Essay on Famine and Drought in India

Essay on Famine and Drought in India : Famine means complete shortage of food. It is that stage when people begin to die for want of food. We know the famine of Bengal in 1943 when thousands of men, women and children died. Today there is no famine in India. But sometimes in some parts of the country there is a famine like situation. Many countries of the world face such a situation. But things have been improved in our country. In the past, India was said to be the land of milk and honey. But it became a country of famine, floods and poverty. There are several causes of famine in our country. The backwardness of Indian agriculture is one of them. India is mainly a land of villages. Villages depend on agriculture.

Essay on Famine and Drought in India

Introduction : Famine means complete shortage of food. It is that stage when people begin to die for want of food. We know the famine of Bengal in 1943 when thousands of men, women and children died. Today there is no famine in India. But sometimes in some parts of the country there is a famine like situation. Many countries of the world face such a situation. But things have been improved in our country.

India past and present : In the past, India was said to be the land of milk and honey. But it became a country of famine, floods and poverty. There are several causes of famine in our country. The backwardness of Indian agriculture is one of them. India is mainly a land of villages. Villages depend on agriculture. But farmers have to face lot of problems. They are uneducated. They do not know modern methods of farming. Besides, their land is divided and subdivided into many small pieces. There cattle are poor and weak. Moreover, they have to depend on nature for rain. In short, the backwardness of Indian agriculture is one of the most important causes of famine.

Population problem : In India the population is rising very fast. But the rise in food production is not so Rapid. So there happens to be the shortage of food. All this results in famine. Even today there is the food shortage in some parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. But the government does not allow the famine to visit us. There is a continuous supply of food grains in drought or flood affected areas.

Get rid of dependence : We must try to check famine. We got help from other countries during the times of famine. But it is foolish to depend on them for food every time. At the same time it is worse to go on begging from country to country. We hope our family planning schemes will succeed in controlling ever rising population. Farmers must be educated to produce more food grains through scientific methods of farming. Irrigation facilities should be made available to them. There must be sufficient number of Technical knows-hows.  Apart from this, man made famine should be stopped. Corruption at all levels should end if a man has to go forever.

Great calamity for common man : Famines and drought are great calamity for common man the tales of their suffering that appeared in the newspapers were extremely horrifying. Thousands failed to get even one square meal a day. Many lived on grass, wild roots and leaves of trees. Houses, utensils and other necessary articles had to be sold to purchase food. People had to trudge several miles to get drinking water. 

Clock on Anti-social elements : Anti-social elements took full advantage of the situation. There was hoarding and profiteering on a mass scale. It was so very shocking. One cannot describe the suffering of the children, of the old and invalid. Who couldn’t get milk and medicine and who thus died a horrible death, the anguish of the mothers whose children died of Hunger before their eyes can better be imagined then described. The pictures of these emaciated and starving people that appeared in the newspaper told a horrible tale. 

Government’s help : However the government did its best to help these famine striken people. Famine relief work was given top priority and the administration was geared up to meet the situation food grain was rushed in large quantities from the neighbouring States. Food and water was also rushed by the government to different parts of the country on an emergency basis. Food was distributed free to the needy, countless kitchen worked round the clock. Many lives were thus saved and much suffering avoided. 

Permanent measures : Some permanent measures to avoid the recurrence of much calamities were also taken in hand. The digging of kuchcha wells and canals and the construction of tube Wells, was taken up on war fooling. This provided work to many people who were unemployed or underemployed. Thousands of wells thus were dug within no time. 

Conclusion : Many states of the country are frequently in grip of famine. The government does its best. But the only permanent solution Of farming lies in scientific farming. The youth of the country can do much in this connection. Educated young men should go to the villages and try to educate and persuade the farmers to take to scientific farming.