A Guardian and a Thief occurs during a famine, in which every character of the novel, not including the millionaires, is explicitly suffering from. Even, Ma, who seems to be so privileged since she is living in a house with a working fan to offset the extreme temperatures of the outside, had to steal food from the shelter that she was managing in order to feed both herself and her family, which included her young daughter. A similar famine took place in India during the years of 1876 to 1878, which brought about the deaths of around ten million individuals. This famine would be known as the “Great Famine” and would initially only impact the south and southwestern regions of India, such as Bombay and Madras. However, by the second year, the famine would spread up to northern India, which covered around 257,000 square miles. The sheer amount of deaths brought about a two-year-long famine, which really brings into perspective the dire circumstances that the residents of India were facing in this novel. It also brings a lot more reason into the reason why Ma would be in such a hurry to leave the country, especially given the fact that the Great Famine, even if it is one of the more well-known instances in Indian history, was not the first nor the last famine to ever take place on Indian soil. Albeit tragic, it adds a further layer of humanity to Ma’s own struggles as she steals from the less fortunate in order to ensure that her daughter does not go to bed hungry; she was simply trying to protect and provide for her brood.
Sources:
“Colonial Period in India.” Historical Encyclopedia, 2024. https://globhistory.org/en/article/indiya/kolonialnyy_period_v_indii (Accessed 19 Apr 2026).
Mamjundar, Megha. A Guardian and a Thief, Penguin Random House, 14 Oct 2025. (Accessed 19 Feb 2026).
“Famines in India in the 19th century.” Environmental & Safety Portal, 2026. https://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/famines-india/timeline/famines-india-timeline (Accessed 19 Apr 2026).
Fredricksen, Kathleen. “Population in Infrastructure, and the Great Indian Famine of 1876-1878.” Brewminate, 6 Mar 2025. https://brewminate.com/population-infrastructure-and-the-great-indian-famine-of-1876-1878/ (Accessed 19 Apr 2026).