QUESTION 3
GS1
10 marks
Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain why famines became more frequent and deadly under colonial rule, linking natural triggers to colonial revenue, trade and relief policy.
Give reasonsAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Natural trigger: monsoon failure and drought≈35 words
- 2Colonial causes: high land revenue, commercialisation of crops, grain exports, decline of handicrafts, weak relief≈35 words
- 3Examples: Bengal 1770, Great Famine 1876–78, 1896–97 and 1899–1900≈35 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Trigger vs causeRevenue and agrarian changeMarkets and exportsRelief policy failuresNamed faminesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Blaming only drought without explaining why scarcity turned into mass death
- Not naming a single famine or famine commission
Draw this
- Timeline of major famines with one cause noted under each
Value addition
- ExampleThe Bengal famine of 1770 followed shortly after the Company took the Diwani; revenue collection continued despite crop failure.Bengal famine, 1770
- Official responseThe Strachey Famine Commission (1880) led to the first Famine Codes, showing that relief was reactive and came late.Famine Commission report, 1880
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Abhishek Singh · Page 19 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Ritika Chitlangia · Page 20 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.