Bihar famine of 1873–74

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A 1907 map of Bihar, British India, shown as the northern region of Greater Bengal. Monghyr district (top middle) was one of the worst-hit areas in the Bihar famine of 1873–74.
A 1907 map of Bihar, British India, shown as the northern region of Greater Bengal. Monghyr district (top middle) was one of the worst-hit areas in the Bihar famine of 1873–74.

The Bihar famine of 1873–74 (also the Bengal famine of 1873–74) was a famine in India that followed a drought in the province of Bihar and the neighboring provinces of Bengal and the United Provinces; it affected an area of 54,000 square miles and a population of 21.5 million.[1] The relief effort—organized by Sir Richard Temple, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal—was one of the success stories of the famine relief in British India, and there was little or no mortality during the famine.[2]

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[edit] Relief

As the impending famine came to light, a decision was made at the highest level to save lives at any cost.[1] Rs. 4 crores were spent on importing 450,000 tons of rice from Burma.[3] Another Rs. 2.25 crores, were spent in organizing relief for 300 million units (1 unit = one person for one day).[1] In addition, for the first time, inspection of villages by the government officials was carried out in order to identify those in need of aid or employment.[3] In Sir Richard Temple's own description (in a contemporary correspondence) the generous aid helped the laborers to stay in good physical condition and to return to their fields in a timely fashion when the rains finally arrived; in addition, their actions put to rest any fears among relief officials that the government handouts were making the laborers dependent.[4] Road construction became a major project of the famine relief works;[5] the Road Cess Act of 1875, established a fund for the "construction of roads, especially their metaling and bridging."[5]

[edit] Aftermath

The famine, however, proved to be less severe than had originally been anticipated, and 100,000 tons of grain was left unused at the end of the relief effort.[6] According to (Hall-Matthews 1996, p. 219) the total government expense was 50 per cent more (in equivalent terms) than the total budget of a similar relief effort during the Maharashtra Famine of 1973 (in independent India).

Since the expenditure associated with the relief effort was considered excessive at the time, Sir Richard Temple was criticized by various British officials. Taking the criticism to heart, he revised the official famine relief philosophy, which thereafter became concerned with thrift and efficiency.[2] The relief efforts in the subsequent Great Famine of 1876–78 in Bombay and South India were therefore very modest, and in turn led to excessive mortality.[2]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. III 1907, p. 488
  2. ^ a b c Hall-Matthews 2008, p. 4
  3. ^ a b Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. III 1907, p. 488, Hall-Matthews 1996, p. 218
  4. ^ Hall-Matthews 1996, p. 221
  5. ^ a b Yang 1998, p. 50
  6. ^ Hall-Matthews 1996, p. 219

[edit] References

[edit] See also