The Bengal Famine of 1770

Introduction

The Bengal Famine of 1770 was one of the horrific events that took place between 1769 and 1773. The absurd increase in the Diwani Rights is considered one of the major reasons for this famine, which killed nearly 10 million people. This catastrophic event also touched the boundaries of Assam, Bangladesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha.

The losses occurring due to this famine took a long time to recover. Certain environmental causes like drought and monsoon failure also led to this horrifying disaster. The destruction happened during the British East India company ruling.

The Bengal Famine of 1770

There’s nothing worse than a bad history replaying in front of us. And woefully, this is what happened, causing a big blow to the Bengal in the form of famine in1770.

The year 1770 in the Bengali calendar stands to be 1176 and that is why it is generally called Chhiattor-er Monnontor.

There were numerous reasons that led to this devastating incident but the primary reasons were the rice crop failure in 1768, insufficient rainfall in the previous years that led to the crop failure, peasants moving out to other places due to oppression and dissatisfying conditions of the soil, and on the top of everything else there was a smallpox epidemic.

It is considered to be one of the most devastating famines in the history of India as an estimated figure of 10 million people are said to have died due to this mayhem. The number is much bigger than that of the 1630 Gujarat famine or another famine taking place in Bengal, the Bengal famine of 1943.

The Bengal Famine of 1770: Overview

The great Bengal famine of 1770 has scarred the history of Bengal and that of India. It affected mainly the lower parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Bihar, which then used to be a part of Bengal. The famine wiped away one-third of the population of these places, with a death count of nearly 10 million. After the famine occurred it triggered other epidemics, affecting the regions of Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bangladesh.

The whole region was under the rule of the British East India Company. There were many natural causes that led to this disaster, like crop failure, lack of rainfall, and a smallpox epidemic. Apart from these reasons, the absurd tax policies of the British East India Company were also responsible for the migration of the peasants to other states which led to the lack of food production leading to the famine.

The Bengal Famine of 1770: Causes

Image 1: Major causes of The Bengal Famine of 1770

There were a lot of political and environmental reasons that led to this Famine, they were as follows −

• Tax policies − The policy of the Mughals was simple, 10% to 15% of the total cash harvest were supposed to be handed over to the emperor by the peasants. This whole tribute went to the treasury of the Mughals. Thus, even if the peasants faced a partial crop failure they would still have some stock left after they had paid the ruler.

• Treaty of Allahabad − Things then took a turn in 1765, as The British East India Company and Shah Alam II signed the Treaty of Allahabad, and with it, the East India Company was now responsible for collecting the tax. The tributes, also called the Diwani Rights were now increased to 50%. This absurd rise definitely put a strain on the peasants.

• Shortage of Crops − The farmers who foresaw the coming natural disasters had stored their produce but the new tax policy forbade them to do so. The Britishers even forcefully made the farmers produce cash crops like poppy and indigo for their own benefits of importing them. This obviously led to the lack of grains and a shortage of food for the common people. A minor shortage of crops arose in 1768 but the situation was not considered alarming.

• Environmental Causes − The year 1769 saw a severe monsoon failure or in other words a typical lack of rainfall which led to a frustrating situation of drought. The Crop failure was now at its peak and death due to starvation started to occur. The new Diwani Rights made situations a lot worse than it already was.

• Epidemic and other Diseases − A smallpox epidemic arose in the summer of 1768, due to a lack of proper medical facilities back then.

The Bengal Famine of 1770: Results

The famine led to devastating and horrifying consequences that took a lot of time to heal, they are hereby given below −

• One-third of the population of the affected area already perished when the situation was changing with a good amount of rainfall.

• There was depopulation in certain regions whereas some of the villages had significantly overgrown. This uneven distribution of population caused various kinds of troubles.

• Agricultural lands turned into jungles and the menace of outlaws like thugee or dacoits increased significantly.

• Even if the company saw a rise in their profit they were suffering financially. This made them manipulate the Parliament to pass the Tea Act in 1773.

Conclusion

The Great Bengal Famine of 1770 occurred in Bengal and parts of Bihar but the losses were dealt with by the whole of India. Apart from British oppression due to the tax policies there were other environmental causes that led to this. The summer of 1770 when deaths due to starvation had already started saw the arrival of the monsoon. Surprisingly it didn't change the situation but rather worsened it. A lot of unknown and widespread diseases came along with the monsoon and the death toll rose. The results of this famine were horrifying as the population in certain villages rose significantly, whereas some places were as good as dead.

FAQs

Q1.What were the other great famines of India?

Ans.The two other great famines that took place in India were the 1630 Gujarat famine and the Bengal famine of 1943. The death tolls of these two famines though were nothing against the Great Bengal Famine of 1770.

Q2.What did the British East India Company do to control the situation?

Ans.The Company showed no empathy for this situation and turned its eyes on this matter. They were way too busy looking after their import business which saw a huge rise in profit.