Famines and land assessments in India / by Romesh C. Dutt.

  • Dutt, Romesh Chunder, 1848-1909.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Famines and land assessments in India / by Romesh C. Dutt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    at about 800,000 ; but the Famine Commission con- siders this much under the mark. XII. Madras Famine of 1854.—A famine visited the northern part of the Madras Presidency and portions of Hyderabad in 1854. Relief was administered only by public works, and for over nine months over fifty thousand people obtained relief on these works. The mortality from this famine is not known, but the census taken in 1856-57 showed that the growth of the popula- tion had received a serious check. XIII. Famine in Northern India in 1860.—The mistake of demanding two-thirds of the rental as the Government revenue, which was committed in the Settle- ment of 1833-49, was rectified by the “ Saharanpur Rules” of 1855, and the Government revenue was fixed at one-half the rental, which is the recognised rule in Northern India to the present day. This gave great relief to the landlords and cultivators alike ; and when the East India Company was abolished in 1858, the administration of the Indian Empire came directly under the Crown. The wars of the Indian Mutiny, and the acts of retribution which followed, had, however, greatly interfered with cultivation, and when there was a failure of rains in 1860, it was followed by a famine. The principles of relief were the same as were adopted in 1837, viz., that the duty of the State was to provide employment for those who could work, and of the charitable public to support those who could not. Ten large relief works were opened, and minor works were opened to provide work for those who could not travel. Gratuitous relief at the expense of the charitable public