(Re)making Famine History
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Media, Arts and Humanities
Abstract
Using a range of sources from the British Library India Office Records - many for the first time - the proposed work
will map the development of these disasters, tracing the influence of climate and of administrators and delineating
the asymmetries of impact with regard to gender, geography and socio-economic status. This work will shed new
light on the impact and functioning of colonialism, of political ideology and decision making, and of administrative,
societal and individual action on the development of vulnerability to irregular climate, in order to inform the
development of stronger, more resilient economies, societies and communities, better prepared to withstand climate
change.
Key Research Questions
Can a clear, evidential link between extreme weather and famine be established in this period?
What role was played by colonial policy in creating vulnerability to famine and in what ways did indigenous action
seek to build resilience?
How did asymmetries in socio-economic status, gender and geography map to famine vulnerability?
How can this period of Indian history inform our understanding of social, political, economic vulnerability and
resilience to extreme weather in the context of our own developing climate crisis?
Research Background
In the late nineteenth century, colonial ideology coupled social-Darwinist ideas to Malthus's theory of crises as a
natural curb on overpopulation, to depict famine, precipitated by monsoon failure, as an inevitable consequence of
the degeneracy of Indian society. The political and administrative aspects of causation, while recognised at the
time (Danvers, 1886) were, within the historiography, ignored entirely for almost a century. It was not until Amartya
Sen observed that famine was not the result of a failure in food supplies and therefore could only be understood in
terms of individual socio-political, economic relationships, as a loss of 'entitlement' (Sen, 1981), that these elements
began to receive attention. However, nuanced work on causality remains rare with studies of regional grain riots
(Hardiman, 1996) and the significance of curtailed access to forest resources (Damodaran, 1995) standing as
isolated examples.
Within environmental history, historical climate studies and famine history, correlation between climate irregularities
and humanitarian crises has often been taken as proof of a simple and direct causal link (Parker, 2013). However,
recent study has shown that the link is both complex and unstable. It is now clear that the connection between El
Nino and drought in India is highly dynamic and often disrupted (Kumar, 2006), that famine is far from an inevitable
result of drought and that the definition of drought itself is often arbitrary and unreliable (Mishra, 2019). Causation
is complex and multivalent and humanitarian disaster is always the result of numerous, intersecting forces, which
can include war, lack, destruction or neglect of infrastructure, disruption of traditional coping mechanisms,
ineptitude or exploitation, as well as climate variability and environmental change.
The proposed work will move beyond the critique of institutional exploitation to include the influence of long-term
colonial intervention and the counteractive role played by indigenous philanthropy, charity and other social action.
This will be combined with a detailed analysis of local climate irregularities, plotting of the links between weather
events and social problems and of the asymmetries of the impact of scarcity and famine as they intersect with
socio-economic grouping, gender and geography.
will map the development of these disasters, tracing the influence of climate and of administrators and delineating
the asymmetries of impact with regard to gender, geography and socio-economic status. This work will shed new
light on the impact and functioning of colonialism, of political ideology and decision making, and of administrative,
societal and individual action on the development of vulnerability to irregular climate, in order to inform the
development of stronger, more resilient economies, societies and communities, better prepared to withstand climate
change.
Key Research Questions
Can a clear, evidential link between extreme weather and famine be established in this period?
What role was played by colonial policy in creating vulnerability to famine and in what ways did indigenous action
seek to build resilience?
How did asymmetries in socio-economic status, gender and geography map to famine vulnerability?
How can this period of Indian history inform our understanding of social, political, economic vulnerability and
resilience to extreme weather in the context of our own developing climate crisis?
Research Background
In the late nineteenth century, colonial ideology coupled social-Darwinist ideas to Malthus's theory of crises as a
natural curb on overpopulation, to depict famine, precipitated by monsoon failure, as an inevitable consequence of
the degeneracy of Indian society. The political and administrative aspects of causation, while recognised at the
time (Danvers, 1886) were, within the historiography, ignored entirely for almost a century. It was not until Amartya
Sen observed that famine was not the result of a failure in food supplies and therefore could only be understood in
terms of individual socio-political, economic relationships, as a loss of 'entitlement' (Sen, 1981), that these elements
began to receive attention. However, nuanced work on causality remains rare with studies of regional grain riots
(Hardiman, 1996) and the significance of curtailed access to forest resources (Damodaran, 1995) standing as
isolated examples.
Within environmental history, historical climate studies and famine history, correlation between climate irregularities
and humanitarian crises has often been taken as proof of a simple and direct causal link (Parker, 2013). However,
recent study has shown that the link is both complex and unstable. It is now clear that the connection between El
Nino and drought in India is highly dynamic and often disrupted (Kumar, 2006), that famine is far from an inevitable
result of drought and that the definition of drought itself is often arbitrary and unreliable (Mishra, 2019). Causation
is complex and multivalent and humanitarian disaster is always the result of numerous, intersecting forces, which
can include war, lack, destruction or neglect of infrastructure, disruption of traditional coping mechanisms,
ineptitude or exploitation, as well as climate variability and environmental change.
The proposed work will move beyond the critique of institutional exploitation to include the influence of long-term
colonial intervention and the counteractive role played by indigenous philanthropy, charity and other social action.
This will be combined with a detailed analysis of local climate irregularities, plotting of the links between weather
events and social problems and of the asymmetries of the impact of scarcity and famine as they intersect with
socio-economic grouping, gender and geography.
