Between 1965 & 1967, the Government of India was up against an extremely daunting challenge – the Bihar Famine. It compelled the then PM Indira Gandhi to realise the importance of self sufficiency in food for India’s long term interests. This realisation led to the Green Revolution, and things were never the same
It was circa 1966-67. Anil Vibhakar, then a high school student, has chilling memories of the last famine that hit his home state Bihar, along with other parts of India. “Newborn babies and young infants cried and shrieked for their mothers’ milk. But young mothers were not in a position to generate milk in the absence of enough food,” he recalled.
Vibhakar, now a senior journalist based out of Gaya, also recalled how many people vomited after eating wheat chura. Ultimately, they developed a taste for it and mixed it with milk powder and also made kheer (Indian dessert) out of it. In adjacent Jehanabad, Bali Ram Mishra narrates how pregnant women were most affected in light of poor calorie intake and found it hard to deliver babies. Similarly, Vijendra Singh in Patna recalls how his grandfather failed to grow even a blade of grass and the family carried on for a few months with a reserve stock of food.
On account of a decline in death rates, India’s population grew from 300 million in 1947 to 500 million in the 1960s. This led to increased demand for food and India’s food imports rose from 1 million tonnes in 1950 to 10 million tonnes in 1966.
The genesis of the Bihar famine lay in the successive monsoon failures of 1965 and 1966 that affected south Bihar, currently Jharkhand. Some reports peg the total loss of lives at 2,500. The year 1965 was already a year of deficient rainfall. Then a double tragedy struck by way of floods in north Bihar and poor monsoons in the south.
As a result, foodgrain production declined to less than 25% of the normal in large parts of south Bihar. Annual production in Bihar fell from 7.5 million tonnes to 3.5 million tonnes and availability of foodgrains declined from 13.4 ounces to 6.5 ounces per head. Some 30 million people faced scarcity and famine with around 18.8 million cattle. Studies pointed out that food shortage in Bihar was significant in 17 out of 17 districts, with 9 districts producing less that 50% of normal output.
The Congress Working Committee decided to hike the central allocation to the state. In a month’s time, the allocation of foodgrains to Bihar from the central pool increased from 70,000 tonnes in October 1966 to 150,000 tonnes in December that year and further to 2,25,000 tonnes between April-October 1967. Thanks to the US Public Law 480 Program (PL-480), India got continued food supplies and the Bihar Famine did not precipitate a national calamity. PL-480 or Food for Peace is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for overseas aid. It was signed by then President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 after US produced surplus grain and as a result, global prices crashed. But PL 480 was given to countries that didn’t antagonise US geopolitical interests.
Food imports were used by US to arm-twist ‘non-aligned’ India into accepting its position. Leading US political scientist Paul R. Brass, in an article titled Political uses of Bihar Crisis: The Bihar Famine 1966-67, wrote: “Lyndon Johnson was known to be angry with Mrs. Gandhi (Indira Gandhi) and the Government of India for their disagreement with US Policy towards Vietnam and he adopted ‘short-tether’ policy of adjusting the release of aid, including food aid, to India...” The US still uses food imports as a diplomatic tool as is visible in recent cases of North Korea and Iran. It denies food even on commercial terms.
It was circa 1966-67. Anil Vibhakar, then a high school student, has chilling memories of the last famine that hit his home state Bihar, along with other parts of India. “Newborn babies and young infants cried and shrieked for their mothers’ milk. But young mothers were not in a position to generate milk in the absence of enough food,” he recalled.
Vibhakar, now a senior journalist based out of Gaya, also recalled how many people vomited after eating wheat chura. Ultimately, they developed a taste for it and mixed it with milk powder and also made kheer (Indian dessert) out of it. In adjacent Jehanabad, Bali Ram Mishra narrates how pregnant women were most affected in light of poor calorie intake and found it hard to deliver babies. Similarly, Vijendra Singh in Patna recalls how his grandfather failed to grow even a blade of grass and the family carried on for a few months with a reserve stock of food.
On account of a decline in death rates, India’s population grew from 300 million in 1947 to 500 million in the 1960s. This led to increased demand for food and India’s food imports rose from 1 million tonnes in 1950 to 10 million tonnes in 1966.
The genesis of the Bihar famine lay in the successive monsoon failures of 1965 and 1966 that affected south Bihar, currently Jharkhand. Some reports peg the total loss of lives at 2,500. The year 1965 was already a year of deficient rainfall. Then a double tragedy struck by way of floods in north Bihar and poor monsoons in the south.
As a result, foodgrain production declined to less than 25% of the normal in large parts of south Bihar. Annual production in Bihar fell from 7.5 million tonnes to 3.5 million tonnes and availability of foodgrains declined from 13.4 ounces to 6.5 ounces per head. Some 30 million people faced scarcity and famine with around 18.8 million cattle. Studies pointed out that food shortage in Bihar was significant in 17 out of 17 districts, with 9 districts producing less that 50% of normal output.
The Congress Working Committee decided to hike the central allocation to the state. In a month’s time, the allocation of foodgrains to Bihar from the central pool increased from 70,000 tonnes in October 1966 to 150,000 tonnes in December that year and further to 2,25,000 tonnes between April-October 1967. Thanks to the US Public Law 480 Program (PL-480), India got continued food supplies and the Bihar Famine did not precipitate a national calamity. PL-480 or Food for Peace is a funding avenue by which US food can be used for overseas aid. It was signed by then President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 after US produced surplus grain and as a result, global prices crashed. But PL 480 was given to countries that didn’t antagonise US geopolitical interests.
Food imports were used by US to arm-twist ‘non-aligned’ India into accepting its position. Leading US political scientist Paul R. Brass, in an article titled Political uses of Bihar Crisis: The Bihar Famine 1966-67, wrote: “Lyndon Johnson was known to be angry with Mrs. Gandhi (Indira Gandhi) and the Government of India for their disagreement with US Policy towards Vietnam and he adopted ‘short-tether’ policy of adjusting the release of aid, including food aid, to India...” The US still uses food imports as a diplomatic tool as is visible in recent cases of North Korea and Iran. It denies food even on commercial terms.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
