The following facts and figures taken from a pamphlet entitled Food
Crisis, 1946, are of special interest in view of the food shortage :
Production of Foodstuffs in India (1945-46)
| Rice |
25.8 |
million |
tons |
| Wheat |
8.3 |
,, |
,, |
| Gram |
3.0 |
,, |
,, |
| Millets |
7.5 |
,, |
,, |
| Maize |
2.2 |
,, |
,, |
| Barley |
1.7 |
,, |
,, |
The above quantity has been found insufficient for the total population of
India and the estimated deficit is 6 million tons.
The Punjab, C.P. and Berar, Sind, Orissa and Assam are not exporters of
cereals in normal times. The deficit areas are the N.W.F.P., Bihar, U.P.,
Madras, Bombay, Bengal, the States of Travancore and Cochin, all of
which have to import either wheat, rice, millet, or all.
The production v. requirements of foodstuffs annually is as follows:
| Foodstuffs |
Production |
Requirements |
Deficit |
| |
million tons |
million tons |
million tons |
| Cereals |
50 |
60 |
10 |
| Pulses |
7 |
12 |
5 |
| Vegetables & Fruits |
Unassessed |
At least double |
- |
| Fish |
0.6 |
9 |
8.4 |
| Milk |
22 |
35 |
13 |
| Eggs |
2660 |
146000 |
143340(No.) |
The following is a table of balanced diet for the maintenance of proper
health:
| Cereals |
14 Oz. |
| Pulses |
3 " |
| Green leafy vegetable |
3 " |
| Root vegetable |
3 " |
| Other vegetables |
3 " |
| Fruits |
3 " |
| Milk |
10 " |
| Sugar and Jaggery |
2 " |
| Vegetable oil, Ghee, etc. |
2 " |
| Fish and meat |
3 " |
| Egg |
1 Only |
This diet yields about 2600 calories.
| The adult Indian male requires |
2600 calories |
| Female |
2100 ” |
| Child 12 and 13 year |
2100 ” |
| Child 10 and 11 year |
1800 ” |
| Child 8 and 9 year |
1600 ” |
| Child 6 and 7 year |
1300 ” |
| Child 4 and 5 year |
1000 ” |
| Pregnant woman |
2400 ” |
| Nursing mother |
3000 ” |
But how much do they get in comparison with other countries? The figures reveal a sorry tale:
| Country |
Calories per head per day |
| America |
...3,200 |
| Great Britain |
...2,600 |
| Germany (after the war) |
...1,600 |
| Japan (under American occupation) |
1,575 |
| 'Grim and dangerous level' |
1,500 |
| And India |
960 |
No wonder the death rate and infant mortality figures are appalling:
| Country |
1942 Death rate per 1000 |
Infant mortality per 1000 births |
| Australia |
10.5 |
39 |
| Canada |
9.7 |
54 |
| America |
10.4 |
40 |
| Germany |
12.7 (1940) |
68 |
| England |
12.2 (1940) |
54 |
| Japan |
17.6 (1938) |
114 (1937) |
| India |
22.0 |
163 |
and our expectation of life woefully short:
| Country |
Expectation of life at birth |
| |
Males |
Females |
| Netherlands |
65.70 |
67.20 (1931-40) |
| New Zealand |
65.46 |
68.45 (1934-38) |
| Sweden |
64.30 |
66.92 (1936-40) |
| America |
63.65 |
68.61 |
| Denmark |
63.50 |
65.80 (1936-40) |
| Union of S.A. |
61.46 |
66.80 (1940) |
| Canada |
60.90 |
64.70 (1940-42) |
| Ireland |
59.00 |
51.00 (1940-42) |
| England |
60.18 |
64.40 (1937) |
| Germany |
59.86 |
62.80 (1932-34) |
| Italy |
53.76 |
56.00 (1930-32) |
| Japan |
46.92 |
49.63 (1935-36) |
| India |
26.91 |
26.56 (1931) |
Not until our people are able to get enough to eat, can all our schemes
for proper housing or roads or even education and health be of any real
avail. Adequate and proper diet is the first requirement of man, and to
this end the energy of all Provincial Governments must be diverted
forthwith if we are to live.
A. K.
Harijan, 8-9-1946
|