role While the famine was in part caused by the drought, the failure of the British to appropriately deal with the situation also contributed. Excessive expenditure on charitable relief was criticised. Those in power insisted not only on a policy of laissez faire (let it be) with respect to the trade in grain, but also on stricter standards of qualification for relief and on more meager relief rations.

British Role During this time, the British hoped to finance their war efforts in central Asia through taxes paid by Indians. The simultaneous depreciation of the rupee made this more difficult, as it required collecting even more money in taxes. The "militarized campaign to collect the tax" during the height of the famine added much insult to injury in India.

British Role In traditional Indian villages, peasants used the common lands to collect items needed to get by: "dry grass for fodder, shrub grass for rope, wood and dung for fuel, dung, leaves, and forest debris for fertilizer, clay for plastering houses, and, above all, clean water." However, under British rule, common lands became property of the state. "Common lands - or "waste" in the symptomatic vocabulary of the Raj - were either transformed into taxable private property or state monopolies." Essentially, the free resources on these lands were no longer free.

British Role In the period leading up to the famine and even at the beginning of the famine, while the south of India was already experiencing crop failures, northern harvests were "abundant." However, the surplus wheat was not stored in case of future need; it was exported to England, which experienced a poor harvest and paid high prices for grain in 1876-1877.

British Role Nor were the growers of that wheat made rich from crop sales; the profits went to grain merchants, zaminders, and moneylenders. Crops grown for domestic consumption, such as millet, were not stored in the north either, as they were sold to the south. Thus, when the monsoons failed in north India they had no grain stores to help it get by.

Summary India as a British Colony British policies: Land converted to British plantations Exports of crops to Europe Taxed India to support British wars Price of food rose Drought decreased production British response: Inaction, discouraged famine relief Thought to be too expensive Thought relief would encourage shirking of Indian workers Result: 5 million starved to death