BHUBANESWAR: At least 150 years after the catastrophic famine wiped out a third of the population of coastal Odisha during 1865-66, the calamity has for the first time been documented by the State Government.
A 1,000-page book, 'Odisha Famine - Na’anka (1865-1866),' promises a deeper insight into the reasons behind the man-made calamity, socio-political factors that led to death of a million people and its impact on undivided Balasore, Cuttack and Puri districts of the State.
The documentation drive, which started a year back by a group of eight historians and officials of the State Archives led by the former Culture Secretary Arvind Padhee, is slated to be released on the occasion of International Archives Day on June 9 marking the International Archives Day.
While the Great Bengal Famine has been well-researched, the Odisha famine, known as “Na’nka Durbhikya,” which occurred almost a century later, has remained almost in obscurity with very little resources available in one platform.
Apart from wreaking havoc in coastal districts of Cuttack, Puri and Balasore located in the Bengal Presidency and Ganjam district, which formed a part of Madras Presidency till 1936, the famine also gripped Midnapur and Bankura districts and western part of Burdwan district in the present day West Bengal, Singhbhum and Manbhum districts of Chotanagpur division and the princely States of Nilgiri and Mayurbhanj.
The famine, which according to the historians was man-made, claimed over 10 lakh lives prompting the British Government and Christian Missionaries to open 20 to 25 'Anna Chatras' in the three districts to feed people. Many died of cholera and diarrhoea later on.
Apart from the report of the Famine Commission appointed by the British Government in 1866, historians have documented official records to cite factors such as failure of paddy harvest, lack of ports to import rice and subsequent supply of rice to Cuttack, Puri and Balasore from Burma through Hukitola. Official letters, written to
Government of Bengal about need for better administration of relief and post-famine reports by newspapers and other literary sources, are also part of the book.
An eyewitness account by Ananta Das and instances of negligence by T E Ravenshaw, the then Commissioner of Orissa division, in dealing with a calamity of this nature has also been included in 'Odisha Famine - Na'anka'.
Besides the Odisha State Archives, the historians sourced archival records from West Bengal and Madras for documentation. The book, however, rests only on official documents and has no photographs of the famine.
Historian Ashok Kumar Patnaik, who was associated with the project, said the book also speaks of the post-famine period that saw resurgence of a new Odisha. A large number of records pertaining to development activities during this period have been included in the book.