This haunting image comes from the Great Famine of 1876 to 1878, one of the deadliest famines in colonial India under British rule. The famine began with drought and failed monsoons, but the suffering was made far worse by British policies that kept collecting taxes and allowed grain to be exported even as local populations starved.
The disaster killed an estimated five to ten million people across southern and western India, with modern studies placing the number near eight million. Entire families were left skeletal, villages collapsed under hunger and disease, and desperate survivors struggled to stay alive in any way they could.
The famine revealed the neglect and failures of the colonial administration, which provided only limited relief while prioritizing revenue and trade. It left deep scars on India’s memory, symbolizing the deadly consequences of exploitation and misrule under the British Raj, and it remains one of the darkest episodes in India’s history.
Sasquatch_TG on
It is insane what the human body is capable of surviving.
SwampCrittr on
Famine follows British colonialism it seems.
SocietySavings2968 on
Man this is fucked up history kept under the rug. As an Indian, I did not even know about this till now
Edit: No wonder I have skinny fat indian genes
zeldasusername on
Famine, read the English stole all the food again
Fluffy_Moose_73 on
British colonialism and famines.
Name a more iconic duo.
Sarz13 on
Is it even possible to come back from this? Like if the people in this photo suddenly were given a normal amount of food whenever they want, could they return to normal?
jpsreddit85 on
Doesn’t look like there’s much for the cannibals left.
Traditional_Chef861 on
Britain has always been a blood sucking parasite
Chipmunk-Special on
What percent body fat would that be?
pxm7 on
OP has pasted this right out of other social media posts like Quora and Facebook. This is how half-truths spread on social media, with little to no fact-checking.
The bit about cannibals is … very sus. Beyond social media, OP, do you have a source for this?
Here’s a source for the photo in question, from Getty’s collection:
At the same time, these photos are a valuable visual record. There were in fact people in the EIC who wanted to document the suffering in hopes that it’d move their superiors into action:
> One such voice belonged to the physician, William Robert Cornish, Sanitary Commissioner of Madras, who lamented the absence of a photographer attached to his office. Words could at best “feebly represent the actual facts,” he said. If the administration could only “see the living skeletons assembled at feeding houses” as he had, Dr Cornish hoped they might budge from their stubborn and unquestioning support of the principle of laissez faire.
> A photographer did appear on the scene soon enough, although he was perhaps not what Dr Cornish had hoped for.
So yeah, real history > made up social media headlines any day.
Ceepeenc on
How long would it take to look like this not eating?
thamusicmike on
It has nothing to do with cannibals, obviously. 1. There isn’t much meat on those bodies. 2. The guy would be too weak to do much defending.
Heavy-Feeling-6208 on
That was a famous communist famine
LogOk789 on
Fuuuuuck
PlanktonSuch9732 on
“CoLoNiZsAtIoN wAs GoOd FoR iNdIa VrOoOoOo!!!”
The urge to punch someone in their face when some moron says this. No it fucking wasnt. No railways, no infrastructure the British built will ever make up for the miilions deaths that were caused by famines that were completely engineered and avoidable.
relativlysmart on
On one hand, I wouldn’t be alive if colonialism didn’t exist, on the other, it led to horrible shit like this.
Lucky_Musician_ on
India is a colonialist state it’s. Kashmir under occupation 70k+ killed since 1989.
“if the British stayed back, we would have been a educated, developed, corruption free nation” – random brown nosing indian on reddit
“We brought railways, civilization, culture, education to Indians” – British guy on India
Meanwhile, about a major famine every decade ruled by british which would kill off millions (luckily, famines were less frequent and less severe prior to British and deaths due to famines completely disappeared (never heard of a 1000 deaths due to famines in independent India whereas about 3 mn died in 1942-43 bengal famine) post independence), force Indians to work as indentured labourers in far off places and a literacy rate of about 15% by 1947.
Altruistic_Ad_0 on
GDP was rising
resonable_pin on
As an indian, i never knew about this. We really need to educate our youth about our history. This photo really made me sad.
umbly-bumbly on
I’ve never seen such an extreme picture of starvation. I didn’t know it was possible to be alive and look like this. How incredibly sad and tragic.
25 Comments
This haunting image comes from the Great Famine of 1876 to 1878, one of the deadliest famines in colonial India under British rule. The famine began with drought and failed monsoons, but the suffering was made far worse by British policies that kept collecting taxes and allowed grain to be exported even as local populations starved.
The disaster killed an estimated five to ten million people across southern and western India, with modern studies placing the number near eight million. Entire families were left skeletal, villages collapsed under hunger and disease, and desperate survivors struggled to stay alive in any way they could.
The famine revealed the neglect and failures of the colonial administration, which provided only limited relief while prioritizing revenue and trade. It left deep scars on India’s memory, symbolizing the deadly consequences of exploitation and misrule under the British Raj, and it remains one of the darkest episodes in India’s history.
It is insane what the human body is capable of surviving.
Famine follows British colonialism it seems.
Man this is fucked up history kept under the rug. As an Indian, I did not even know about this till now
Edit: No wonder I have skinny fat indian genes
Famine, read the English stole all the food again
British colonialism and famines.
Name a more iconic duo.
Is it even possible to come back from this? Like if the people in this photo suddenly were given a normal amount of food whenever they want, could they return to normal?
Doesn’t look like there’s much for the cannibals left.
Britain has always been a blood sucking parasite
What percent body fat would that be?
OP has pasted this right out of other social media posts like Quora and Facebook. This is how half-truths spread on social media, with little to no fact-checking.
The bit about cannibals is … very sus. Beyond social media, OP, do you have a source for this?
Here’s a source for the photo in question, from Getty’s collection:
> [84.XO.940.7.11
Deserving Objects of Gratuitous Relief](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/108WCX), by Willoughby Wallace Hooper.
> Indian family suffering of famine posing in front of the relief camp.
Some actual facts Redditors can look up:
Famines (note: plural, and not confined to one part of India) were pretty bad and the colonial government’s policy was “let them starve”.
The photographer, Willoughby Wallace Hooper, was quite a character. Many of his photos were staged, which presents several [ethical](https://victorianvisualculture.blog/2021/11/28/ethics-in-the-photos-of-willoughby-wallace-hooper/) concerns. Did he pay or feed his photographic subjects? [The story behind these photos](https://scroll.in/magazine/855532/who-was-the-photographer-who-took-these-dehumanising-images-of-the-madras-famine) is especially wtf **even without cannibals** (if there were indeed cannibals, please share evidence!)
At the same time, these photos are a valuable visual record. There were in fact people in the EIC who wanted to document the suffering in hopes that it’d move their superiors into action:
> One such voice belonged to the physician, William Robert Cornish, Sanitary Commissioner of Madras, who lamented the absence of a photographer attached to his office. Words could at best “feebly represent the actual facts,” he said. If the administration could only “see the living skeletons assembled at feeding houses” as he had, Dr Cornish hoped they might budge from their stubborn and unquestioning support of the principle of laissez faire.
> A photographer did appear on the scene soon enough, although he was perhaps not what Dr Cornish had hoped for.
So yeah, real history > made up social media headlines any day.
How long would it take to look like this not eating?
It has nothing to do with cannibals, obviously. 1. There isn’t much meat on those bodies. 2. The guy would be too weak to do much defending.
That was a famous communist famine
Fuuuuuck
“CoLoNiZsAtIoN wAs GoOd FoR iNdIa VrOoOoOo!!!”
The urge to punch someone in their face when some moron says this. No it fucking wasnt. No railways, no infrastructure the British built will ever make up for the miilions deaths that were caused by famines that were completely engineered and avoidable.
On one hand, I wouldn’t be alive if colonialism didn’t exist, on the other, it led to horrible shit like this.
India is a colonialist state it’s. Kashmir under occupation 70k+ killed since 1989.
https://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/india0906/2.htm
Cannibals i.e. Britishers ??
“if the British stayed back, we would have been a educated, developed, corruption free nation” – random brown nosing indian on reddit
“We brought railways, civilization, culture, education to Indians” – British guy on India
Meanwhile, about a major famine every decade ruled by british which would kill off millions (luckily, famines were less frequent and less severe prior to British and deaths due to famines completely disappeared (never heard of a 1000 deaths due to famines in independent India whereas about 3 mn died in 1942-43 bengal famine) post independence), force Indians to work as indentured labourers in far off places and a literacy rate of about 15% by 1947.
GDP was rising
As an indian, i never knew about this. We really need to educate our youth about our history. This photo really made me sad.
I’ve never seen such an extreme picture of starvation. I didn’t know it was possible to be alive and look like this. How incredibly sad and tragic.
A CiViLiZiNg fOrCe
british capitalism at play