Evaluate the Famine Policy of the British Raj. Discuss the causes and consequences of the great famines of the late 19th century (e.g., 1866, 1899).

The late 19th century in India was marked by a series of devastating famines that claimed millions of lives. While the British government attributed these disasters to natural factors like monsoon failure, nationalist critics argued they were man-made catastrophes. The British Famine Policy evolved slowly, often prioritizing economic theories over human lives, leading to a massive humanitarian crisis.

1. Causes of the Great Famines

  • Laissez-faire Policy: The British followed a "free trade" ideology, refusing to interfere in the market. Even during extreme shortages, they did not ban the export of food grains.
  • Commercialisation of Agriculture: The shift from food crops to cash crops (like indigo and cotton) reduced the local food reserves available for emergencies.
  • Drain of Wealth: High land revenue and the extractive nature of British rule left the peasantry with no savings to survive even a single crop failure.
  • Administrative Failure: In the Na’Anka Famine of 1866 (Odisha), the administration failed to estimate the stock of food and delayed the import of rice, leading to the death of one-third of the population.

2. Evolution of Famine Policy

The frequent disasters forced the British to develop formal guidelines:

  • Strachey Commission (1880): Formed after the Great Famine of 1876, it recommended that the state should provide relief work for the able-bodied and gratuitous relief for the helpless.
  • Famine Code (1883): Based on these recommendations, a Famine Code was developed to classify famine intensity and guide local officials on emergency measures.
  • Lyall Commission (1898) & MacDonnell Commission (1901): These further refined the policy, emphasizing irrigation and the role of Railways in distributing food.

3. Consequences

  • Demographic Disaster: Famines like those of 1896-97 and 1899-1900 caused an estimated 5 to 10 million deaths, leading to long-term stagnation of population.
  • Rise of Nationalism: The indifference of the British during famines provided Dadabhai Naoroji and R.C. Dutt with proof of the exploitative nature of colonial rule.
  • Agrarian Unrest: Extreme poverty and starvation led to peasant uprisings and a shift in political consciousness toward the demand for self-rule.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Famine Policy of the British Raj was a belated and reactive response to a self-inflicted crisis. By sticking to rigid economic dogmas like Laissez-faire while extracting high taxes, the British turned natural droughts into national tragedies. The late 19th-century famines remain a dark chapter, as they exposed the moral and economic bankruptcy of the British administration in India.