Portrait of the Starving as a Worker. Documenting the Social Impact of the 1866 Famine on Colonial Bengal

Résumé 0

In 1866 a devastating famine strikes the regions of Orissa and of Bengal proper, both territories under the administration of the British Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The Hooghly region is hit, which triggers the migration of thousands of men, women and children hoping to find relief or employment in Calcutta. In August 1866 18 000 famine refugees are gathered in the colonial capital city, and among them 6 000 weavers from Jehanabad (Hooghly). This urban migratory crisis provides the context for the registration by two leading Bengalis of the statements of two of these weavers. This very rich document contributes to a social and political history of the 1866 famine in Bengal. The weavers’ statement reveals first the action in the city of the Calcutta Famine Relief Fund and, more specifically, the municipal strategy of removal of the famine migrants. It is also a tool of political communication for the Bengali elites to put pressure on the British colonial state regarding the famine situation on the landholders’ rural estates. Finally, this document sheds light on the famine process, as experienced by two specific individuals and their families, who are trying to survive and to protect their livelihood.