INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change

PREVE.YTIVE AND
look to for a slight alleviation of distress. I am
of opinion that this temporary migration is a
source of relief in times of famine which has
not been sufficiently developed; and I have the
less hesitation now in bringing these ideas
forward, as I find that Sir John Strachey (now
Lieutenant-Governor North-West Province)
advocated its adoption many years ago. Permanent
emigration to Burmah, &c., as has been
attempted in the last famine, will never, in my
opinion, be favourably viewed. Love of their
fatherland is strong in the natives of India.
Temporary emigration, on the other hand, has
long been an acknowledged means of escaping
from dire want; but to my knowledge it has
never been recognised in a. sufficient way by
Government as a mode of relief. Beyond advertising
that relief - works were available in
certain districts, I am unaware of any. such
attempt having been made to alleviate distress.
In the famine of 1864, Colonel Smith
estimated that out of the distressed population
of 13,000,000, as many as 500,000 had
emigrated. This amounts to only four per cent
on the entire districts; but in one of the central