The Doji Bara famine, also called the Skull Famine, struck the Indian subcontinent in 1791-1792, brought on by a major El Nino event that produced prolonged drought across the region from roughly 1789 to 1795. Widespread mortality followed across Hyderabad, the southern Maratha kingdom, the Deccan, Gujarat and Marwar, and in regions such as the Madras Presidency where records survive, roughly half the population perished in some districts. The famine took its name from the unburied bones left whitening the roads and fields, particularly around Bijapur, where 1791 came to be remembered as the year of the "skull famine."
Facts
Milestone Year WhenPart of a wider drought lasting from 1789 to 1795 1 LocationHyderabad, Southern Maratha Kingdom, Deccan, Gujarat and Marwar 1 Classification
Type/ClassificationAgricultural Famine or Disaster 1 Connections
Associated With
Famine, Concepts The Doji Bara famine followed four consecutive failed monsoons during the 1789 to 1795 El Nino event, a canonical case of monsoon failure famine.
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Sources
1. Doji bara famine, Wikipedia
Article title and lead, naming the famine years
The Doji bara famine (also Skull famine) of 1791-1792
Lead section, sentence on the El Nino event
brought on by a major El Nino event lasting from 1789-1795
Impact section, sentence on affected regions
The resulting famine, which was severe, caused widespread mortality in Hyderabad, Southern Maratha Kingdom, Deccan, Gujarat, and Marwar (then all ruled by Indian rulers).
lead description (milestone-kind)
The Doji Bara famine, also called the Skull Famine, struck the Indian subcontinent in 1791-1792, brought on by a major El Nino event that produced prolonged drought across the region from roughly 1789 to 1795.
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