Timeline of major famines in India during British rule 1871 to 382 million in 1941. At least 15-35 million people may have died in famines caused by droughts and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon during the British rule. The year 1765 is chosen as the start year because that year the British East India Company, after its victory in the Battle of Buxar, was granted the "Diwani" (rights to land revenue) in the region of Bengal (although it would not directly administer Bengal until 1784 when it was granted the "Nizamat", or control of law and order.) The year 1947 is the year in which the British Raj was
The Independent (India) The Independent (India) The Independent was an Allahabad based newspaper begun by Motilal Nehru in 1919. The paper closed down under British repression two years later. "The Independent" was started on February 9, 1919 with the primary aim of countering the moderate political line adopted by the then leading Allahabad daily "The Leader". Motilal Nehru was assisted in the paper's establishment by B G Horniman and Syed Hussain who became the "Independent"s editor. The paper's purpose according to Motilal was 'to wage war against autocracy' and to 'think aloud for India', but from the very beginning the paper suffered from