Haunting Hunger
Vasanth Kannabiran
A HAUNTING TRAGEDY: GENDER, CASTE AND CLASS IN THE 1866 FAMINE OF ORISSA by Bidyut Mohanty Manohar Publishers (South Asia) and Routledge (global) , 2021, 422 pp., INR 2095.00
September 2024, volume 48, No 9

To those who belong to an older generation, the Bengal Famine and the Orissa Famine were unimaginable nightmares, difficult to deal with. One had read tales of the Irish Famine, but one so near home was difficult to digest. The effects of the famine were visible years later among the emaciated tribals, children on their hips shivering in refugee camps after the vengeful attacks of the Right-Wing forces that followed the killing of Graham Staines.

The Orissa Famine in 1866 was the manifestation of a classical famine in intensity if not area wise. The failure of exchange entitlement as well as efficient administration, and a failure of good governance led to the death of one-third of the total population due to starvation and epidemics in a single year. It left a deep impact on the public and produced compelling Famine literature periodically. It further had a deep impact on the minds of Oriya people for generations to come shaping the behaviour of the people and creating new habits of saving and coping with scarcity. Creating a new cuisine, discovering new vegetables and leaves and most importantly, not wasting precious foodgrains were some of the lessons learnt. The Famine Commission Report provides some answers to the present groups grappling with the structural deprivation of marginalized groups and their entitlements. A slight fluctuation in the rainfall pattern leads to adoption of safety nets and reverting to inferior grains and roots.

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