NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LAW

RANCHI

LEGAL HISTORY MID SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT

Submitted to : Sreemoyee Sarkar Submitted by : Shashank Shekhar

Faculty of History Sems III “A”

Roll No. 409

 EVOLUTION OF FAMINE POLICY FROM THE BRITISH PARAMOUNTACY

“The doctrine that in time of famine the poor are entitled to demand relief […] would
probably lead to the doctrine that they are entitled to such relief at all times, and thus the
foundation would be laid of a system of general poor relief, which we cannot contemplate
without serious apprehension.”

_Indian Famine Commission, 1880

INTRODUCTION

The famine policies that exists in India happen to be influenced by various factors that were
directly an outcome of either British itself or due its wings that had been incorporated in India
during the 18th and 19th century. India right from the medieval period has been depending on
the monsoons for securing water for most of its agriculture harvest. On a notion monsoon
failure which is a pre-condition for famine in India is basically caused by the ENSO (El Nino
Southern Oscillation); this ENSO occurs every five to six years causing extreme weather
such as floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world. ENSO
is like a natural seesaw that causes the failure of monsoons over India while causing
unnatural rainfall over the coast of South America. But the majority of famines that had
occurred during the regime of the British rule in India was an outcome of many ill notions of
the administrative policies together with draught resulting in a devastating famines of all
times. Florence Nightingale1 pointed out that the famines in British India were not caused by
the lack of food in a particular geographical area but was due the artificial scarcity which was
being formulated by the drainage of money from the peasant and landlords to the British
government in lieu of land revenue. Amartya Sen a renowned scholar explains the absence of
democratic framework, attitude and effort in British India.2
These famines were typically followed by various infectious diseases such as bubonic plague
and influenza, which killed a large section of population already destabilized by starvation.

1
Nightingale, Florence & Vallee, Gerard (2006). Florence Nightingale on Health in India. Waterloo, (Ontario):
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, pg. 178-89.
2
Sen, A. K. (1977). Starvation and Exchange Entitlements: A General Approach and its Application to the
Great Bengal Famine. Oxford: Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 1 (March, 1977), pg. 33-59.
Historical evidence portrays that famines in Colonial India resulted in more than 60 million
deaths over the course of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some of
the major famines that struck British India were

 The Bengal Famine of 1770 taking toll of 10 million lives.

 The Orissa Famine of 1866-1867 widely spread over a area of 180000 sq miles.
 The Rajaputana Famine of 1869-1870 hitting over the central province affecting a
total area of 296,000 sq miles of Ajmer, Gujarat, Agra, Budelkhand and Hissar
division of Punjab.
 The Bihar Famine of 1873-1874 in the province of Bihar, Bengal and Oudh.
 The Great Famine of 1876–1878 in the southern and south western India especially in
Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Bombay.
 The Indian Famine of 1899–1900 affecting an area of 476,000 sq miles.
 The Indian Famine of 1896–1897 affecting an area of 307,000 sq miles.
 The Bengal Famine of 1942-1943 killed nearly 3 million people.

BRITISHERS AS A SET BACK TO THE FAMINE POLICY IN INDIA

The British India had adopted the principle of Laissez Fair for the purpose of famine relief in
India. The central idea of the this doctrine, that economic transactions should be left to the
private actors in a free market and the activity of the government should be limited to the
enforcement of peace and justice. In the times of scarcity and famines there should be non
intervention in the grain trade and should be in the periphery of distribution of food. This is to
avoid the individuals from depending on the state for support or assistance. 3 The relief
during the famine of 1876-78 provide a clear example of the strict application of these
principles in practise and perhaps the largest historical experiment with Laissez Fair
regulation during the times of famine.4 Though the doctrine was enacted from one of the
most classical works of economies that Britain had adopted at a point of time but there were
several other notions and strategies that were far more accurate and effective to the then
Indian scenario.

The British were convinced that the railway would be very successful in tackling the famine
which brought about a sense of complacency amongst the policy makers. The movement of

3
Viner Jacob (1960) “The Intellectual History of Laissez Faire”, Journal of Law and Economics, Ed 3, Pg 45-69
4
Dutt Romesh Chunder (1901) : Indian famines, their causes and prevention.
the agricultural products on the magic wheels of the trains were intended to push India
towards greater specializations on agriculture and even proving to be very effective during
the famines as food grains could be made easy from the region of high produce towards the
region of scarce.5 But the British had a reared motive behind boosting the railways network in
India, they hoped to drain the wealth of the subcontinent and which was only possible when
they easily extract the raw materials and procure foodstuffs; sell it them to the British
manufacturers within the Indian market.6 The famine policy were dependent upon the
railways and deviated from the famine relief only furnishing British endeavours.7

A decisive British intervention was the opening of the Suez Canal that made the route
between India and England shorter minimizing the travel time and expenditure, induction of
the cash crops that gave framers option of shifting from the cultivation of food grains for
better income and the integration of the world market where even during the severe famines
the surplus of the food grains were exported from India leaving behind people in India to die
behind.

THE INDIAN FAMINE COMMISSION, 1880

The committee was set up after a loss of millions of human lives and the annoyance among
the Indians for the British governance. The major role of this commission was to enact the
Indian Famine Code. This was initiated by the an extensive work of studying the cultivation
patterns, practises and agro production throughout India. The result of the Famine
Commission was a series of guidelines and regulations on how to respond to famines and
food shortages, which were termed as the Famine Code. The Famine Code was finally passed
in 1883 by a liberal minded viceroy, Lord Ripon (1880-84).8 The Indian Famine Codes,
developed by the colonial government, were one of the earliest famine combating measures.
The Famine Codes defined three levels of food insecurity as

 near scarcity
 scarcity
 famine.

5
John Hurd, “Railways and Expansion of Markets in India 1861-1921” Exploration in Economic History, vol.
12 (1975), 263
6
Bipin Chandra, The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India; People’s Publishing House, New
Delhi 1966, Pg 192
7
Romesh Dutta, “Famines in India”, Open Letters, 22
8
Stone Ian (1984) Canal Irrigation in British India: Perspectives on Technological Change in a Peasant
Economy, Cambridge University Press, pg. 217-28
 Scarcity was defined as three successive years of crop failure, crop yields of one-third or one
half normal and large populations in distress. The codes also presented an early warning
system to detect and respond to food shortages.

SOME OTHER FAMINE COMMISSIONS

 Sir George Campbell Commission (1867) : The main object of this commission was to save
every life. The recommendations focused on the notion that the government should undertake
the famine relief work and schemes of relief program should be prepared well in advance.
 Strachey Commission (1878) : Appointed by Lord Lytton, the recommendations dealt with
insurance, relief and unforeseen expenditures for the famines as a part of government’s
budget amounting to Rs 15 million per annum. Loans should be sanctioned for the purchase
of seeds and cattle.
 Lycall Commission (1898) : The commission adopted the findings of the Indian Famine
Commission, 1880 and held it right to counter scarce situations during a famine.
 MacDonnell Commission (1900) : They led emphasis on the benefits of a policy according to
moral strategy. It recommended appointment of a famine commissioner, establishment of
agricultural banks.
CONCLUSION
The export of agricultural products led to food crises or famines. More to the unfavourable
monsoons and ill administrative policies the introduction of railway infrastructure in India
proved to be catalyst in the occurrence of famine. Members of the British administrative
machinery also exposed that the larger market created by railway transport encouraged poor
peasants to sell off their reserve stocks of grain. The nature and British mis-governance were
responsible for some of the worst famines India had to suffer.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journals:

1. Viner Jacob (1960) “The Intellectual History of Laissez Faire”, Journal of Law and
Economics, Ed 3, Pg 45-69
2. Sen, A. K. (1977). Starvation and Exchange Entitlements: A General Approach and
its Application to the Great Bengal Famine. Oxford: Cambridge Journal of
Economics, Vol. 1 (March, 1977), pg. 33-59

Books:

1. Bipin Chandra, The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India; People’s
Publishing House, New Delhi 1966, Pg 192
2. Bhatia, B. M. (1968). Famines in India, 1860-1965. New York: Asia Publishing
House, pp. 99-103.