Famine of 1896-1897 reaches the Madras Presidency
· Chennai
A famine that began in Bundelkhand in 1896 spread across India, including parts of the Madras Presidency, where grain exports continued.
The Indian famine of 1896-1897 began in Bundelkhand early in 1896 and spread to many regions, including parts of the Madras Presidency. Across India it affected about 69.5 million people, and later demographic research suggests that 4.5 to 5 million may have died of starvation and disease. In the Madras Presidency the drought was made worse by a laissez-faire grain trade policy. The worst-hit Madras districts, Ganjam and Vizagapatam in the north of the presidency, continued to export grain throughout the famine. Epidemics of cholera and malaria accompanied the famine, and in 1897 bubonic plague broke out in the Bombay Presidency and spread to other parts of India over the next decade.
