One of the reasons of high death rate and low life expectancy at the time of Independence was the frequent outbreak of famines. What were the causes of the outbreak of famines? Do you think that the Britishers were sensitive towards the plight of the starving Indians?
One of the reasons of high death rate and low life expectancy at the time of Independence was the frequent outbreak of famines. What were the causes of the outbreak of famines? Do you think that the Britishers were sensitive towards the plight of the starving Indians?
Famines were a recurrent feature of the Indian economy in the pre-independence period. Famines in India resulted in more than 60 million deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The last major famine was the Bengal famine of 1943. Some of the causes of outbreaks of famine were:
(i) In the pre-independent period, Indian agriculture was heavily dependent on monsoon. A bad monsoon led to the outbreak of famine.
(ii) Amartya sen found that the famines during British rule were not due to lack of food but due to inequalities in the distribution of food.
(iii) Tirthankar Roy suggests that the famines in the British era were due to environmental factors inherent in Indian ecology.
I do not believe that the Britishers were sensitive to the plight of the starving Indians. No policies or programmes were initiated by the government to reduce the price of food products or to provide relief of any kind.
Famines were a recurrent feature of the Indian economy in the pre-independence period. Famines in India resulted in more than 60 million deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The last major famine was the Bengal famine of 1943. Some of the causes of outbreaks of famine were:
(i) In the pre-independent period, Indian agriculture was heavily dependent on monsoon. A bad monsoon led to the outbreak of famine.
(ii) Amartya sen found that the famines during British rule were not due to lack of food but due to inequalities in the distribution of food.
(iii) Tirthankar Roy suggests that the famines in the British era were due to environmental factors inherent in Indian ecology.
I do not believe that the Britishers were sensitive to the plight of the starving Indians. No policies or programmes were initiated by the government to reduce the price of food products or to provide relief of any kind.
