Famine and Policy Under the Raj

Severe famines struck British India repeatedly in the late 19th century, raising hard questions about colonial policy. The Great Famine of 1876–78, caused by drought and crop failure in southern and western India, killed an estimated 5. 5 million to more than 8 million people.

Government relief was limited, partly because officials believed in free-market principles and feared that relief would encourage dependency; Viceroy Lord Lytton's government continued to allow grain exports, and relief workers on public projects received rations criticized as too low to sustain life. Afterward, a Famine Commission in 1880 led to Famine Codes that set rules for relief, but another catastrophic famine struck in 1899–1900.

Historians debate how much the deaths stemmed from natural drought, from global climate events such as El Niño, or from colonial policies on taxation, exports and relief. Most agree that policy choices made famines deadlier than drought alone would have.