Bihar famine of 1873–74 Bihar famine of 1873–74 The Bihar famine of 1873–1874 (also the Bengal famine of 1873–1874) was a famine in British India that followed a drought in the province of Bihar, the neighboring provinces of Bengal, the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. It affected an area of and a population of 21.5 million. The relief effort—organized by Sir Richard Temple, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal—was one of the success stories of the famine relief in British India; there was little or no mortality during the famine. As the impending famine came to light, a decision was made at the highest level
Bihar his ability. After listening to bandishes from Kumar Sahib, Pandit Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that, alas!, he did not have such ability himself." [free translation of Hindi text]. During the 19th century, when the condition of Bihar worsened under the British misrule, many Biharis had to emigrate as indentured labourers to the West Indies, Fiji, and Mauritius. During this time many sad plays and songs called "birha" became popular, in the Bhojpur region, thus "Bhojpuri Birha". Dramas incorporating this theme continue to be popular in the theatres of Patna. Bihar has a robust Bhojpuri-language film industry. There