Question

Which of these is not a valid reason for arguing that there is a lesser possibility of famine in a democratic country?
(A) Opposition parties can draw attention to hunger and starvation.
(B) Free press can report suffering from famine in different parts of the country.
(C) Government fears its defeat in the next elections.
(D) People are free to believe in and practise any religion.

Answer 1

Hint:
 Famines are caused either as a result of some natural calamity, including severe conditions like drought or floods, or policy failure. In India, which is the biggest democracy, most of the agriculture is dependent upon rain and therefore any fluctuation in season causes famines.


Complete solution:
A famine is an extreme scarcity of food. Generally, drought and floods result in famine as they cause huge loss to the agriculture produce.

Famines have been a very common feature of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The political instability in these countries at the time of partition paved the way for widespread famine because the then government was not able to handle changes abruptly. Famines were a common feature of British India because the British government focused on cash crops and exported most of the food crops to Britain at very low where they were consumed. The various systems of land settlement during the British Raj added to the problems. The Zamindars exploited the farmers for tax as a result of which they could not procure any stock for their own consumption.

Some famines which occurred in India are:

- The Bengal famine of 1770
- The Chalisa famine
- Doji bara famine
- The Great Famine of 1876 - 1878
- The Bengal famine of 1943

Famine is a natural calamity and religion or religious practices cannot do anything in a democratic country.

Additional information: In the 18th, 19th and 20th century caused over 60 million deaths. The British Raj did very little, rather nothing to improve the living conditions of the Indian population. India’s growth during the British period was stagnant and fell substantially.


Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note:
 In a democratic country, the chance of policy failure substantially reduces compared to an authoritarian government because in a democracy people have the power to protest and make policies which are in their own favour rather than the policies which are in government’s favour.