Orissa famine of 1866

The Orissa Famine of 1866, also known as the Naanka Durbhiksha (literally “the famine of the Naanka year” in the Odia calendar), was one of the most devastating famines in colonial India during the nineteenth century. It struck the eastern coastal region of Orissa (now Odisha) and adjoining areas of Bengal, Bihar, and Madras Presidencies, resulting in the death of nearly one million people, about one-third of Orissa’s population at the time. The famine exposed the failures of British colonial administration and became a landmark event in the evolution of famine policy in British India.

Background and Causes

The Orissa famine was the outcome of a combination of natural calamities, economic vulnerability, and colonial administrative negligence.

1. Monsoon Failure:
   • In 1865, Orissa experienced a severe monsoon failure, leading to the failure of the rice crop—the staple food of the region.
   • The drought continued into early 1866, drying up rivers and reservoirs, leaving farmers without irrigation or food reserves.
2. Geographical Isolation:
   • Orissa was a relatively isolated province with poor transport links.
   • It lacked effective road and rail connections to neighbouring grain-surplus regions, making import and distribution of food difficult during emergencies.
3. Dependence on Rice Monoculture:
   • The economy of Orissa heavily depended on a single crop—rice.
   • The failure of this crop due to drought left no alternative sources of food or income for the population.
4. Colonial Export Policies:
   • Even as famine conditions developed, grain exports continued from Bengal ports, including rice from Orissa itself, to meet export demands and generate revenue.
   • British officials adhered rigidly to laissez-faire economic policies, believing that market forces would balance supply and demand, which proved disastrously wrong.
5. Administrative Delays and Indifference:
   • Despite early reports of food shortages from local officials, the Bengal Government delayed relief measures.
   • When the crisis became apparent, relief efforts were poorly organised, and food supplies arrived too late to save lives.

Course of the Famine

The famine unfolded in several stages between late 1865 and 1867:

• Late 1865: Monsoon failure caused crop loss across Orissa and parts of coastal Bengal.
• Early 1866: Food scarcity became acute; prices of rice and other grains rose tenfold.
• Summer of 1866: The situation reached catastrophic levels. People were forced to eat leaves, roots, and even carrion.
• June–August 1866: Heavy rainfall and subsequent floods worsened the situation, destroying what little food remained and spreading disease.
• Late 1866: Epidemics such as cholera and smallpox followed, killing thousands who had survived starvation.
• 1867: Relief operations expanded belatedly, and the famine began to subside as new crops were harvested.

Relief Measures and Their Failures

The British government’s response to the famine is widely regarded as inefficient and inadequate.

1. Delayed Recognition:
   • Early warnings by the Collector of Cuttack and other district officers were ignored by the Bengal Government, which underestimated the severity of the crisis.
2. Late Arrival of Relief Supplies:
   • The first substantial consignments of imported rice arrived in Calcutta only in September 1866, months after the famine had peaked.
   • By that time, tens of thousands had already perished.
3. Logistical Failures:
   • The lack of railways and navigable roads made it difficult to move food into interior districts like Balasore, Cuttack, and Puri.
   • Flooding during the monsoon further hampered transportation.
4. Work Relief and Charitable Aid:
   • Work relief programmes and food-for-work schemes were initiated late and reached only a fraction of the starving population.
   • Charitable organisations and local zamindars attempted to distribute food, but their resources were limited.
5. Public Criticism:
   • The British press and humanitarian organisations sharply criticised the colonial government for its indifference and mismanagement.
   • The Bengal Government, led by Sir Cecil Beadon, faced condemnation for adhering to free-market principles instead of intervening directly to control food distribution.

Mortality and Human Impact

• The famine resulted in an estimated deaths of 800,000 to 1,000,000 people out of a population of around 3 million in Orissa.
• Entire villages were depopulated, and survivors migrated to neighbouring provinces in search of food.
• Disease and malnutrition claimed more lives than starvation itself, as cholera and smallpox spread rapidly among weakened populations.
• The social fabric of Orissa was deeply affected, with widespread poverty, orphaned children, and disruption of traditional livelihoods.

British Government Response and Enquiry

The British Government in London was alarmed by the scale of the tragedy and ordered an official inquiry.

1. Famine Commission of 1866:
   • A special commission was appointed to investigate the causes and failures of relief.
   • The commission concluded that administrative negligence, communication failures, and overreliance on laissez-faire economics were the main reasons for the disaster.
2. Administrative Repercussions:
   • Sir Cecil Beadon, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, was widely blamed and forced to retire.
   • The British Government resolved to reform famine administration and infrastructure planning in India.
3. Policy Reforms:
   • Construction of railways and roads in famine-prone regions was prioritised to facilitate future grain transport.
   • A Famine Code was later developed to establish systematic procedures for famine relief, which influenced the Indian Famine Codes of the 1880s.
   • Greater emphasis was placed on early warning systems and government intervention in food markets during crises.

Wider Implications

The Orissa Famine of 1866 had long-lasting implications for British colonial governance and Indian society:

• It revealed the inadequacies of colonial administration, especially its failure to prioritise humanitarian relief over economic orthodoxy.
• It strengthened the argument for state responsibility in famine prevention, laying the groundwork for more proactive policies in later years.
• It demonstrated how colonial economic policies, which emphasised revenue collection and export, could exacerbate local suffering during natural disasters.
• The tragedy became a rallying point for Indian social reformers and early nationalists, who cited it as evidence of the exploitative nature of British rule.

Legacy

The Orissa famine is remembered in Odisha’s collective memory as Naanka Durbhiksha, one of the darkest periods in the region’s history. Folk songs, oral traditions, and local chronicles preserve accounts of the suffering and resilience of the people during those years.
Historically, the famine served as a turning point in British Indian famine policy, leading to:

• The formulation of systematic famine relief guidelines.
• Expansion of rail and canal networks for better communication.
• Establishment of Famine Commissions (especially the Famine Commission of 1880) to develop a more scientific approach to food security.