Famines under British rule (Bengal 1770, 1943; Madras, Bihar)

Story hook

It is 1770, the Chhiyattorer Manvantar ("Famine of '76" — Bengali year 1176). In Bengal-Bihar, ~10 million people — about one-third of the population — die from starvation and famine-related disease. The East India Company continues to extract land revenue throughout. Warren Hastings's reform agenda partly begins because the Bengal Famine 1770 became Britain's first colonial atrocity publicly debated in Parliament.

Two centuries later, in 1943, Bengal Famine again kills ~2-3 million while WWII transport priorities + scorched- earth "denial policies" + colonial mismanagement combine. Amartya Sen's "Poverty + Famines" (1981) — Nobel-prize- winning analysis — argues that 1943 was caused by entitlement failure, not absolute food shortage.

For UPSC, British-era famines are a recurring GS-I + GS-II question stem — and a powerful Mains-Essay theme.

Why this matters for UPSC

For UPSC:

• Prelims: Major famines + years + death tolls + Famine Commissions; relation to revenue policy + railway expansion; ICAR + Indian Famine Code.
• Mains GS-I + GS-II: Colonial economic critique; "Drain of Wealth"; Amartya Sen's entitlement failure framework; comparison with independent India's food security.
• Interview: Why no famine in India post-1947? + NFSA 2013 significance.