The high mortality during this period was the product of large scale abnormal deaths due to epidemics of influenza, plague, small pox, cholera, etc. Influenza alone claimed 12 million lives in 1918. Food shortages caused by severe droughts in 1911,1913,1915,1918 and 1920 claimed their own toll. In addition, thousands of Indian soldiers lost their lives during the World War I (1914-18).