The Bihar Famine of 1966-1967 was a dire crisis in postcolonial Indian history, resulting in
widespread crop failures, food shortages, and mass starvation across Northern India. However,
the Bihar Famine is generally credited for being a successful response to famine due to its role in
spurring India’s Green Revolution, culminating in the industrialization of India’s agricultural
sector and India’s self-sufficiency in food production. Overlooked in existing research and
studies of the Bihar Famine, however, are the reactions and responses of the larger public and
ordinary Indian citizens in defining approaches to famine relief. This thesis, in turn, examines
land surveys, journalistic documentation, and government reports to analyze political movements
and campaigns organized by members of the Indian public that garnered attention from local,
national, and international agencies. Consequently, this thesis demonstrates that the grassroots
action and mobilization of India’s rural and working-class sectors during the Bihar Famine is
responsible for cultivating the crisis atmosphere that incited drastic political action and
established the precedents of the Green Revolution
