You might have been taught that the famines in Ireland and India were natural disasters caused by a potato blight or a drought.

While these natural events were the triggers, what's often left out is how Britain’s policies turned these crop failures into mass starvation, functioning as a silent, systematic weapon of colonial control.

Britain's adherence to a rigid, free-market ideology and its prioritisation of imperial economic interests over human life created and exacerbated these humanitarian catastrophes.

The Great Famine in Ireland (1845–1852)-

The Great Famine, or An Gorta Mór, was a defining tragedy in Irish history that killed an estimated one million people and caused another two million to emigrate. The commonly taught narrative blames a fungus called Phytophthora infestans, which destroyed the potato crop, the primary food source for a third of Ireland's population. However, this is only part of the story.

The British government's response, or lack thereof, turned a crop failure into a man-made famine. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom at the time, and its people were subjects of the British Crown. Yet, as the Irish starved, vast quantities of grain, livestock, and other foodstuffs were exported from Ireland to Great Britain. The British government, under the sway of laissez-faire economic principles, refused to intervene in the market by stopping these exports or providing food aid on a large scale. They believed that market forces would naturally correct the situation, a policy that proved disastrous.

The British government's relief efforts were minimal and often cruel. Public works projects were set up to provide employment, but the wages were so low that people could not afford the inflated prices of food. When this system failed, it was replaced by a network of workhouses under the Poor Law, which were so harsh and unsanitary that many people chose to starve rather than enter them. Historians point to key figures like Sir Charles Trevelyan, who was in charge of relief efforts and believed that the famine was a divine judgment sent to teach the Irish a lesson. His ideological conviction meant that any effective, large-scale relief was actively obstructed. The British government even passed a law that made Irish landlords responsible for the relief of their tenants, leading to mass evictions as landlords tried to save money and consolidate their land holdings.

The Famines in British India (18th-20th Centuries)-

The history of British rule in India is punctuated by a series of devastating famines that collectively killed tens of millions of people. These famines were not merely a consequence of drought or crop failure; they were the direct result of British economic policy. While famines had occurred in India before, British rule fundamentally changed the country's economic and social structure, making it far more vulnerable.

The British implemented a system of high taxes and a shift to cash crops like cotton and opium, which were exported to Britain for profit. This system forced farmers to abandon food crops in favor of these more lucrative, non-edible alternatives, leaving them with no food security. When droughts inevitably occurred, the result was a catastrophe.

During the Great Famine of 1876-1878, an estimated 5.5 million people died. While people were starving, India exported a record amount of grain—nearly 6.4 million tons—to Britain. The Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton, a firm believer in the laissez-faire policies that had devastated Ireland, refused to implement a food embargo or provide extensive relief. Instead, he enforced strict "Famine Codes" that set impossibly low rations and required people to perform hard labor to qualify for aid. The rules were so rigid that many people were too weak to work and were thus denied assistance.

The Bengal Famine of 1943 serves as a final, horrific example. While a cyclone and a fungal blight destroyed a large rice harvest, the famine was exacerbated by a deliberate British policy. During World War II, Britain, under the leadership of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, diverted food and resources from India to its war effort and stockpiles, believing that the war effort took precedence over Indian lives. Churchill famously declared, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion,” and he dismissed pleas for aid, suggesting the famine was the Indians' own fault for "breeding like rabbits."

A Broader Context of Famine as a Weapon-

These famines were not isolated incidents but a consistent pattern of colonial policy. They demonstrate how Britain's rule of law and economic systems were designed to extract wealth and resources, not to protect the lives of the colonized. The famines in Ireland and India were not a lack of food but a lack of access to food. The food was there, but it was being sold, exported, and hoarded by the colonial power for profit.

The underlying "weapon" was the ideology of laissez-faire capitalism, which prioritized private property rights and profit over human life. This dogma, combined with racist and nationalist attitudes that viewed the Irish and Indians as inferior, allowed the British to justify their inaction. They could tell themselves they weren’t actively killing people, but were simply allowing "natural" economic laws to take their course. This convenient narrative absolved them of moral responsibility.

The legacy of these famines is a fundamental part of the post-colonial identity of both Ireland and India. The events fueled nationalist movements, solidified a deep-seated distrust of Britain, and continue to be a source of trauma and debate. The truth is that Britain's use of famine, not as a direct act of violence but as a byproduct of a system designed to enrich the colonizer at the expense of the colonized, is a dark and essential part of imperial history that is often omitted.