Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons. (UPSC CSE Mains 2022 - General Studies Paper 1)
India was hit by recurrent famine from 1760 AD to till 1943 AD during the British Raj for several reasons as listed below:
- Colonial policies - The colonial policies included rack-renting, levies for war, free trade policies, the expansion of export agriculture, and neglect of agricultural investment.
- Commercialisation of Agriculture - Indian exports of opium, indigo, jute, and cotton were a key component of the economy of the British empire, generating vital foreign currency. This affected food production in India.
- Colonial Export Policy - Policy of exporting Rice and Wheat. For example, two of the worst famine-affected areas in the Madras Presidency, the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam, continued to export grains throughout the famine.
- Apathetic Famine codes of the British British Codes were explicit in casting a duty on public officials to spend the minimum that was necessary, only to prevent the loss of lives, and nothing beyond that.Did not address non farm rural persons such as artisans, weavers etc.
- World wars and British expansionist wars around the world Indian Grains were diverted to war expeditions in foreign soil.
- Agrarian Policies -The Zamindari, Mahalwari and Ryotwari system pushed back agricultural production and led to agricultural backwardness.
- Rural Indebtedness: Debt has always been a major component of India’s rural economy. Due to exorbitant rents and illegitimate taxation imposed by the British Government, peasants were heavily indebted, this indebtedness was exacerbated by the onset of severe drought-like circumstances which culminated in the onset of famines.
- Drought: The people’s suffering from the previous year’s drought was not alleviated by the extreme rainfall in 1770; on the contrary, it led to river overflows and devastated standing crops. Famines were always triggered by a significant increase in food prices, which in turn reduced real earnings and led to epidemics, malnutrition, and hunger, particularly among groups of agricultural labourers.
Famines that occurred during the colonial era had a tremendous influence on the economy and even the culture. Famines unquestionably had a negative impact on population growth and slowed down economic development.
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