Rajputana famine of 1869 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Rajputana famine of 1869 (also the Great Rajputana Famine, Bundelkhand and Upper Hindustan famine, Rajputana famine of 1868-70) affected an area of 296000 square miles (766,636.5 km²) and a population of 44,500,000, primarily in the princely states of Rajputana

Rajputana

Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...

, 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...

, and the British territory of Ajmer

Ajmer

Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

; other areas affected included Gujarat, the North Deccan districts, the Jubbalpore division of the Central Provinces and Berar

Central Provinces and Berar

The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India. The province comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered much of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. The Central Provinces was formed in...

, the Agra and Bundelkhand division of the United Provinces

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...

, and the Hissar

Hisar District

Hisar district is one of the 21 districts of Haryana state, India. Hisar city serves as the district headquarters. The district is also part of Hisar division, which is headed by a commissioner who belongs to the Indian Administrative Service....

division of the Punjab

Punjab region

The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...

Course of famine

The monsoon of 1868 was late in coming and, moreover, when it came, was light and brief, lasting until only August 1868. There was shortage of fodder in most areas of Rajputana, and some areas had water shortage as well. Since the much needed grain could be brought in only on slow camel trains, the stricken areas were more or less inaccessible.

Many inhabitants of the famine-stricken regions of Rajputana (for example, two-thirds of the population of Marwar

Marwar

Marwar is a region of southwestern Rajasthan state in western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. In Rajasthani dialect "wad" means a particular area. The word Marwar is derived from Sanskrit word 'Maruwat'. English translation of the word is 'The region of desert'., The Imperial Gazetteer...

) emigrated with their livestock or herds. Initially, however, they did not go to the British territory of Ajmer

Ajmer

, where relief works had been arranged; many wandered in search of food until they died from starvation. Late in 1868, epidemics of cholera broke out among the vulnerable population, and there was no harvest in the spring of 1869. In May 1869, many villagers, who had emigrated earlier, now returned to their villages believing that the rains that year would be early. However, the rains held off until mid-July, and, in the interim, many thousands more died of starvation. Even so, the autumn harvest promised to be abundant; however, swarms of locusts descended upon the fields and destroyed the young crops. In September and October 1869, there were heavy rains, which, although good for the spring harvest, caused an epidemic of malaria and killed many more. Finally, the anticipated harvest of spring 1870 did arrive and ended the famine.

Relief

Having been criticized for the badly bungled relief effort during the Orissa famine of 1866

Orissa famine of 1866

The Orissa famine of 1866 affected the east coast of India from Madras upwards, an area covering 180,000 miles and containing a population of 47,500,000; the impact of the famine, however, was greatest in Orissa, which at that time was quite isolated from the rest of India.-Causes:Like all Indian...

, British authorities began to discuss famine policy soon afterwards, and, in early 1868, Sir William Muir, Lieutenant-Governor of Agra Province, issued a famous order stating that:

"every District officer would be held personally responsible that no deaths occurred from starvation which could have been avoided by any exertion or arrangement on his part or that of his subordinates."

The Government of British India organized famine relief works in the British territory of Ajmer

Ajmer

and in neighboring Agra Province of British India. In Ajmer, Rs. 49 lakh

Lakh

A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...

s were spent in the relief effort, Rs. 5 lakh in revenue remission, and Rs. 21 lakhs in a new scheme for agricultural credit. In Agra, another Rs. 30 lakhs were spent in relieving 29 million units (i.e. one person for one day). The princely states of Rajputana, however, provided very little relief: only Udaipur State spent Rs. 5 lakhs. Consequently, the immigration from the princely states into British India in the later stages of the famine began to overwhelm British efforts, and, in spite of Sir William Muir's newly defined responsibility for each district officer, the resulting mortality was great. It is thought that over 1.5 million people died all over Rajputana during the famine.

Course of famine

Relief

See also