Havocs through the Eyes of Hunger

The drain of wealth in the colonial eve of the nineteenth  century saw a series of famines as the salt to  wounds of the economic structure of colonial India . The Famine of 1866 of Odisha marks one of the ignorant and generalized events that took place in Bengal Presidency. The advent of the English East India company began in Odisha with establishment of the first factory at Hariharpur in 1633 in Balasore district of Odisha. Soon within 200 years Odisha was too found to be colonized by the British officials with several forms of laws, reforms and atrocities and adversities. Among these chapters of colonial Odisha, the Famine of 1866 is indeed marked to be one of the darkest chapters which broke the core of Odias, and led to uprising and beginning of Odia nationalism and new socio-economic and cultural changes and challenges. Famine is regarded as one of the most devastating natural calamities. During the famine, Odisha was divided with three provinces; North Odisha was under Bengal presidency, Western Odisha under Central provinces, South Odisha was under Madras presidency. 

The Great Odisha famine that took place in 1866 is also termed as Na’anka Durbhikshya in local terms as it took place during the 9th regnal year of Puri king. However, the fact regarding 9th regnal year is controversial, hence there has also been mention of Na’nkia community which can possibly be termed as naming the famine as Na’anka. The famine affected an area of 1,04, 221 square km of Colonial Odisha division which primarily included Cuttack, Balasore, Puri and Angul under Bengal presidency.The effect of the famine was so drastic that it wiped out almost 8% of odisha ‘s population in one calendar year The major reasons listed for the occurrence of famine accounts rain-failure and abandonment of crop rotation due to excess colonial demand of rice and over- drain of rice to Britain and USA (particularly due to civil war).  The principal occupation of the diaspora was agrarian production, with the production of their staple crop as rice . Three varieties of rice production were practised as Biali or Autumn Rice, Sarad or winter rice and Dalua or spring rice. In these the winter rice production was pertinent. The month of October ,in 1865 saw rain failure,  the prime time for  winter rice production. The entire lower provinces of Bengal presidency was subjected to scanty rainfall and  the rainfall ceased during the middle of October , leading to drastic agrarian decline. Furthermore, the  colonial demonetization as replacement of currency notes in form of cowries as medium of exchange made the process of grain exports and revenue payment arduous.

Over-exportation of rice to Britain and  USA during the civil war features as another doorway among the causes. The coarse winter rice to Britain and USA from the ports of False point in Balasore was heavily exported in 1863-64 by a French company. The Telenga koomtees from madras region were other prominent buyers of rice and absentee landlords sold off their produce after getting their shares in Calcutta. The demand of rice at such a rate and  exploitative British economic constraints resulted in  adoption of a mono-cropping system by  Thani raiyats leading to shortage of grain during famine. An estimated value marked increase in export of paddy and rice by 500 percent between 1855-1865.  In addition to all this the laissez- faire policies of colonial officers upon the famine struck Odias proved to be the last nail on their coffin. 

Land usurpation, high revenue demands and atrocities by Zamindars reflects as another stimulus to the famine. A 30 years temporary settlement system was channelised in Odisha under Zamindars and East India company’s agreement which ended in 1865. Thani raiyats were forced to pay higher revenue to zamindars and famine worsened their conditions and they were subjugated to borrow from moneylender s , sell their lands to moneylenders and salt manufacturers and reduced their position as Pahi raiyats during pre and post famine period. The notable Thani lands sold were in Cuttack , Balasore and Puri ranging as high as 774.87 acres of land. Zamindars extorted revenues redundantly  between 1865 -1866, despite the flood in August 1866 and no merciful acts were observed on behalf of the raiyats and their cattles ,houses and property were usurped ruthlessly. In Bishenpur, the zamindars used the law suite for extortion of revenues. Till 1866 occupancy rights were not transferred within a single year , however in 1866 we see  1,240 deeds of sale of lands in Jajpur district alone. Many Brahmins similarly sold their lands and reduced them to Pahi raiyats and also to other  alternative forms of workers  in Puri district.

Salt formed the single largest source of revenue of colonial Odisha. The yield of salt monopoly in between 1853 -1860 was two million maunds. The salt manufacturers  employed malangis who they used to pay 2 to 3 annas per day for working in salt production. The manufacturing work was done from December to June in Balasore and March to June in Puri coastal areas. However, closure of salt manufacturing industries in Puri and Balasore in 1861 due to incompetency of Odisha salt with Madras salt and cheap Liverpool manufactured salt resulted in unemployment of 26000 workers, growth of infertile agricultural lands etc. This  proved fatal to employmental  support system during famine.

The description of Famine is quite afflictive.The Famine Commission of 1866 noted that the agricultural  laborers were the most affected group. As per the reports of  T. Ravenshaw , the majority of the agricultural laborers and artisans belonged to the poorer class. He also noted that the famine hit most of the Bauris, Tantis, Doms and Chasas, who did not have any reserve of money or grain to fall back upon. The famine  struck victims were unfit to work hence their petty contracts were hired by famine commissioner in 1866..Heavy rains of 1866 caused floods  which destroyed  the rice – crop in low lying regions. People became devastated & food riots began to take place due to acute shortage of food. Many cultivators preserved the seeds to plant them in the next season though they did sell their utensils and ornaments during the famine period. Some of them even sold their ploughs and cattle. The situation worsened after the flood in August as food became cold and flies hovered around the food. Broken pots and Banana leaves became the prime utensils to carry food by the paupers. The author Mayadhar Mansingh mentions an area Parikud , an island in Chilika, was one of worst affected as people sold utensils in order to buy a handful of ragi.  He also mentions instances of parents snatching food from their children.  The Diary of Ananta Das , a harrowing primary reference of a famine survivor mentions that during famine started eating edible and inedible roots ,leaves , and plants resulting in spread of numerous diseases. In addition to these dogs ,  jackals and vultures became the prime inhabitants of corpse filled famine-struck villages. Vultures pried upon the sick and dying people whereas people abandoned their wives, children and family members in search of food and survival. The situation was so harsh that people used mats from Hindu crematorium for sleeping.

The social structure was much disrupted during the hunger waves . Caste and religious prejudices led to the key aspect of society during famine. Death struck several lives through starvation, malnutrition and diseases resoluted as growing numbers of corpses. The British commissioner appointed low caste Hadis as many as sixty to seventy in numbers for clearance of corpses from township areas with a wage of two annas. These hadis killed the person on the verge of death by choking their neck with their legs thus rightly referred to by the people as messengers of Yama, the Hindu god of death. Similarly caste prejudices were swayed highly due to amalgamation of people in food relief centres provided by the government as the fear of losing their ascribed status made them perplexed and helpless. Furthermore, the onset of missionaries' aids and promises of food and education prompted a fear for loss of their Hindu identity in choice of accessing food.  The lower caste suffered with a higher number of the deaths . The Puri  town Pandas acts of greediness can be reflected through loots of paupers golds and silvers in exchange of rice, even those who were cooks of Mahaprasad .

Spread of epidemics such as Cholera , dysentery, malaria  became rampant during the famine period .Cholera substantiated since the non-famine period ,especially during the vast pilgrimage to Puri during Chariot festivals due to unhygienic food and contaminated water. However, the spread of malaria became prominent during the  1860s during the famine , due to a pool of contaminated waters as sources for breeding areas.

Around 1867 relief organizations grew in numbers with the association of colonial commissioners to provide food to the famine victims . Rice, and other available edible provisions were made in districts of Puri ,Cuttack, Balasore etc. Private initiatives to help the famine victims came from three different quarters: religious institutions such as missionaries, temples and mathas; the zamindars and East India Irrigation Company. In 1866 , there was emergence of a new social group/ community who primarily ate in public relief centers and wandered from here to there ; basically included outcastes and low castes and these people formed a new identity as ‘‘ Chhatrakhias’’. These people were mostly debarred from society.

Post famine consequences led the social waves of changes through ideologies and literatures as like the Irish famine & Bengal famine, Odisha famine too paved its path in origin of Odia nationalism and flourishing of Odia literature which includes compilation Odia ‘‘ Bhashakosha’’ by Gopal Chandra Praharaj , ‘‘ Ebe Madhya Banchichi’’ by Godabarish Mohapatra and ‘‘ Rebati’’ by Fakir Mohan Senapati. 

Similarly transport and communication issues were one of the major causes of famine’s intensity and were outspread as the ports of false point were only medium of linkage , there was absence of proper road and railway linkage. Thus construction of road linking Calcutta to Odisha by Britishers and constructions of canals by East India irrigation company. In case of railways, The Bengal-Nagpur railway connecting all the three districts with Calcutta and Madras was opened in 1899 which made  transportation of Odias with ease.

Lastly the Great famine of 1866 in Odisha, can be termed as a massacre of humans or havoc due the mismanagement of nature, colonial policies of drain of wealth, faulty agricultural practices. The famine had a deep impact on social behaviour in the Odisha division. Odisha received some special attention from the British raj after it had lost more than a million people.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & CITATIONS

Mohanty, Bidyut. A Haunting Tragedy: Gender, Caste and Class in the 1866 Orissa Famine. New York: Routledge, 2021.

Pattnaik, G. C. The Famine and Some Aspects of the British Economic Policy in Orissa 1866-1905. Calcutta: Vidyapuri Publication, 1980.

Barik, Susanta. "Famine, Disease and Social Crisis in Colonial Odisha during Nineteenth Century, 1850-1900." Journal of People’s History and Culture 6, no. 2: 101–108

Dhir, Anil, and Ramesh Chandra Mohapatra. The Great Orissa Famine 1866 (Na'Anka Durbhikshya). Bhubaneswar: Amadeus Press.