Famines caused by rat infestation during the flowering of Melocanna baccifera bamboo in parts of North-East India are known as the ‘______’ famines.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC MTS 2020 (Held On : 14 Oct 2021 Shift 1) Official Paper 22

Answer 1

The correct answer is Mautam.

Key Points

Mautam is a periodic natural phenomenon that occurs every 50 years approximately affecting the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur, as well as in many places of Assam.
During Mautam, Melocanna Baccifera, one of the species of bamboo, flowers at one time.
This event is then followed by a plague of black rats in what is termed as a rat flood.
This occurs as the rats multiply in response to the temporary windfall of seeds, and leave the forests to feed on stored grain when the bamboo seeds are exhausted. As a result,
Famines, therefore, play a significant role in shaping the region's geopolitical situation.

Additional Information

Chalisa Famine-

The Chalisa famine occurred in the year 1783–1784 in the Indian subcontinent.
It was the result of the unusual El Nino events that began in 1780 and caused droughts throughout the affected region.
Chalisa (literally, 40 in Hindi) refers to the Vikram Samvat calendar year 1840 (1783).
The famine affected parts of North India like the Delhi territories, present-day Uttar Pradesh, Eastern Punjab, Rajputana, and Kashmir.

Doji Bara Famine-

The Doji bara famine (also known as the Skull famine) of 1791–1792 in the Indian subcontinent was brought on due to the occurrence of a major El Nino event lasting about 6 years (1789-95) and producing prolonged droughts.
The El Nino event resulted in the failure of the South Asian monsoon for four consecutive years starting in 1789.
The resulting famine caused widespread mortality in Hyderabad, Southern Maratha Kingdom, Deccan, Gujarat, and Marwar regions of India.

Upper Doab Famine-

The Doab famine occurred in the year 1860–1861.
The affected areas were the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in the North-Western Provinces, large parts of Rohilkhand and Awadh, the Delhi and Hisar divisions of Punjab, and the eastern regions.
Up to 20 Lakh people are thought to have been affected by the famine as per some of the written records of the British officers.