Rajasthan News Desk!!! ‘Chhappaniya Famine’, the most severe famine in the history of Rajasthan or Thar, which occurred in the year 1898, being Vikram Samvat 1956, it is also called ‘Chhappaniya Famine’. The world knows this famine as ‘The Great Indian Famine 1899’. It is believed that during this famine, one million people of Rajasthan died due to hunger.
The horrors of this famine are described even today in folk songs and folk life. According to an estimate published in the Imperial Gazetteer of India in 1908, due to this famine, one million people in British India alone, i.e. the territories directly ruled by the British, died due to starvation and related diseases. Some historians believe that this figure had reached about 25 percent of the total population of Rajasthan i.e. 40 to 45 lakhs. This does not include the number of casualties caused by this famine in the princely states and kingdoms of that time. So let’s know the story of Chhappaniya famine, the most painful period of history, in today’s video.
Thar, located in Rajasthan, is the 17th largest desert in the world and the 9th largest hot desert in the world. This is an area of Rajasthan for which nature has no special attachment. While there is hardly any rainfall in the entire desert, on the other hand there is not even a single river for water here. For this reason, this entire area is completely dependent on rain for its water needs. Historically, there has been a semi-famine in Rajasthan every third year and a severe famine every eighth year, but Chhappaniya had come as if the clouds had sworn that it would not rain. Chhappaniya broke the back of both Rajasthan and the people of Rajasthan to such an extent that the people here were forced to eat cattle food.
The Chhappaniya famine began with the failure of the summer monsoon of 1899 in western and central India. Which filled the lives of more than 6 crore population of 476,000 square miles area with unbearable suffering in the coming year. Initially, the effects of this severe famine were seen in Central and North India, which included the Bombay Presidency, the minor provinces of Ajmer-Merwara and Hisar district of Punjab. However, the princely states of Rajasthan were most affected by this famine. This famine caused maximum devastation in areas like Nagaur, Marwar, Mewar, Kathiawar, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer of Rajasthan. Due to the drought, there was a severe shortage of food grains and water in Rajasthan, due to which the inter-regional trade of the princely states was ruined. As a result, the death rate due to hunger had increased significantly.
In the year 1899, the average rainfall in many parts of North India had reduced from 45 inches to only 11 inches. During this period, not a single drop of rain fell in most parts of Rajasthan throughout the year. Due to lack of rain in Rajasthan, which depends on rainy season farming, farmers could not even sow their crops. Due to which neither a single grain of grain was produced nor fodder was available for the animals. People started migrating due to severe shortage of drinking water in areas which were dependent on rainwater harvesting. The period of starvation reached such a level that grains and water started being stolen from people’s homes. You can understand the pain of its devastation from the fact that in those times people were forced to sell even their wives and children in exchange for food grains. This heart-wrenching and painful scene was spread in every corner of Rajasthan.
During the famine, on one hand, people were dying due to dehydration due to lack of drinking water, while on the other hand, people and animals migrating due to hunger and thirst in the temperature of 50-52 degree Celsius of the desert were dying on the way. . Due to the ravages of famine, people were forced to eat bread made from grass, hunt snakes and mongooses and grind dry bark of trees. The condition of starvation was such that some people even became cannibals due to hunger.
The havoc of Chhappaniya famine was so severe that due to hunger and lack of water, every bone in the people’s bodies could be clearly seen. People had become so weak that they needed support to walk or even stand, for this pegs were driven into almost every house. In Rajasthan, burying a peg means burying a long pole in the ground, with the help of which people can stand, walk and do their daily work. When there was a shortage of grains, people were forced to skip one day to eat food, but the devastation did not stop here. The situation became so bad that due to hunger, people were first forced to eat the seeds of Kakadia and Matira, when that also ended then they ate the bark of trees, when that also ended due to drought then people started eating berries, vegetation and bushes. . At one point, it came to pass that all these people also became extinct within miles around. After this, people were forced to make powder of the remaining plum seeds and eat it with water. When every path was closed for the people, they started boiling dried grass and eating it. The darkness of famine was so severe that people’s blood gradually dried up due to lack of food and water.
Not only the common people but also the King and Maharaja of Rajputana were struggling with this famine. Many kings of Rajputana did many famine relief works to save the people from this terrible tragedy, in which the provision of free food was the most important. Along with this, the princely states opened shelters for the people at various places so that the hungry people could save their lives by eating food there. However, due to limited means of transport and lack of communication media, complete help could not reach the people. Due to this system, the treasuries of many rulers of Rajputana became empty and they fell into huge debt. During that time, relief camps were opened in the territories under the British Government to provide relief to the people affected by famine, but even there the people got only limited relief, which was negligible.
Finally, one day even nature had to bow down to the courage of the people of Marudhara, and after a long time, monsoon knocked in the month of Jeth. As the clouds started thundering in the Marudhara, some people’s eyes filled with joy at the end of a long tragedy, while others had tears in their eyes remembering the deeds they had done during this time. Our ancestors faced the horrors of these famines year after year with unmatched courage and wisdom and kept the boat of life of themselves and their families safe during the times of crisis. It is impossible for those watching this video while sitting in AC rooms to even imagine how much pain our elders endured. But this famine caused serious damage to the social and economic condition of our ancestors. Due to which casteism got a big boost in the society. During this famine, many artisan and weaver castes abandoned their craft due to hunger and became completely in debt and later turned into bonded labourers. Among these castes, Balai weaver caste was also one, whose social status also declined drastically. Thousands of people from Rajasthan also migrated to Malwa and other places.
Learning from this terrible famine, the kings and emperors of Rajasthan, the British government and the common people made many such arrangements so that they and their future generations would not have to suffer such pain in the future. After emerging from this famine, the people of Rajasthan seemed to have the courage to face any famine or natural tragedy in the world. Due to this severe famine, many people of Rajasthan left their homes and families and settled in different parts of India. These people showed such strength of their hard work and dedication that they became famous all over India by the name of Marwaris. To avoid facing famine in the future, many canals, reservoirs and buildings were constructed. And plans were made for the future, which included promoting food grain production, importing red wheat from America, distribution of red barley, red wheat, ghat etc. through permits, beginning of Green Revolution, Indian agricultural system and seeds used for sowing. Changes in quality included expansion of road and rail transport facilities as well as placing surpluses in grain storage warehouses.
So this was the story of Chhappaniya famine, thanks for watching the video, if you liked this video then please give your opinion by commenting, subscribe to the channel, like the video, and share it with your friends and family.
