Nearly 124 years ago, Plague, borne by rats in merchant ships, struck Bombay. Much like the Coronavirus pandemic, the catastrophe, a Chinese export, affected the whole world.
The Plague, also called Black Death, engulfed the entire sub-continent – from Burma (Myanmar) to Aden, and decimated millions of people. The dance of death, with unrestrained ferocity, continued unabated for three decades.
By 1917, over 9.8 million people, a little over 3 per cent of the population, died of the plague. Three hot spots – Bombay Presidency, the Punjab and United Provinces (now U. P.) – accounted for 74.4 per cent of India’s Black Deaths; over 7. 3 million people died in these three provinces alone. Punjab lost a staggering 11.8 per cent of the population, Bombay Presidency lost 8.33 per cent and the United Provinces lost 4.66 per cent of the population. By 1920, the plague consumed over one crore lives in the sub-continent.
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