Pied Pipers in North-East India: Bamboo-Flowers, Rat-Famine & the Politics of Philanthropy (1881-2007) - Hardcover

The hill state of Mizoram (India) is covered by a thick growth of two particular species of bamboo which flower and fruit approximately every fifty and thirty years. The bamboo fruits which are a delicacy for the wild rats induce excessive breeding in them. Once these millions of hungry rats finish eating the fruits, they invade human habitat and devour their harvest causing extreme food scarcity and famine. In recorded history, this has happened in 1737, 1767, 1827, 1861, 1881, 1911, 1931, 1959, 1977 and 2007.

Sajal Nag teaches Modern and Contemporary History in Assam Central University, Silchar. Author of three other books.