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“The wind blowing towards Kalu and the harsh weather were shouting – Eat! Eat!”
"The birds were also suffering from hunger and thirst. The winds and heat of Chaitra were completely dry and scorching. The scorched earth all around seemed as if it wanted to grab hold of Kalu's feet by considering him as her enemy."
After somehow surviving two months with the help of bundles of grass and ornaments, he asked, "Will the rain which has been sulking for the entire twelve months not return in the last fortnight of Jeth?"
“It seems as if the last fortnight of the month of Jyeshtha is in front of us.” Kalu immediately said, “Once the rains come, then somehow the days will pass.” We will also be able to survive by eating shoots and vegetables from trees. Just let it rain somehow."
"Then a scream was heard from the other end of the sloping footpath of the village, 'Run. The cattle have been attacked. Run.'"
"A shiver ran through Kalu's body. And the sight he saw after climbing up, Kalu could not forget even in seven births..."
"Twenty skeleton-like people had fallen upon the dead cattle. Their teeth looked like knives. It was as if hunger had set their stomachs on fire."
End
Kalu shuddered. For a moment he wondered if it was a vulture? They pounced like vultures.
Two or three people were holding each leg of the cattle, while two men on top were cutting them with swords. If he had any clothes on his body other than the loincloth, they would have torn them too.
They were attacking his armpits. Were pressing between the stomach and thighs. Despite the fear of the sword, some people might have taken out an arrow each.
"Kalu got up with great difficulty. His whole body was stiff.
He fell asleep crying. When my eyes opened, they filled with tears again. He got up and said, "O God, may all trace of you be erased. This is the condition of my people."
He muttered with heavy breathing, as if breaking a mountain, 'If there is anything worse than evil in the world, it is hunger!'"
This helplessness of human being is expressed in the novel 'Manvini Bhavai'
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Well-known writer of Gujarati literature and Jnanpith awardee Pannalal Patel has described this horrific picture of hunger and human helplessness in the background of Chhappaniya famine in his novel 'Manvini Bhavai'.
In this novel, through the fictional character named Kalu, the author depicts the natural disaster, hunger, human struggle and the fierce struggle for self-respect.
This novel is a document of love, hunger and human sensibilities, which keeps alive man's will to live and his determination even amidst the horrors of famine.
In this terrible famine of 1899-1900, cattle and sheep died due to lack of fodder. The condition of humans had become such that they started looking like skeletons.
In the preface of this novel by Pannalal Patel, Gujarati writer 'Darshak' i.e. Manubhai Pancholi has told how helpless man becomes in front of this cruelty of nature.
Due to hunger, relationships and even humanity begin to die. People yearn for every grain of grain. The author has called such people 'hungry ghosts'.
Drawing a heart-wrenching picture of this famine, he writes, "Chhappaniya famine was a great calamity that befell the declining generation."
"In this, husbands like Nania left their wives. Mothers who had given birth to sons did not even have clothes left to cover their bodies."
"Women like Bhaali and Rukhi had to give up even their modesty and shame. The only concern left in the minds of men was to somehow make arrangements to feed themselves."
"Whether by begging, by stealing, and yes, even by licking the hooves of dogs and elephants. Women even started selling their bodies to satisfy the hunger of their stomachs."
“Seeing this decline of humanity, Shankarada rightly says in the story, “It is better to lose the first than to lose the last.”
"When a woman gives up caring about her husband's honor, a mother gives up caring about her daughter and a daughter gives up caring about her father, then understand that everything has fallen apart."
"Everyone has to die tomorrow. So live today as best you can. Live as much as you can, bear as much sorrow as you can. Then who should think whether it is justice or injustice. Is it moral or immoral..."
Why was this famine called Chhappaniya famine?
In 1899, the monsoon failed in many parts of the country. Due to this, there was a famine in 1900, the likes of which has not been seen in the last 200 years.
At that time there was a severe shortage of grains and animal fodder.
Small farmers, artisans and landless laborers were most affected. Due to lack of food grains, poor people were forced to survive by eating leaves of trees and stems of 'Thor' (a type of cactus).
Historians Hariprasad Shastri and Praveen Chandra Parikh have written in their book 'Political and Cultural History of Gujarat: British Period' that this famine is called Chhappaniya famine because it occurred in Vikram Samvat 1956.
He writes, "The Chhappaniya famine occurred in 1900. In this way, Gujarat suffered a major blow due to both political and natural disasters. The Famine Commission had repeatedly said that during the famine, farmers should not be pressurized to pay taxes, but the Mumbai government adopted the opposite policy. As a result, the people of Gujarat were in panic."
There is very limited information about this dark period of Gujarat in Gujarati sources.
Large scale deaths and loss of cattle had also broken the morale of the people. There was such an atmosphere of hunger and death in the villages that the worst effects of the famine were seen there.
It is written in 'Political and Cultural History of Gujarat', "The reason for this was that instead of conducting a comprehensive investigation, the government officials investigated individual cases. This increased partiality and arbitrariness. In such a situation, Kahandas Parekh showed the courage to collect the details of the atrocities committed during revenue collection in Gujarat and put them before the people."
After this, when the Land Revenue Act was to be brought in the Assembly, Firozshah Mehta opposed it.
The demand of public representatives and Sir Firoz Shah Mehta was that the present bill should be put up for public discussion and people's opinion should be taken.
But the government did not accept his demand. In protest against this, the members walked out of the House. This was the first such incident in the history of the assembly. This increased political awareness in Gujarat.
'It looked like skeletons covered with skin'
British officer FHS Meriwether, after visiting the famine affected areas, has described in detail the difficulties of the people, the policies of the then British administration and the conditions of the relief camps in his book 'A Tour through the Famine Districts of India'.
Referring to a visit to a government relief camp in Bilaspur, he writes, "Many people present there told me that they have been living in the camp for months, but they are not getting enough food to eat."
"The only complaint they all had was that they were hungry. While saying this they would point towards their bodies. The bones of their arms and legs were clearly visible and the joints were badly exposed. It looked as if they were skeletons covered with skin."
He further writes, "It gave me goosebumps to see a poor girl. Her mother told her that she was five years old. But she looked more like a deformed specimen of anatomy than a human child."
"The skin on his face was so stretched that all his teeth were visible. All the bones of his head were clearly visible. His hands were as thin as my little finger and his thighs as wide as my thumb."
"This was the result of complete starvation. Another man, reduced to a skeleton, had been dependent on government relief for two and a half months."
"Despite this, her weight was not even 31 kg. I lifted her easily. Most of the women were almost naked and had only a torn cloth wrapped around their waist."
"Her condition had become so miserable that she did not even have that natural shyness or hesitation left, which is generally the hallmark of Indian women."
'People were being pushed towards slow death'
In this book he has also openly criticized the policies of the British government.
He writes, "I say with full responsibility, based on the circumstances I saw with my own eyes, that the people living in this so-called welfare institution were being pushed towards a terrible and slow death."
British journalist and economist Vaughan Nash, who came to India at that time, wrote about it in his book 'The Great Famine and its Causes'.
"There is an epidemic of cholera in the country... the terrible smell of dead bodies is spreading in the air. People are dying so fast that it is not even possible to burn or bury their bodies."
"Relief camps in Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Kheda and Panchmahal districts have also been hit by this epidemic. The situation is equally bad in Kathiawar."
Economist Vaughn Nash writes, "Half the people have fled the relief camps in Ahmedabad. The number of deaths is unknown. In Godhra, the Collector and other officials had to burn about a thousand dead bodies with their own hands."
However, he wrote that the situation in Vadodara was comparatively better.
According to many historians and writers, the British government and the kings of the princely states of Gujarat had started relief camps and food distribution centres, but the conditions were so bad that these efforts proved inadequate.
Von Nash writes, "The British Government recruited additional officers from different parts of India and sent them to Gujarat."
"People look at Commissioner Mr. Lally as a father and protector. He has been given complete freedom. His new policy is to open relief centers near villages, so that the displaced people can get help nearby."
"But the reality is that Indian people are being forced to die like animals."
Well-known Gujarati writer Achyut Yagnik has also mentioned this in his book 'Ahmedabad - Royal City to Mega City' -
"This famine exposed the ruthless face of the British government. Relief camps were started very late and revenue collection continued. This was happening at a time when the government was trying to raise funds for imperialist expansion in Burma and Afghanistan."
Achyut Yagnik writes, "The famine had less impact on the cities. Yet a picture of a relief camp in Ahmedabad shows the magnitude of this calamity that befell the poor."
"Yet it seems that the people of Ahmedabad, who were proud of their social consciousness, who took charity seriously and managed the funds of Hindu and Jain temple trusts, remained passive in this crisis."
Ishwar Petlikar further writes, "The ponds and their banks have become empty of birds. Cattle started dying of hunger."
“The stray cattle would lie among the crows and the crows would start scratching them. They did not even have enough strength left to drive away the crows.
"The vultures would peck at the places where the crows had made wounds on their bodies. In this way the birds would feast and the cattle would lie helpless."
"As summer approached, people also started dying. Bhai Lal saw dead bodies of both humans and cattle. People from the Dalit community used to drag the dead bodies and throw them in the well."
"They didn't even put soil on top. Within no time, the well would be filled with dead bodies. Some bodies would be thrown in the fields, which would be dragged by jackals and dogs and started eating them."
'Gandhiji also collected help for relief work'
He further writes that "Bulls were being sold at the butchers' shops for six rupees. There were one or two houses of the Khatki community in the nearby Sojitra market. They used to send the cattle to Mumbai."
"People of the middle class had even sold their jewellery, but it was still difficult to survive."
"A large number of poor farmers of Borsad and Anand handed over their children to the missionaries. The missionaries borrowed money from England and Ireland and used this opportunity to preach religion."
"In such circumstances, many people converted to Christianity to save their lives. There they could get both food and work."
Citing the memoirs of Bhai Lal Patel, founder of Vallabhvidyanagar University and former president of the Swatantra Party, Achyut Yagnik further wrote-
"There were religious gurus in Gujarat who had become rich by taking offerings from farmers and the poor. 'Chhappan Bhog' was being offered in Vaishnav mansions and the Acharyas were busy enjoying their opulence."
"There was a lot of money in the Swaminarayan temples also. The Ranchhodrai temple of Dakor had a good amount of funds and there was no dearth of property in the Jain temples too. But no religious leader showed willingness to come forward to feed the hungry people."
He writes that some industrialists did relief work. Gujaratis living in South Africa also raised money for help. Gandhiji was also included in these. But the scope of the disaster was so large that this help proved inadequate.
Who raised their voice against this issue?
According to Achyut Yagnik, Dadabhai Naoroji, who is called the Father of India, also raised his voice on this issue.
He began to realize that a different kind of strategy was now needed against British rule. He stressed the need for political nationalism.
Its effect was seen when the 18th session of the Indian National Congress was held in Ahmedabad. In this session, Ambalal Sankarlal was elected the chairman of the welcome committee.
Quoting Ambalal Sankarlal's speech, Achyut Yagnik has written, "Gujarat is an industrial and business centre. Due to the last two famines, 25 lakh people have died in Gujarat, which has a population of less than one crore. The reason for this is the wealth being taken out of the country."
"There were many industrialists in Ahmedabad. They felt that their business was being affected due to the deteriorating political situation. Therefore, they considered it necessary to start a political movement."
"Many of these people had their own textile mills. The British government was 'improperly collecting excise duty' from them. At the same time, farmers were also troubled because of the revenue system."
"Amidst all these issues, a question arose in this Congress session - 'Why are we so poor?'"
Despite opposing the British rule, these people were not in favor of ending the British rule completely. A resolution was passed at the Ahmedabad Congress, stating:
"We pray for the perpetuation of British rule in India. We demand the restoration of that ancient and honored system which has given India law and order and permanent peace. We demand justice, liberty, equal rights and our share in the Empire."
About 20 lakh people died
JE Scott, chairman of the committee formed by the British government for relief work in Rajputana province, has written in his book 'In Famine Land' that the British Viceroy had held a meeting in Calcutta to review the situation.
At that time, the British government estimated that a total of 2 crore 20 lakh people in British ruled areas and 2 crore 70 lakh people in other princely states were affected by famine.
A total of 4 crore 90 lakh people were in the grip of famine. The Viceroy had told that 30 lakh people were being given relief.
JE Scott writes, "The most affected areas included Bombay province, Kathiawar, Gujarat and Rajputana. About 60 lakh people were dependent on government relief."
"The normal rate of population growth in India was one and a half percent. According to this, the population should have increased by 10 lakh in ten years, but instead there was a decrease of 80 lakh in this period."
He further writes that "The mortality rate increased greatly during the drought years. In Bharuch it increased from 2.96 per thousand to 24.83. In Panchmahal it was 46.60 per thousand, in Kheda 21.07 and in Ahmedabad it was 24 per thousand."
Cholera was also widespread during these days, hence the number of people dying from this disease was also quite high.
According to the government famine report of 1901, "about one million people died in British areas, one-fifth of whom died due to cholera. About one million people also died in the princely areas."
According to 'Gujarat Encyclopedia', government figures recorded the deaths of 7,40,376 people in Mumbai province alone during this famine. The area of Gujarat was also included in this province.
These are government figures and that too from the era of the British government, when resources for gathering information about such natural disasters were limited. Therefore, experts believe that the actual number of deaths may have been much higher.
As mentioned earlier, Ambalal Sankarlal, chairman of the reception committee of the Congress session in Ahmedabad, had put the death toll at 25 lakh.
There is a difference in these figures even after quoting other historians.
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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