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
Territorial evolution of the British Empire British Raj, also called the Indian Empire, was the imperial political structure in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947, comprising British India (a Crown colony: presidencies and provinces directly governed by the British Crown through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) and Princely States, governed by Indian rulers, under the suzerainty of the British Crown exercised through the Viceroy and Governor-General of India. Within twenty years of the partition and independence in 1947 of British India (considered to be the most important colonial possession), most of the Empire's territories had achieved full independence. Today 14 former colonies (since 2002