Question

Assertion [A]: In the Madras Presidency, the famine of 1876-78 was preceded by droughts.

Reason [R]: This was because of the colonial government’s policy of Laissez-Faire in the trade of food-grains.

• A. [A] and [R] are true but [R] is not the correct justification for [A].
• B. [A] and [R] are false.
• C. [A] and [R] are true and [R] is the correct justification for [A].
• D. [A] is true but [R] is false.

Answer 1

The correct option is C [A] and [R] are true and [R] is the correct justification for [A].

In the Madras Presidency, the famine of 1876-78 was preceded by droughts. The situation was made worse because of the colonial government’s policy of laissez faire in the trade of food-grains. For example, two of the worst famine-afflicted areas in the Madras Presidency, the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam, continued to export grains throughout the famine.