Abstract
This study is based on an interesting debate between the British authorities and the Indian nationalists over the issues of frequent famines during the colonial period in India. The British officials largely emphasised the role of deficient rainfall behind the occurrence of famines. But the Indian nationalists saw these famines as an impact of the colonial policies like unequal redistribution of the food-grains available in the local markets as a trade item which led to the rise in prices of food grains and made it beyond the reach of the masses. In the nationalist approach, the man-made scarcity of food grains and the price rise of the same were the main reasons behind the famines. However, some British surveyors argued that the unplanned destruction and conservation of the forests for the capital accumulation not only led to irregular rainfall pattern which gradually affected agricultural output but also deprived the local masses from the benefits of forests especially during the famine period. Thus, the present article takes up some of the issues like rainfall pattern, deforestation, food grain production and grain trade to understand the occurrence of famines in the region of Awadh soon after the direct British rule over India since 1858, mainly using the official data of nineteenth century along with the secondary works.
Since 1860s, relation of famine with climate change has been adequately discussed in the official files of the Revenue and Agriculture Department of British Government in India. Particularly, the issue of uneven rainfall causing famines and the crisis of food grains in the market had become a vital issue in the colonial discourse. In Awadh (a Mughal province before 1722 AD), British survey reports saw this climate change as repercussion of deliberate cutting down of large mass of forest for cultivation by the Provincial Governments. Even, we see secondary research works have focussed on the possibilities of climate induced famines. It has been now a well-researched subject that forests are a helping force for achieving healthy rainfall pattern in a region. Therefore, the fact that the extinction of forests have some relation with the rainfall issues has to be analysed in the historical perspective. The necessary point which needs emphasis here is that since time immemorial human society had persistently struggled to expand their agrarian fields into the forested areas for existence. Subsequently, during the colonial times, the human versus nature struggle for existence seem to have shifted towards human versus human struggle for superior existence under the nationalist umbrella of European powers. The subcontinent of India had also become a major playground for such a humanistic endeavour to run behind the unending lust for capital accumulation, especially on the ready pitch of agrarian fields and on the new fields created at the cost of forests.
However, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the nationalist leaders raised their voice against the unjust grain export from the local markets of a region either for trade or for supply to grain deprived areas. The lack of enough stock of a particular food grain due to trade led to its shortage when scanty rainfall used to affect the production of such grains. Also, since 1860s, the official data of food grain production and its trading pattern in Awadh promotes an interesting case study to explore the paradigm of natural versus man-made disasters like famine in the region during the second half of the nineteenth century.
Revisiting the Famines in Historiography
One of the early comprehensive work on the famines in India was done by B. M. Bhatia. Bhatia, while systematically discussing the famines since 1860s in India have raised some vital issues concerning occurrence of famines in India. His work compiled the data of year to year crop failure, rainfall issues and famines in different administrative divisions of India. He tried to highlight a very important issue of why developed countries do not face issues of famine? In fact, he made a fundamental discussion on the issue of the availability of food, which according to him might not be a problem most of the time in an age of advanced transportation system but it remained beyond the reach of poor classes at the time of scarcities in an area. 1 These observations leads to an interesting inquiry into the study of relation of famine with crop failure due to rainfall issues and the possibilities of accessibility of food grains to all the sections of society.
An analytical study of the agrarian economy and the price movement in the agricultural products during the colonial period in India has been done in the Dharma Kumar and Tapan Raychaudhuri edited, The Cambridge Economic History of India, c. 1757–1970 (hereafter, CEHI), vol. 2. The volume categorised its study into four broad divisions like ‘north India’, ‘eastern India’, ‘western India’, and ‘south India’. But this broader classification led editors to submit that their ‘regional coverage is uneven and in particular the native states have perhaps been inadequately discussed’. 2 CEHI, discussed the economic activities between 1860 and 1947 in a positive light. According to the study, during the period, the market activity in India have substantially changed. The change was good as the ‘total isolation of local markets gradually disappeared’. 3 The study further saw the rising network between the markets across the sub-continent as a result of improvement in the inland transport perhaps indicating towards the introduction of railways as boon to the Indian transport system.
Irfan Habib, in his highly engaging work entitled Essays in Indian History, encouraged a revisit to the understanding of the several aspects of re-moulding of pre-modern economy by colonial rulers in India to understand the problems of poverty and severe famines during the colonial period. His book questions the analytical framework of CEHI, where the modern Indian History has been studied without perceiving the concept of colonialism. 4 He also raised the concern for implicitly demolishing nationalist criticism for the exploitation and impoverishment under colonial rule in India by CEHI. 5 Further, Irfan Habib, sees the introduction of railways as a loss to the local grain markets rather than a boon as it used to take away supplies of grain for other markets creating scarcities and famines in a grain deprived region. 6
Michael H. Fisher, though views the frequent droughts since 1860s to early twentieth century in India as El Nino related droughts (a climatic condition leading to scanty rainfall), but is of the opinion that the drought used to get intensified by the government policies. According to him, railways ‘extracted grains from drought-stricken impoverished regions for shipment to wealthier cities or international markets’. 7
There are also some region based works on famines highlighting the issues of colonial policies towards famine affected areas. Two studies were published in the Proceedings of Indian History Congress in 2017. One study is by Suhail-ul Rehman Lone, in a paper entitled, ‘Famine in Late Nineteenth Century Kashmir: State Engineered or a Natural Calamity?’, and another study is by Laxman D. Satya, in a paper entitled, ‘The Political Economy of Famines in 19th Century. A Case Study of Berar. Deccan in a Comprehensive Perspective’. These works have taken up the case studies of two extremes of India that is Kashmir in north and Berar in south. The author of both the studies highlighted the local issues which indicates that the famines during the colonial period were state-created phenomena. Suhail-ul Rehman Lone, highlighted the state monopoly of rice in Kashmir and the state used to take its share of the produce in kind to be stored away in granaries and left the people without any food reserves. 8 During the famines, the private traders sold grain at prices as nine to twelve times the government price although the grain was not wholly out of stock but it was inaccessible to the poorer classes. 9 Satya also presented his findings against the natural causes behind the famines. According to him, the problem of food shortages in Berar Deccan was not much associated with the production but was related to grain exports, prices and wages. 10
Similar studies have also been highlighted by Bhatia. In the Madras presidency, continuous state of distress due to drought from 1875 to 1878, aggravated famine conditions which initially seem to be caused by the failure of monsoon. But later on, colonial government submitted that the famine situation arrived due to the low stock of grain and high prices of food. The provincial government, justified its policies for the management during the famine period. Government submitted that as they suspected food stocks were too less to meet the usual demand and rise in prices of food grains due to holding of grains by the local merchants and dealers for future gains, 30,000 tons of grain were reserved by the government also. 11 Thus, the policy of reserving food items converted drought into famine.
It is also quite interesting to see that the government noticed availability of grains at cheaper rates despite the crop failure in the scarcity of Bengal during 1884–1885. The government had observed that the distress was confined to a limited area readily accessible by railways. 12 However, Bhatia saw the availability of the considerable stock of food grains during the distress of 1884–1885 in Bengal as a result of fall in exports of food grains. 13
Vinita Damodaran had taken up a case study of the Chotanagpur famine of 1897 to explore the links between the ecological changes, famine and poverty of tribal forest communities. She laid emphasis on the fact that in the nineteenth century many Indian communities were affected due to the establishment of railways and the investment of private capital to extract natural resources from the rural areas in the form of timber, and so on. 14 These resources like timber, wild fruits, fishing, hunting and gathering were vital for the subsistence of tribal communities but the entry of railways from the three sides in Chotanagpur destroyed a vast stretch of jungles in the area. 15 Above all, in the background of pressure on the forest economy of the tribal people, Vinita Damodaran tried to show how the sustainable economy of the forest tribes became vulnerable to the exploitation of landlords, money lenders and private investors due to the deforestation. 16 According to her, ecological background of the famine of 1897 in Chotanagpur highlights the sharp correlation between the ecological degradation, forest reservation and the onset of famine conditions. 17
The study of David Hardiman sees the starvation of peasants during the time of crop failure a result of diversion of bulk of food supply towards landlords, state officials and merchant usurers. 18 According to him as most peasants used to be in the condition of perpetual indebtedness, where dearth and usury were two sides of the one coin for the peasants as dearth created the need to borrow and high debt-repayment ensured that ‘dearth was never far away and famine always a possibility’. 19
However, William I. Tory, in early 1980s critically evaluated various academic research works related to famines. According to his analysis, climatic theories and food supply explanations behind famines do not carry much support from the scholars. 20 Tory clearly states, ‘Famines are essentially man-made catastrophes sometimes triggered by climatic perturbations’. 21 To summarise, Tory tried to emphasise that the biggest result from the famine research can be achieved through ‘regional and micro-ethnography of famine vulnerability and famine occurrence’. 22
Thus, in the above background, the present article is an addition to the region specific studies to understand some less explored aspects related to famines during the second half of the nineteenth century. Existing historiography on climatic factors and British commercial policies explores multiple dimension of colonialism. Here, the basic objective is to situate circumstances of famine in the region of Awadh during colonial period.
Famines in Awadh and Colonial Perceptions
In the second half of the nineteenth century, different regions of India including Awadh faced continuous phases of famines. To address the issue of famine and the state of agriculture in India, J. A. Voelcker, was appointed as an Agriculture Chemist in India. His report entitled Improvement of Indian Agriculture was published in 1893. He devoted two chapters on the issues of climate and wood. He intend to illustrate a natural remedy to mitigate water crisis for agriculture. He showed direct and essential dependence of agriculture on forests. One of the significant dependence according to him was that the forests helps in regularising the rainfall for greater number of days in a particular area. 23 Voelcker’s report strongly indicated towards the considerable loss of forests which eventually led to less rainfall and low grain production. Consequently famines used to get triggered by already existing scarcity of water in drier areas and the lack of means of irrigation.
However, on the issue of export of grains, he explained that the subject of the export trade in wheat has been debated, whether to restrict export of grain in order to meet the distress caused by famine. Voelcker claimed that since the issue of export of grain has been efficiently discussed at length by the British authorities, it is not required for him to say more. He preferred to emphasise the general conclusion, which according to him was ‘what is exported is practically the overplus, often specially grown for the purpose of export, and that if it did not pay the raiyat to export it he would soon give up growing it for this purpose’. 24
Voelcker’s opinion on the grain trade issue appeared nothing different from the colonial policymakers. While supporting the export of grains like wheat, he clearly stated ‘in time of scarcity, the price of wheat would rise in India along with that of other food grains, and it would then pay better to keep the wheat in the country than to export it’. 25 Also, according to him the amount of wheat exported was only about 1% of the total wheat grains produced and only one-tenth of the total wheat crop. 26
Voelcker, even appreciated railways for greatly helping in export, preventing fluctuation of prices in different areas and ensuring availability of food to the districts facing scarcities and famines. 27
In the region of Awadh, it seems, not only due to the ever increasing demographic pressure but also due to the forest policy adopted after the revolt of 1857 (since hereafter, Britain took the charge of direct rule over India) that the massive expansion of agriculture into the forest zone took place in the southern Awadh. Simultaneously, due to the rising demand for the valuable timber trade and other minor forest produce sale, British authorities reserved a strip of forests in Himalayan terai region of northern Awadh. The rapid extinction and conservation of forests created difficulties for the agricultural and pastoral classes not only for its long term impact on rainfall as Voelcker suggested but also to use forests as per villagers’ traditional requirements like cattle grazing, bamboo and dependence on wild products like gular, Mahua and honey, and so on. The subsistence of rural classes became more vulnerable during those years facing scarcities of staple crops in the market and rise in the available food grain prices.
However, the issue of less rainfall and recurrent famines in British provinces led to a debate between the Indian nationalist and the authorities of British regime. British officers blamed deficient rainfall largely behind the famines, but the nationalist like Dadabhai Naoroji 28 hinted some inherent problems related to agricultural production, its consumption and its trade pattern which led to the constant rise in the food prices and consistent famine situation for the poor classes.
During 1830s, Donald Butter, while reporting the topography of southern Awadh hinted at great change in climate owing to large scale destruction of old forests belts in Awadh. Though Butter gave description of some forests belts under the control of local landed magnets but still according to him, deforestation gradually diminished rainfall, decreased agrarian production and eventually resulted into the price rise of food items. 29 Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh 30 discuss in detail rainfall issues bringing scarcities and famines in the districts of Awadh. However, the chapters dealing with Agriculture and famine in the Gazetteer also describes how the extension of railway network in the region used to take out grain supplies to other provinces leaving grain only for the peasants’ subsistence and marginal stock in the market. Consequently, when such districts were hit by the famine and scarcities, poor classes suffered from starvation and death due to price rise. Voelcker highlighted a report of Famine Commission which propounded that famines in the British India were the ‘result of one cause alone, viz, failure of rainfall’. 31
The British Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce in 1870s and the Department of Revenue and Agriculture in 1890s have given month wise details of scanty rainfalls in the region affected by the scarcity in Awadh assuming it to be the main cause behind the distress. Following content in the files of these departments would give better insight about the mindset of the colonial administration towards the famines. In a letter from the Commissioner Fyzabad Division to the Secy to the Chief Commissioner of Oudh, 1874, it has been informed that a ruinous situation has emerged by the succession of bad harvests which exhausted food stocks in Faizabad and Gonda regions. Letter stated that it happened as the rainfall was much below the average and insufficient. Mr Maconochie, the Deputy Commissioner of Gonda, expressed that, ‘unless we have good and early winter rains, the distress in the district would be very great indeed’. 32 In a letter dated, 29 November 1899, it was stated that as during the months of October and November, no rain at all fell in the Agra, Allahabad and Lucknow division, rice crop suffered, and was practically ruined in places where irrigation was impossible. 33
As we closely examine the above mentioned sources, it would be relevant to discuss the humane and scientific understanding of famines in general.
Famines in India have often turned into disasters and it had been observed that in the period of rainfall deficiency, famine conditions have mostly man made influence on it. Bhatia aroused a humanistic enquiry by highlighting a historical observation that famine never affected the rich nations or the richer sections of poor nations. He noted that before the Industrial revolution in Europe, no part of the world was able to get rid of the famine problems but the famines almost disappeared from Europe after 1850.
34
Also, according to Bhatia, in modern era there is a radical change both in the meaning and nature of the famine problems.
35
He defined the changed dimension of the famine problem,
instead of absolute want, famine, under modern conditions, has come to signify an abrupt and sharp rise in food prices which renders food beyond the reach of the poor who suffer starvation. In a modern famine, food may be available at all times in the market but prices are so high that the poor people cannot purchase it.
36
In the colonial period, policies were framed to combat acute scarcities and deaths due to starvation and were also reported to be implemented to a considerable extent. But the famine of the Province of Bengal in 1943 exposed the level of government preparedness for the famine problems in its colonies like India.
The final report of the Famine Inquiry Commission on Bengal famine of 1943 (published in 1945), raised some fundamental questions on Indian economy and social conditions. The conclusion of the report put the responsibility of recurrent famines on the Indian mind set and appealed for ‘the need for a new spirit’. 37 The commission accepted that India did not lack the material resources necessary for advancement and prosperity but also expressed its serious concern that poverty and hunger had been too often accepted as part of the nature of things where the slum conditions in the rural area gave rise to hopelessness. 38
It would be also interesting to notice here, that in the post independent India, the term famine officially has been replaced by the term drought. 39 So, it is also important to look into the official and social meaning of the terms like ‘famine’ and ‘drought’. Unlike other disasters, the phenomenon of drought and famine is perhaps quite confusing. Technically drought is a phenomenon of lack of rainfall, but this concept of drought has very often invited controversies. It is difficult to quantify what should be the threshold value of rainfall which sets-in drought in the region. Different disciplines have different threshold to define drought which varies from region to region. Even in agriculture where drought impact is most visible, one cannot quantify the threshold. This is because different crops need different amount of rainfall for their growth and maturity. 40
A Meteorological study suggests relationship between the drought and famine in the following way;
there is a wrong perception generally, to blame drought as a cause of famine. The truth is famine is the result of extreme food shortage in an area (which may or may not have had deficient rainfall) when due to lack of efficient transport infrastructure, it is not possible to timely rush food grains from food-surplus area to those facing the shortage. Drought need not precipitate a famine situation and historical records have shown that famines have occurred in the absence of drought. Droughts by themselves have seldom led to famines (Sen 1981; Watts 1983; Torry 1984). The best example that can be cited in this regard is that of 1943, when Bengal faced famine, though the monsoon rainfall in that year was 103.7% of its long term normal.
41
However, the drought is broadly categorised into three categories, Meteorological drought, Hydrological drought and Agricultural drought. Agricultural drought, generally, directly or indirectly gets influenced by the meteorological and hydrological droughts but it turns into disaster for rural classes when social and economic systems are not based on the fair distribution of resources. Then the governments are left with the option of providing only immediate relief to the sufferers.
To discuss the characteristics of famine issues during the colonial era in Awadh, one can start with the account of Donald Butter who surveyed the southern districts of Awadh and compiled his report in 1838. According to his report, ‘the annual fall of rain in Awadh has, within the last thirty years, become extremely irregular, varying from 70 to 30 inches in amount and from four to two months in duration; but is on an average of five or six years, steadily decreasing’. 42 Butter saw the direct implication of gradual falling off rain fall on decreasing agricultural produce which according to him was observable to every man who had lived 40 years in Awadh. 43 Butter termed these changes as ‘great change in the climate’ that had affected the agriculture of Awadh. 44
Butter gave a comparative assessment of the produce of crops in 1838 since former times. He estimated Kharif crop produce in a good year was 15 mans which was 20 mans in earlier times. 45 Similarly, rabi crop estimated to be 14 or 15 mans in a good year which was formerly 20–25 mans. 46 Butter, while summarising the deteriorating state of Agriculture in Awadh, proposed a theory that the destruction of forests and the lack of plantations had adversely affected Agriculture in the region. 47
After Butter’s assessment of valuable forests in southern Awadh, W. H. Sleeman, a British resident at Lucknow took a journey during 1849–1850 through the kingdom of Awadh, from the southern Awadh to the northern terai region of Awadh. In his journey, he computed 886.5 square miles of forests mainly in the possession of local zamindars. 48 But, after the uprising of 1857 in Awadh, agriculture and forest statistics of British official records never showed any forests in the tract shown as private and well preserved forests of zamindars by Butter and Sleeman. Thereafter in Awadh, forests got confined as Government Reserve Forests in Himalayan terai region of the modern districts of Kheri, Gonda and Bahraich. The Forest statistics of the Department of Agriculture, Revenue and Commerce, in 1877 estimated 824 square miles of forests in the above mentioned districts of Himalayan terai region. 49 No forests were accounted in other districts of Awadh. In the year 1858, revised rules for the guidance of the superintendent of forests in Awadh, declared that such tracts of forests not worth preserving and are not required for the formation of plantations will be assigned in clearing leases by the district officers. 50 Further, the Chief Commissioner of Awadh was also of the opinion that it was no use cutting down the jungle faster unless the land could be cultivated with the same pace. 51 Thus, probably by 1860, the fear psychosis of the revolt of 1857 inside Britisher’s mind deliberately led to the rapid clearance of Jungle land along with the cultivation of the same without delay in Awadh.
The Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh, compiled in 1877, not only highlighted rainfall issues behind the shortage of grains and the occurrence of famine but at the same time also discussed certain facts which invites discussion on the issues of shortage of grain in a famine hit area due to other reasons as well. In the district wise data provided by the Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh in 1877, both causes and impact of famines were expressed as a calamity of serious nature. For the present study, district wise major issues of famine and scarcities are taken mainly from the Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh, 1877 and H. R. Nevill’s District Gazetteers. The similar conditions of famine in different districts during the same time are not repeated in the following analysis. So, the few districts of Awadh are not covered to avoid repetitions.
First Phase of Scarcities and Famines (1860–1875)
Alphabetically, Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh, 1877, first took up the district of Bahraich but it suggested to consider the districts of Gonda-Bahraich in Awadh as one. In the districts, the years 1868 and 1873 were reported as drought years which preceded the scarcities of 1869 and 1874, respectively. 52 It was observed that both scarcities had common features. 53 In both years there was no rain from about September to January or February of the ensuing year. 54 In both the cases it was assumed that the loss was aggravated by the failure of the main monsoon. 55 In 1868, the rabi crops mostly suffered and in 1873, the Kharif crops were sparsely sown because of the late coming and early closing of rains. 56
However, it has also been assessed that there were other factors responsible for the famine in the district. In Bahraich, the issue of price rise was observed to be closely connected with that of famine and scarcity and it was suggested to be treated together. 57 During the scarcity of 1874, it has been reported that from the southern portion of the Gonda-Bahraich region an immense export of staple crops was going on from every ghat on the river Ghagra and by country carts to Colonelganj and Nawabganj. 58 At the same time, northern portion of Gonda-Bahraich were facing scarcity, although as per official reports there were good roads and rivers connecting the exporting and the starving portion of the district. 59 The starving parganas were Balrampur, Utraula and Nanpara. 60 Here, it would be interesting to see the complications of relationship between the grain export, grain prices and scarcity of staple food grains. According to official estimate, when wheat in 1869 was 8 sers a rupee, and in 1865 and 1861, 10 sers a rupee, there was no famine but in 1874, there was a partial famine when wheat was 14 sers a rupee. 61 Therefore, comparatively high prices in one year did not indicate scarcity. Also, at one hand, the high prices of local towns and parganas like Balrampur and Nanpara could not arouse demand for grain elsewhere but on the other hand at any rate until 1874, there was exportation of grains to a large extent from Nanpara to districts where the current rates were not higher, or even lower, than in Nanpara. 62
Furthermore, the authorities have observed that during the famine there was no unusual demand for the grain, as it was beyond the means of purchase of the masses. 63 The poor classes lived on the wild fruit of the corolla of the mahua, the calyx of the semal or cotton tree in Gonda-Bahraich. 64 As the people had no money and employment, so they did not compete for the stores remaining. 65
Another principle was found to be at work to affect the price rise. Since, there were so many crops that there was always a chance or a probability of one crop or other turning out well. 66 The drought for rice was good season for maize. 67 If any grain dealer planned for the rising rates, he might have been disappointed by the new harvest coming into the market. 68 Also, grain preferred to be sent to a mart where there was not only a high price, but also plenty of money causing an effectual demand. 69
Undoubtedly, it was felt that the famine occurred due to different reasons but as far as the high prices of food grains was concerned, it was largely assumed to be caused by its scarcity elsewhere. Due to succeeding failure of rabi (spring) and kharif (autumn) crop, there was a large export of kharif grain to pay rent or revenue, thereby creating conditions for famine. 70 The only phenomena proposed with some clarity to be at work behind famines in the district of Bahraich was that when the cheapest grain commonly sold in the market used to reach the price of 20 to 17 sers for the rupee, then it was considered to be a testing time for the government that whether the people had money to buy at those rates. 71
In the above background, it is important to see the trade pattern in the region of Gonda-Bahraich. In Colonelganj (district Gonda), the trade was mostly occupied in the export of grain including chief staples like rice, Indian corn, and oil seeds, mustard or alsi. 72 Whereas the import trade was reported to be insignificant. 73
In Balrampur region of district Bahraich, Lahi, a type of mustard used for making oil was largely raised for exportation. Most probably before British occupation over Balrampur, the town of Balrampur was the centre of a considerable trade with Nepal and the Nepaleese used to come down in large numbers to barter the products of their hills like gold, spices and horses with the rice and cotton cloths of the plains. 74 In the late nineteenth century, the chief trade was through Nawabganj with Bengal, where rice and oilseeds were exchanged for salt, clothes and coined silver. 75 Moreover, the fine cultivation of Gonda consisted of garden crops like Paan, Tobacco, Safflower, Poppy and Sugarcane. 76 Also, Gonda was the great opium-producing district of Awadh. 77
Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh, 1877, listed eight parganas in Bahraich, where markets were held either daily or at selected days. 78 It was clearly specified before the list that here commodities were sold mainly for local consumption only except grain which was brought for exportation. 79 In parganas Hisampur and Nanpara, there were market towns like Colonelganj, Khaira bazar, Shiupur, Burui and Katghar where large grain bargains were made and the grain used to be sent through river Ghagra. 80
Above all, the prices of food grains certainly would have major role to play in the level of existence of agrarian classes. If the prices of main food grains within a decade, from 1861 to 1870 for each district under present study is analysed, it may help in a better understanding of famine situations and scarcities in a particular area.
The figures given in Table 1 suggests remarkable rise in price of Barley and Juar, which was considered as staple diet of lower classes. The prices of wheat and gram also appear to be challenging for the purchasing capacity of the ordinary people.
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in Bahraich District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
Like Bahraich, Table 2 suggests in Gonda also the rise in prices of Barley and Juar were at extreme.
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in Gonda District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
In the district of Barabanki, floods were also disastrous like drought. 81 As we know, in the drought situation, labour demand or employment gets created for irrigation works but floods put a stop to all agricultural operations. 82 As per price statistics, in 1871–1872, floods raised the price of wheat to an average of 24 and 18 sers per rupee respectively, but in 1873, drought had raised it to 15 sers per rupee. Also, in the late nineteenth century, owing to the establishment of railway line, a large scale export and import of food items were taking place at Barabanki. The railway line for about 73 miles with a single line of rails was laid down in the district. Bahramghat was the main station for the goods traffic in Barabanki. According to Railway’s table of returns in 1873 at Bahramghat station—among food items, 4,132 maunds of ghi, 504 maunds of rice and 3,242 maunds of juar grain was exported. Also, there was a large trade over the boat of bridge at Bahramghat, consisting of rice, other food seeds and oil seeds, and so on. The tabulation of the income from the receipts of the passage duties in the fifteen years, from 1859 to 1874, estimated that in the previous eight years, the average receipts have been above ₹16,000, which was taken as an indication of the increase of trade. 83
In Barabanki, famine was indicated as approaching whenever the barley was at 18 sers for the Rupee for more than a month. 84 In 1870, average price of Barley at 16.5 sers per Rupee, was indicating famine like situation in Barabanki. In Comparison to grain price in Gonda-Bahraich, the prices of grains listed in Table 3 were much higher probably owing to the establishment of Railway network in Barabanki along with already flourishing trade through river.
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in Barabanki District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
In the district of Faizabad, the staple crops were wheat and rice. 85 They were the only staples which were steadily consumed throughout the year. From September to March, wheat was mostly sold to better income classes but other grains such as barley, masur, peas, gram were not available in village market and were not articles of ordinary consumption. 86 In a year, when there used to be low production, or there had been large exportation, these crops were exhausted in five or six months by the end of January or February which led to considerable scarcity in the market. The cultivation of wheat for export was promoted to pay government revenues. 87 But as the supply of other local grains were not able to meet the demands, hence the scarcity of indigenous grains remained in the second cropping year from March to September also. Consequently, in the year 1866, a year of inferior harvest and good exportation, Barley on 5 May, was 22 sers per Rupee but after two months (by 5 July) it rose to 15 sers per rupee. Peas during the same time rose from roughly 21 sers per Rupee to 15 sers per Rupee but wheat had only risen from 15 sers to 13. 88
The scarcities of 1869 and 1874 in Faizabad were reported to be rain driven. Though, it was also notified that the entire rainfall was not scanty. 89 The distribution of rainfall was uneven as there was no rain during the individual months in which it was needed for agricultural purposes. While analysing the famines of Faizabad, British authorities categorised famines into two categories; ‘one of food, another of the means to purchase food’. 90 Both were found to be the result of scanty supply of indigenous food-grains, aggravated by exportation and by hoarding in some cases. 91 The main food items for export from Faizabad included wheat, rice and maize which was increased by the scarcity in Bengal. 92
As we analyse the figures in Tables 4 and 5, we find that in the same food grain, export and import both were taking place. As both the years 1872 and 1873 taken in the tables were the years of scarcity, it is quite interesting to see that the exported grains were reverted back by the import of the same food item. It was a well-known fact that during 1837 in Faizabad, without any famine, food reached 2 or 3 times its ordinary price as a result of large exportation of grains but it was also interesting to see that a large quantity of grain was carried back to Awadh by the traders who imported grain from that province after the famine stricken districts of the North-Western Provinces had been supplied from the more eastern districts and Bengal. 93
The Amount of Imported and Exported Food Items of one Month only from Faizabad District
The Comparative Analysis of the Quantity (in Maunds) and the Value (in Rupees) of Exported and Imported Items for 2 Years, 1872 and 1873
The prices given in Table 6 are again indicating the presence of railway line and trade through river at Faizabad. According to official statement, it was expected that the weather and exportations used to leave very small stock of kharif harvests in Faizabad. 94 The consistent high price of the rice is perhaps indication of the same.
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in Faizabad District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
Lucknow, a flourishing city before the annexation of Awadh also witnessed a high rise in prices of food grains after the annexation of Awadh in 1856. 95 Infact, the city of Lucknow declined in population after the annexation. It was expected that by 1870s, Lucknow might receive supply of grains through the railways from larger areas and as the population had also fallen off, the prices of food grains was expected to come down. But the intrinsic value of grain like wheat compared to money had risen much more than 20% within 15 years from 1835 to 1870. 96
However, Lucknow felt the impact of scarcities of 1837, 1861, 1865–1866, 1869 and 1873 which were officially reported to be triggered both by the drought and economic reasons. According to sources, in 1837, there was drought but there was no failure of crops. The causes of distress were immigration of people and exportation of grain. 97 Consequently, exportation was prohibited and exporters were punished. 98 Importers were rewarded with dresses of honour. 99 In 1860–1861, also the crop was good, but enormous quantities were exported by land and water to the North-Western Provinces. As a result, rise in prices and distress affected the region of Lucknow. 100
Also in Lucknow, owing to Railways, large amount of grains went out for exports thereby negatively affecting the ratio of demand and supply. According to the Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh, 1877, the real rise of prices in Lucknow was much higher than what appears from the given figures in Table 7. 101
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in the Lucknow District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
In the district of Sitapur, official account highlights that there have been a great number of scarcities notably since annexation. An official source accounted that in 1860–1861, there was no scarcity although the price of grain rose, owing to the large exports of grain made by the traders in the province to the North-West. 102 In 1865, 1869, and in 1873, the same phenomenon took place. 103
In Sitapur, unlike Lucknow and Barabanki, grain prices as represented in Table 8 were still lower but grain trade played effective role in causing scarcities in the region.
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in the Sitapur District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
Generally, the prices were reported to be high in Unao in comparison to other towns of Awadh. 104 This was because of being located in the neighbourhood of the large flourishing market at Kanpur and proximity to the river Ganges, a trade channel existed through which grain was transported to Allahabad and Patna. In 1861, 1865, 1869 and 1874, Unao market faced high prices leading to considerable distress. 105 Officially, frequent drought and floods were considered to be the principal agent in causing the bad harvests which led to the calamity. According to one official estimate of famines of Unao, the scarcity of 1869 was real, but in 1873 and 1874, it was man-made as the grain was at very high rates owing to bad harvest and the export to Bengal. 106
Table 9 indicates the average grain prices within a decade from 1861 to 1870 were higher in Unao in comparison to other districts. It was also assessed that prices were rising in Unao with considerable rapidity because of its close proximity with commercial town of Kanpur, where there was great demand for labour, wages were high and had a good market for food grains. 107
The Details of Main Food Grains and Prices in the Unao District for the Ten Years, 1861–1870 (Price Given in the Unit of a Ser per Rupee)
Second Phase of Scarcities and Famines (1875 to 1899)
In the second phase, some more phenomena behind the spreading of the famine conditions from one area to other were observed by the British authorities. In 1875, during the great scarcity in Bengal, distress was felt in Bahraich and Gonda. 108 In 1877, a serious failure of crops affected the greater part of Awadh. 109 According to H. R. Nevill, ‘the famine of 1877 was more serious in that it was more general’. 110 In Lucknow, there was great distress including heavy mortality especially in Mohanganj tehsil. 111 The cattle too suffered terribly in August and September of 1877. 112 During this period, the Kharif was almost a total failure. Also, there was no grass and fodder was sold at exorbitant prices. 113
In 1880, there was again drought and famine in some districts. In Lucknow, rice crop was reported to be almost a total failure. 114 The water level sank and all the Jhils in the district ran dry. 115 The chief sufferers were the agricultural classes which compelled the government to give large suspensions of revenue. 116
Since 1881, there seems to be no official reporting of famine in the region of Awadh till 1896. In 1896–1897, a very calamitous famine was suffered by almost all the districts of Awadh. However, no famine years for 15 years (from 1881 to 1896) was assessed to be the result of remarkable succession of good harvest years. 117 But the constant rise in prices of food items was an indication of rising poverty in the region of Awadh.
In the year 1896–1897, monsoon rain reported to be very scanty which badly affected rabi and kharif crops. Consequently, in most of the districts of Awadh, food prices went up. In Lucknow, there seem to have been a marked permanent change in the purchasing power of the rupee. 118 According to Nevill, due to the uprising of 1857, throughout 1857 and 1858, there were high prices in Lucknow. 119 During 1865 and 1866, food grain prices have risen to an extent which had never been exceeded in the district of Lucknow. 120 Since 1870, the rise in the prices of food grains perhaps been even greater than before. 121 However, the famine of 1897 eclipsed all previous records in Lucknow. 122
As per Nevill’s assessment, the rise in food grain prices was due to several factors. He took into consideration three factors behind the price-rise, that is, fall in the price of silver, the growth of population and the increased facilities for export. 123 According to him, as Lucknow depended for its food supply on imported corn, it was prone to the variations in the prices prevailing elsewhere. 124
According to Nevill, in the districts like Hardoi, statistics were available to show that in pre-1856 era, the general rates in Awadh were very much lower than in 1890s. 125 The figures for all years subsequent to 1860, clearly showed the general tendency towards an increase in the price of food grains and declining purchasing power of the rupee. 126 The general estimate of Irfan Habib about the prices in British India suggests that ‘food grain prices rose about three times between 1850 and 1900’. 127
In Faizabad, after 1895, the average prices of food grains stood even higher, owing to the famine of 1896–1897 and also due to the enormous exports from the district during the next few years to the other famine affected areas. 128
It had been observed for the district of Bahraich that the major rise in prices on several occasions in this district was not much due to scarcity, but rather to the extensive exportations of grains to the poor districts. 129 However, the high prices, did not prevail throughout the whole of Bahraich, but only in the neighbourhood of those markets where export on large scale was possible. 130
The report of the Indian Famine Commission, 1898, related to North Western Provinces and Oudh, stated that the Provinces exported on an average 150,000 tons of wheat annually during the decade, 1886–1896 and imported about 80,000 tons of other food grains. In the same report, the average annual wheat out-turn of the province was estimated to be 2 millions of tons. According to the estimated production, the province was parted with 7.5% of its yield to foreign consumers. 131
Thus, to summarise the above analysis, at least three fundamental issues in the present study are important to be highlighted. First, as ‘trade and flag’ were always interrelated in the colonial ideology, 132 so, since the battle of Buxar in 1764, the lust for duty-free trade in Awadh was tempting for the British army officers to get a posting in the kingdom of Awadh. 133 It was undoubtedly evident that the Awadh had vibrant trading life much before the direct British control over Awadh in 1856. But, it is a matter of interesting enquiry, how the much established trade and commercial life in Awadh could not prevent frequent famines in the region after 1858? The answer apparently lies in the type of goods that were in demand before and after 1858. Before 1858, the flourishing trade in Awadh was predominantly based on the exports of cotton piece-goods, raw cotton and sugar, and so on. 134 But, after 1858, the export of food grains, mostly inland, gradually became the dominant trend of trading pattern in Awadh. Second, the availability of food grain declined in quantity in local markets due to the extension of railway lines in the interior portions of the districts thereby causing frequent famines and scarcities. 135 Third, the grain export and the consistent shortage of food grain had made gradual impact on the price of the same. Eventually, the rise in prices of food grains became a continuous process that would have certainly created constant famine like situation for the poor classes. Hence, it can be inferred that the deficient rainfall in a season or a year might have aggravated the crisis of the poor crop yield which was already unequally redistributed through grain export. However, it would be unjust to blame the uneven pattern of rain for the growing poverty or decline in the purchasing capacity of a common man in Awadh.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
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