European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                              But famine still stalks India Suie by Joe Mcgowan jr., a staff writer once again the massive Gray moisture Laden Clouds of the trop ical Monsoon Darken the skies of  again the parched Earth takes on a new life and once again after two years of the worst drought in the nation s history the Farmer plants his Rice and wheat Fields with the Hope of a bumper crop late this year. Besides the rain a Gigantic Multina Tion Relief drive mounted this year brought food to the empty bowls an tables of the millions of people in a vast famine area. Wheat Rice milk powder High protein foodstuffs and vitamins poured into in Dia from the far Corners of the Globe preventing what Many had feared would be a major calamity. The Relief program succeeded beyond expectations. Today the children of fam Ine stricken Bihar state have a new vitality. But there was no feasible Way to sup ply fodder to Bihar. As a result Large number of cattle vitally important for pulling plows and providing milk and dung for fires have died or been seriously weakened. Despite the new Rains and the Relief program India s food problems Are still tremendous. The great quantities of food grains shipped to India by the United states and other countries for feeding eight million people daily will have to keep coming at the present rec Ord Pace during at least the rest of 1967. A breakdown in the Supply lines or disruption of the feeding programs could even yet result in Large scale starvation deaths a threat this hungry nation has lived with the past three years. There have been deaths no one Canor will say How Many and there will be More. Some were outright starvation deaths while Many More deaths than usual have occurred because weakened bodies have been unable to withstand diseases not normally fatal. The death and hardship has Necmi Cen tired in this Plains area of Central Bihar state where the lord Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a giant Banyan tree still preserve alongside an ancient Temple in Bodh Gaya. Most of India was affected by drought Page 12 m 1965, and the drought continued Las year in Bihar Eastern utter Pravesh Northern Adhya Pravesh and a few districts of Western West Bengal state the result was famine conditions for 60 Mil lion people and their livestock in that area of Eastern India and shortage throughout the rest of the country. During 1966 villagers had drawn nonfood stocks boarded in their huts after the bumper crop two years earlier. This plus massive imports of food grains made it possible for the country tomake it through the year. But this year the personal hoarding were gone and government warehouses were virtually empty. The government formally declared a state of famine existed in Large areas of Bihar and a hand Ful of districts of Adhya Pravesh state. India endured its worst shortage of Foo since 1943 when an estimated two Mil lion people died. He worst shortage now faced is of Rice which is scarce around the  Rice eating areas such As West Bengal Kerala and mad Hay Prad Esh Are complaining the Central govern ment is not doing enough to procure Rice. Recently the Adhya state Cabinet declared 18 of 30 drought affected districts of the state As famine stricken so though the Rains have returned the problems will continue on India s food front at least until the Harvest is Inthis reporter was in Gaya District when the Rains came. Reaction of the villagers was unexpected. The Day before the temperature had been nearly 100 degrees the ground was baked and Barren and the people sat around listlessly except for the pregnant women nursing mothers and Young Chil Dren who walked to a feeding Center for a noon meal furnished by  the Rains came and the Paddy Fields began filling with water there Wasno great outpouring of emotion no Joy Ous celebrating no giving of thanks atthe temples. Instead the residents of one tiny Vil Lage with thatched roof mud huts complained through an interpreter that their roofs were leaking. One District government official re women and children Plant Rice on land rendered Fertile by Rains. This staring boy is one of India s millions the stars and stripes hungry children drenched by the Long awaited Rains line up for their daily meal. Wednesday september 20, 1967 marked the Rains Are most untimely referring to the fact that they had come two weeks later than usual. Only nature s wild creatures seemed to rejoice in the return of the Mon soon. Half starved Little dogs splashed through mud puddles Birds whistled and chirped in the Trees whose leaves had been stripped for cattle feed and at night frogs croaked mightily for the firs time in months. As the diked Rice Fields filled the far families turned to the task of blowing and seeding. Even in Good times Indian agricultural methods Are antiquated wasteful and slow. But this year the situations worse than Ever. Farmers who did not Benefit Smuch from the mass feeding programs Are weaker than usual. And their bul locks who must pull the crude wooden plows Are so weak from months of Mal nourishment that some drop in their tracks and Farmers Are unable to Pul them Back to their feet. During the first few Days after the heavy Rains came Large numbers of cattle were seen dead or dying in the Fields. Farmers said the cattle were so weakened from Lack of food that the Rains chilled them inflicting one last fatal blow to their months of  strip the hides and Bones for Sale to the leather and fertilizer Indus try the flesh is left for the Ever present vultures. Work in the Paddy Fields is a Daylon affair and the villagers Haven t time to Stop and walk to the free feeding kitchens. So the Relief workers who on the first couple of Days after the Rains came found that they had to keep the food warm until late afternoon finally rescheduled the feeding for 4 30 . In most cases the meal is a synthetic milk product known As com indicating Corn de fatted soybeans and dried ski milk. More than 60 million pounds of com were shipped to India this year bythe United states and care has been the major distributor. The com is distributed to Village officials usually a schoolmaster or Village elder. They Are required to keep daily records on attendance and the amount of com  cast Iron kettles Are filled with the powder and water is added the stirred and cooked until it takes on the a photos by Horst Faas consistency of very heavy Cream. Volun Teer workers fill pails with the mixture and then pour it into pans or bowl which the women and children must bring from their own Homes. In Rural Indian fashion the villagers expertly use their cupped fingers to spoon the food into their Mouths there Are no eating utensils. In one isolated Village reachable Only by jeep or on foot the schoolmaster had mixed an okra like vegetable into the com mixture. He said there was a Good Supply of it in the Village and that it would enrich the mixture. But the women and children alike carefully pulled the vegetable out licked off the com and threw the vegetable on the ground complaining it was too  the District care representative spotted two older boys sitting in line out Side the school waiting to be fed an asked their age. He Learned they Are above the maximum age of 11 and said they May eat today but Don t return again. It s hard to have to do it he said but we have to draw the line some where. The feeding program is set up for children to age 11, pregnant women and nursing mothers. The women and children Are getting nutritious meal Here usually the Only food they will get All Day the Careman explained. And this Means the Little bit of food available in the Homes can be used solely for the men and older  hat the Relief programs succeeded is agreed to by indians and for Eigners alike. It is evident that India s famine of1943 would have been repeated in 1967 in Bihar except for the combined efforts of the United states Canada Australia and various european countries plus care and a number of religious Relief agencies. We have four million people Here says Gaya District magistrate j. C. Jet i. We had one million getting a free daily meal through care. This program was of the greatest help in saving our people. You will find As a result the Chil Dren Don t look As famished As you  the Bihar children in fact look much better than those which can be seen the stars and stripes playing m the filthy gutters of old Melhior the slums of Calcutta and Bombay a a i of top medical specialists fro the All India medical Institute new Delhi reported after an intensive six week study of one of Bihar s worst affected districts that the children herein surprisingly Good condition. The children were so Well off in fact that the team shifted its study to that of adults. The doctors Are attempting to ascertain the Long Range effects of famine on people. Alan leather of London a member of a Volunteer team from the Oxford committee for famine Relief said the condition of the people has improved immensely. The program has gone extremely Well. But they have lost about 40 per cent of their cattle and this will Hurt. Leather said most of the human death which occurred were reported Early in the summer before the Relief program really got going. He feels most of the deaths since then have been due to Dis ease striking weakened bodies rather than outright starvation. Now a note of optimism has entered the picture. The Monsoon Rains look Good in nearly every Corner of the country and cautious predictions of a bumper crop Are being heard. One agriculture department spokes Man said India might even wind up with a record crop of 100 million tons of food grains. The Best previous crop was 90 minion tons in 1964-65. Even that crop was not enough How Ever and 100 million tons this year would not eliminate the need for import ing food grains again next year. This is because Indian production even at rec Ord Levels has not matched the Popula Tion increase and even in Good crop years the average food intake in India is below acceptable standards. Behind the optimistic predictions Isth fact that India has stepped up fertilizer production and import and has been pushing with foreign assistance the development and import of hybrid seed which is capable of More than Dou bling average Indian  already received has made it possible for the seeding to take . The Success of the crop will de Pend on the arrival of late season Rains to bring the crop to maturity and per Mit Harvest. Page 13