Timeline of major famines in India during British rule Timeline of major famines in India during British rule This is a timeline of major famines on the Indian subcontinent during British rule from 1765 to 1947. The famines included here occurred both in the princely states (regions administered by Indian rulers), British India (regions administered either by the British East India Company from 1765 to 1857; or by the British Crown, in the British Raj, from 1858 to 1947) and Indian territories independent of British rule such as the Maratha Empire. Despite the droughts and famines, the Indian population increased drastically throughout the British period, from 249 million in
Political warfare in British colonial India In this way, Britain increased the power of local nobility and made it known to them that their power came from the Queen. "Many of them [princes] owe their very existence to British justice and arms...The situation of these feudatory States, checker boarding all India as they do, is a safeguard. It is like establishing a vast network of friendly fortresses in debatable territory." Also, to appease some of the nobles' concerns in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny, princes were allowed to adopt heirs rather than have their estates automatically ceded to British control at their death. Direct rule