How colonial India fought locust attacks – and what we could learn from those tactics
As India struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, it faces a new challenge. Several parts of the country have experienced heavy infestations of locusts – an insect that devours crops and foliage, often leaving devastation in its wake.
If there’s a silver lining to this cloud, it is that India has two centuries of experience in dealing with locust swarms. India’s Locust Warning Organisation, which is at the forefront of battling the infestation, was established 81 years ago during the colonial era. Perhaps India could use some lessons from the past to avert the crisis that the current locust outbreaks might trigger.
It is not surprising that the colonial authorities made relentless efforts not only to contain the threat of locusts but also understand the science behind infestations. After all, the insects had the power to devastate the agricultural economy. For the British imperialist state which drew significant revenue from exploitation of Indian agriculture, locusts posed no trivial threat: they could lead to famine and cause starvation, which would threaten the slender basis of British power in India.
How could the British let a tiny organism ruin their ambitious project of colonisation?
The origins of locust control
In the nineteenth century, India experienced serious locust outbreaks in 1812, 1821,...
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