Bihar famine of 1873–74
Encyclopedia
The Bihar famine of 1873–1874 (also the Bengal famine of 1873–1874) was a famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...

 in British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

 that followed a drought in the province of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 and the neighboring provinces of Bengal and the North-Western Provinces and Oudh; it affected an area of 54000 square miles (139,859.4 km²) and a population of 21.5 million. The relief effort—organized by Sir Richard Temple
Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet
Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet, FRS, GCSI, CIE, PC was an administrator in British India and a British politician.-Career:...

, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal—was one of the success stories of the famine relief in British India; there was little or no mortality during the famine.

Relief

As the impending famine came to light, a decision was made at the highest level to save lives at any cost. Rs. 4 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....

s were spent on importing 450,000 tons of rice from Burma. Another Rs. 2.25 crores were spent in organizing relief for 300 million units (1 unit = one person for one day). 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. In Sir Richard Temple's own description (in a contemporary correspondence), the generous aid allowed 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." Road construction became a major project of the famine relief works; the Road Cess
Cess
The term cess generally means a tax. It is a term formerly more particularly applied to local taxation, and was the official term used in Ireland when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; otherwise, it has been superseded by "rate"...

 Act of 1875
, which was enacted just before the famine began, established a fund for the "construction of roads, especially their metaling and bridging." The construction of the Irrawaddy Valley State Railway
History of rail transport in Burma
-Early construction:Rail transport was first introduced in Burma in May 1877, when Lower Burma was a colony of the United Kingdom and a part of British India, with the opening of the Rangoon to Prome line by The Irrawaddy Valley State Railway...

 in Burma, which began in 1874, also provided employment, in the earthworks, for many famine immigrants from Bengal.

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. According to some, the total government expense was 50 percent more than the total budget of a similar relief effort during the Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

 Famine of 1973 (in independent India), after adjusting for inflation.

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. The relief efforts in the subsequent Great Famine of 1876–78 in Bombay
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...

 and South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

 were therefore very modest, which in turn led to excessive mortality.

See also

  • Timeline of major famines in India during British rule (1765 to 1947)
    Timeline of major famines in India during British rule (1765 to 1947)
    This is a timeline of major famines on the Indian subcontinent during the years of British rule in India from 1765 to 1947. The famines included here occurred both in the princely states and British India This is a timeline of major famines on the Indian subcontinent during the years of British...

  • Famines, epidemics, and public health in the British Raj
    Famines, Epidemics, and Public Health in the British Raj
    Among the common features of famines, epidemics, and public health in the British Raj during the 19th century were:* There was no aggregate food shortage in India, although there were localized crop failures in the affected areas...

  • Company rule in India
    Company rule in India
    Company rule in India refers to the rule or dominion of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent...

  • Famine in India
    Famine in India
    Famine has been a recurrent feature of life in the Indian sub-continental countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and reached its numerically deadliest peak in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Historical and legendary evidence names some 90 famines in 2,500 years of history. There...

  • Drought in India
    Drought in India
    Drought in India has resulted in tens of millions of deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the climate of India: a favorable southwest summer monsoon is critical in securing water for irrigating Indian crops...

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