Deccan in the last quarter of the nineteenth century experienced nine famines, two of which were great famines. The second great famine happened over the turn of the century in 1899, de-populating the region of human life and livestock. Neil Charlesworth’s monograph Peasants and Imperial Rule points out that along with the natural phenomena, the implementation of a flawed land revenue settlement policy accentuated the agrarian crisis. Scarcity of food and credit capital had left multitudes dependent on moneylenders.
Amartya Sen in Hunger and Public Action has asserted that famines are triggered by the collapse of exchange entitlements rather than food availability decline. Based on archival research, this paper will highlight largely unexplored work of the American Marathi Mission in the famine period. The paper will focus on the actions taken by AMM missionaries to mitigate the immediate suffering of the famine population and efforts in mobilizing evangelical transnational help.