The Odisha State Archives will publish a book compiling archival records on the devastating Orissa Famine of 1865-66. At least a million people, about a third of the population then, died in 1866 and another four or five million died in the region in the following two to three years.
“The great famine, known as Na-anka Durbhikhya, was a major event in the history of Odisha. On the occasion of its 150{+t}{+h} year, we will publish a book that will contain all government reports, including the famous Campbell Commission Report, and archival material like newspaper clippings,” said culture secretary Arvind Padhee.
“Several government inquiries were ordered by the colonial government after the famine. These reports give a detailed account of the cause and effect of the famine,” said retired reader in history Kailash Chandra Dash. “The famine occurred in the 9th regal year of the then king Dibyasingha Deb and hence it is called Na-anka Durbhikya,” he said.
The devastation caused by the famine was vividly described in Baboo Ooday Chund Dutt’s report that was published in Indian Annals of Medicine. “The unfortunate people after living on herbs and roots for periods varying from one to two months were reduced to a state of extreme emaciation. Their bones were all visible and covered by bare skin. The features were shrunk and the eyes sunk. The muscular and fatty tissues appeared to have been entirely absorbed,” the report described.
The report added, “The figure of walking skeletons best conveys the picture of these starving paupers.”
Sources said, although many died of starvation, a large number were killed of diseases like cholera and malaria. “Following the famine, various developmental activities began in the state. We have started working on the project and collecting documents,” said superintendant of the archives Bhagyalipi Malla.
Prasanta Patnaik