History of Disaster Relief, India

The history of disaster relief in India dates back to the first Indian Famine Commission of 1880, which laid the foundation of India's relief system, called the Famine Codes. In independent India the name changed to the of Scarcity Manuals and Relief Codes. They underwent occasional revisions until 2007, when the Central Disaster Management Act of 2005 superseded these codes.

Because severe famines abound in India's past, disaster relief was introduced to counteract the effect of famines. Famine relief has a very long history in India, which varies in region and scope. Indian development economist Jean Drèze noted that one of the very first treatises on government relief was written more than 2,000 years ago during the rule of Kautiliya. At that time, the method of famine relief distribution by Indian rule included free distribution of raw grain, opening of public grain stores to the people, remission of revenue, public works, and encouragement of migration. The East India Company continued this legacy until the 1860s and later adopted a nonintervention policy.

A woman identified as Miss Neil (right) and an unidentified Indian woman support a famine victim in India, circa 1900–20

Toward the end of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, India experienced four widespread famines, in 1876–1908; 1896–1907, 1899–1900, and 1907–08. All four affected virtually the entire subcontinent, and each caused several million deaths. The sheer failure on the part of the government to prevent the famine from 1876 to 1908 prompted the establishment of the first Indian Famine Commission of 1880. The commission led to the development of the Famine Codes, which represented an essential (though not quite decisive) step toward the prevention of famines in [Page 288][Page 289]India. The Famine Codes contained guidelines for the local administration on anticipation, recognition, and relief of famines and other natural calamities, including floods and cyclones. Each state was required to develop its own code by adapting the model drafted by the government to its local circumstances. The widespread famines of 1896–1907 and 1899–1900 further prompted the establishment of the Indian Famine Commission of 1898 and 1901, respectively.

The Indian Famine Commission of 1880

The Famine Commission of 1880 envisioned immediate relief measures for people affected by disasters. The relief measures took both direct and indirect forms. Direct relief included employment for massive public works projects at subsistence wages for those who requested it. Complementary to this was gratuitous relief given to those who were unable to work. These included relief kitchens; poorhouses; and cash handouts for women, the sick, the elderly, and children. Indirect relief measures included remission from land revenue and agricultural loans for both subsistence and production, which was distributed to the cultivators. These measures were also extended for localized floods or cyclones by the respective state governments. According to Drèze, these relief measures hinted that the British administration understood that protection of food entitlement was crucial to the problems of preventing famine (and other natural disasters), since the physical availability of food was not problematic except during the famine of 1896–1902.

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