FAMINE
329
of the fodder for the cattle, the spring crops being grown only for
profit. To a great extent this still holds good, especially as regards
fodder; but of late years the area under spring crops has greatly
increased, and now, even in the insecure tracts, it almost equals that
under autumn crops. The loss of a single harvest, or even of both the
annual harvests, does not in itself necessitate measures of relief. Such
measures are required only after a succession of lean years, and thus
the point when failure of the monsoon spells famine can, as a rule, be
accurately gauged. Besides a rise in prices, not always a very trust-
worthy sign, indications of the necessity for measures of relief are
usually afforded by the contraction of private charity and credit,
activity in the grain trade, increase in crime, and aimless wandering
in search of employment or food.
The first famine in the Punjab of which any information exists oc-
curred in 1783-4 (Samvat 184o), and is popularly called the challsa
kdl, or I famine of the year 40.' It affected the whole country
from the Sutlej to Allahabad, and was acute in the neighbour-
hood of Delhi. Hariana was desolated and the people perished or
emigrated. The mortality must have been very great, and few villages
now existing in this area boast a history anterior to the famine.
Famine again occurred in 1833-4, 1837-8, 1860-i, 1868-9, 1877-8,
1896-7, and in 1899-i9oo. In 1833-4 the conditions were those
of severe scarcity rather than of famine; and though there was
suffering in Hissar and Rohtak Districts and the Fazilka tahstl, no
relief, beyond large suspensions of revenue, was given. The scarcity
was, however, the precursor of serious famine in 1837-8, when the
tract between Allahabad and Delhi was most seriously affected, but
Hissar, Rohtak, and Fazilka also suffered. Relief works were opened
for the able-bodied, but the relief of the infirm and helpless was left to
private charity. The main features of this famine were the prevalence
of aimless wandering and the extraordinary amount of violent crime.
The famine of 186o-i affected only the Districts between the
Jumna and the Sutlej, and was the result partly of the Mutiny, and
partly of deficient rainfall in the two preceding years, followed by
a failure of the monsoon in 186o. The principles adopted in 1833-4
were again followed. Gratuitous relief was given mainly in the f6rm
of cooked food.
Practically the same tract was again affected in 1868-9, but the
great influx of famine-stricken immigrants from Rajputana exhausted
the resources of private charity. The principle that it was the duty
of the people to relieve the infirm and weak had to be abandoned, and
Government acknowledged its liability to supplement charitable aid.
Large works under professional control and minor works under civil
officers were also utilized for affording relief. The excess mortality in
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