Bengal famine: The  incident of 1943 that turned Calcutta from the City of Joy to the City of Death

Bengal famine of 1943

It is the late 1930s, thanks to the administration leaders of Imperial Japan, Germany (Which was also known as Nazi Germany at that time) and Italy.

The hope for the people which they had cultivated in 1919 that there would be no more war after the devastating impact caused by World War 1 (Also known as the Great War at that time ) was diminished to pieces thanks to their aggressive, racist and far-right nationalism policies with an ambition to conquer every part of their surrounding regions (This only being seen heavily among Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan ) to make it as their land which made the countries (The so-called heroic nations in history books ) like United States of America, United Kingdom, Soviet Union to prevent them leading to see the beginning of World War 2.

However, if a war has escalated, the country’s citizens must pay for it. In this process, countries like Korea, Cameroon, India, and Ethiopia, colonised by Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, started to pay off beside the citizens of those countries as they also unofficially fell into the citizen category.

The Bengal famine that occurred in 1943 is such a thing which India, due to being a colony of the British Empire, had to pay off. Bengal famine, also known as the 1943 famine or “Ponchaser Monontor” in Bengali, was a famine that occurred in the Bengal province of British India (Which is known as Bangladesh and West Bengal in the present day) during the time of World War 2. Millions of lives during that time perished, and an enormous catastrophe was also seen regarding the economy and society that disrupted the social fabric. 3.8 million people died in this famine in Bengal alone.

The incidents which led the way to the Bengal famine

There were a couple of incidents before 1943, which is why Bengal faced the worst famine since the 1770s. The main reason for the Bengal famine, as historians have pointed out, is the fall of Burma (or Myanmar as per the modern name), which occurred in mid-1942 by Imperial Japan (The whole invasion was started in late 1941 by Japan with backing from Burma Independence Army and Thailand).

At that time, the rice in Bengal province was mainly imported from Burma, so since Japan had undertaken control of that place and Bengal was under British colony, they immediately cut off the import of the rice in India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka in the present day, which was also a British colony at that time).

That significantly caused a massive inflation in the price of rice. Rich and upper-middle-class people could afford the cost of rice, but for the lower middle class and poor (Most of the people at that time covered the population of Bengal province), it was like their whole life savings. This inflation was one of the main things that set the stage for the devastating famine of Bengal in 1943.

Besides the inflation regarding prices in late 1942, Bengal faced a series of natural disasters. One of them was the cyclone in October 1942 that effectively damaged crops not only in Bengal but also in Orrisa, which also led more than 14,500 people and 190,000 cattle to fall prey to death.

In December 1942, just when a little bit of recovery was seen from the devastating effect of the cyclone, a new problem arose; the winter rice corps started to get affected by a severe outbreak of fungal brown spot disease, a typical fungus of crops as historians state that, the cyclone didn’t affect much to the crops, which was affected by this fungus that led to seeing the beginning of the Bengal famine in early 1943.

The failure of the British government regarding the Bengal famine.

However, the famine could have been averted if only the government, which was the British at that time, had some contingency plans to deal with it. However, the mighty British, which had

many plans to defeat the  Axis powers, didn’t seem to put 1-2 plans

regarding effectively mitigating this crisis. The failure of the British

government in handling the famine was not only seen at that time but also later, and the historians and the Famine Inquiry Commission report of 1945 solely blamed them for it. The first blunder in this process was seen during December 1942 when the Japanese started to air raid Calcutta, followed by a series of bombings, for example, on the Khidirpur dockyard. At that time, the allied powers, primarily the British government, made one of the most idiotic decisions any administration could make instead of challenging these attacks.

They seized rice from the wholesale dealers to ensure that the Japanese troops didn‘t get any food resources from Calcutta, which led to the trust between the rice traders and the government being shredded into pieces. I mean, seriously, instead of putting your best air troops unit (it is not like the British at that time had a weak military force; otherwise, they wouldn’t thought about declaring war) to deal with it, you are like, no, they are going to take control of Calcutta one fine night so let ensure that they don’t get food or anything and they will be backed off.

The 1945 Famine Enquiry Report further reflected that from that time, the ordinary rice traders were no longer relied upon to feed Calcutta nor Bengal; this effectively led the crisis to begin, which would later shape into the devastating Bengal famine that sparred through for two years. Meanwhile, in all of this, the British  Prime Minister at that time, the so-called war hero in the history books  Winston Churchill, when asked to do something regarding the Bengal famine Mr Churchill asked why Indians were breeding like rabbits and if the shortage of rice is so bad then why Gandhi is alive.

This racist depiction by the British Prime Minister reflects how he tried to rub the blame of the Bengal famine onto Indians, mainly Bengali, without accepting that they needed to do something also, how much ignorance the British government, especially the honourable Churchill, regarding Indians that he has forgotten that not for all Indians the primary food is rice. Mahatma Gandhi belonged to Gujrat province, where the leading food consumed by the ordinary people was foods made of wheat like “Roti.” Rice is a food mainly eaten by people from the eastern provinces, especially in Bengal.

The denial policy of the British government also had a hand in play in causing the Bengal famine of 1943. The worst blunder was probably this particular policy as by basing on this policy,

the British government in India that time from April  1942  removed

rice and paddy, particularly from Midnapore, 24 Parganas, Khulna,  Bakharganj etc, as an excuse that they are the dangerous zones aka the zones which Japan can easily capture as a part of ongoing war. This was done so that not only could the Japanese get any resources, but the citizens and soldiers (Who were fighting in the war) could get enough food. In this denial policy the “Mighty” British government also destroyed 26,000 country boats, the most common medium for transporting food resources in rural Bengal.

The rest of the country’s boats were shifted to other places by the British administration. To stop the Japanese, they put a pause on the lives of several people, especially the people of rural areas in Bengal.

In December 1943, when the Bengal famine nearly took the lives of several people, there was notable help that international countries ready to provide their assistance, like Canada at that time; Prime Minister Mackenzie King almost loaded the ships from Vancouver, sending 1000,00 tons of resources as a gift to help India to recover from the crisis effectively. Only one thing stood as an obstacle during that time: clearance from the prime minister’s chamber of the United Kingdom. The clearance never came off !!.

Could you believe people say Hitler is wrong? Yes,he is terrible, but in this process, they ignore how Churchill, the so-called allied war hero, is the opposite side of the same coin to which Hitler belongs. However, as history is always written by victors, this artificial murder, known as the Bengal famine by  Winston Churchill, is still unnoticed.

Among all that, the British government even publicly refused to declare that the Bengal famine was a thing. When the people of Bengal were receiving death in the worst way, the British government ensured that even if there was no food in the world, the citizens of the United Kingdom must be well fed, even if they had to export all of the resources from India at any cost.

Secondly, since the British government never declared a famine in Bengal, the officials (The Bengal government at that time led by Fazlul Haque and later Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy) were unsure so does the other charitable organisations that they should arrange a relief program for the victims or not . The only possible reason the British administration refused to declare a famine at that time was that they were busy saving their rotten pride (As the sun of the British Empire never sets off, and this kind of news was enough for it !! ).

Bengal famine was not only the first time that the failed  British policies were exposed for this same outdated, terrible approach of the British Empire; there was a famine in Ireland, Kenya and also in our very own Indian state during the late 18^th century, which was  Bihar that exposed their incompetence. The Bengal famine was another apparent failure of the lame-duck British administration.

The jotedars are also to be blamed

Jotedars, also known as hawladars or mandals, were a wealthy Bengal class that owned many significant land areas and was given power over the local population during British rule. The jotedars, like the British administration, were equally blamed in this process for the Bengal famine of 1943. The regional market of Dinajpur district was absolutely under the control of the Jotedars, and they had a rapt relationship at that time with the ruling government of Bengal (The Muslim League).

Recent research has shown that the famine which occurred in Dinajpur during that time was not of any administration failure of the British government or even the shortage of food but a pre-planned conspiracy hatched by the Muslim League ministry and jotedars.

Another exciting episode, which was seen in Mahanpur at that time, is when Hemanta Kumar Das, who was the manager of a powerful local jotedar, sold nearly 7,000/8,000 tons of rice to Manohar Lal Agarwal, a Marwari businessman. This not only led to a food crisis but also the businessman, after acquiring the rice from jotedars, hiked the prices to an absurd level, which was impossible for an average middle-class or lower-middle-class or below-poverty-line person to purchase.

In the Balurghat subdivision during the time of the famine, there was an excessive amount of scarcity of food hoarding and smuggling regarding it was on the top level and a high price inflation being set by the jotedars and out of all of this the staunch support of the local administrations in this case that led the poor peasant to launch a movement.

One of the prominent leaders of this movement was Chiarshai Sheikh, who led a procession of 10,000 poor and hungry people during the Bengal famine towards Balurghat, demanding food and wanting justice for the corrupted totalitarianism practice seen in the region.

Many historians cite that the jotedars, thanks to their solid political backing from the ruling government of Bengal (Especially some of them even directly had support or hand from prominent people of Bengal administration like the Prime Minister of Bengal at that time, Fazlul Haq ), successfully conducted a mass marketing manipulation regarding the price of rice (When the rice export from Burma has put a hold) for their gain this is one of the primary reasons for the Bengal famine that occurred in 1943.

The social condition of rural people

The Bengal famine led to various peaceful lives of families in rural areas being destroyed as it is seen that men during that time had to sell off what they had to the landlord or local Mahajan, and as historians pointed out, the majority of the rural areas man had a lack of experience when it comes to education. Hence, there was a zero chance of then getting an office job. In this process, with no option held, the majority of the male population who were affected by the food crisis had at that time joined the British Indian Army and were deployed to Burma, Australia and other parts where the Allied forces were fighting.

The women and children become homeless immigrants, and most of them have settled up in Calcutta there, as described by Soumitra Chatterjee (A renowned Bengali actor known for his portrayal of  Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy and various other prominent roles like Feluda ), the women and children were crying bitterly and coughing terribly in the streets of Calcutta with lines of small children were begging across the cities. As said by people like Mr Chatterjee and others who were there during the Bengal famine also pictures it is seen that every day, Calcutta saw a bunch of people infected with scurvy, rickets, and malnutrition.

It was common then for them due to a lack of food. Ultimately, they were dying off on the road with their dead bodies the majority of the time, didn’t have a proper funeral arrangement with dogs and other street animals would tear their bodies into pieces; this is how their funeral would have occurred ( This particular segment has effectively come up on the Bengali short story of Manik  Bandyopadhayay’s  “Ke bachay ke bache” where the lead character Mrityunjoy which set on that time of Bengal famine sees a guy being dying of starvation of footpath and it effectively led a massive toll on his character to be seen on the later part ).

Calcutta is known as the City of Joy, but the famine made it the City of Death. In the Bengal famine, another thing that was seen that women being exploited sexually in the worst way during that time; the husband of women or the patriarchal figure of the house had to go to another state or even to another country as a labour or British Indian soldier which led a separation from the women or wife from the husband or patriarchal figure. This woman who was abandoned like this would become prey to various moneylenders, jotedars and other anti-social people.

During that time, the social condition of Bengal was designed as if a woman who was without the protection of their father, husband, brother or son was bound to be targeted by goons for their fun or being sold to a brothel. More than 85 percent of girls from 1943-1944 from the rural areas of Bengal were sold off to brothels of

Calcutta, as seen through various research. There was a new section of people who emerged during that time of the Bengal famine known as contractors, whose only job was to ensure the sale of this kind of girls or women to either brothel or American troops  (who at that time were on Calcutta) in return they would have gotten handsome money as a commission from brothel orMilitary.

The prostitution and sales of women were on such a scale during the time of the Bengal famine that the major political parties and the relief and welfare agencies came onto the field to amend this particular barbaric act. The children, meanwhile, also didn’t get spared off beside women as the sale and abuse of children were also being witnessed rapidly.

Many mothers or folks were selling their children during the Bengal famine to landlords or even anti-social people because they were hoping that by selling their kids, they could get cash that could help them purchase food. The mentality of the people at that time was broken off. Hunger has broken the last normal stance of the brain; they are desperate for food for anything, even if it is selling someone who is off their blood. These children resulted in either doing jobs like begging on the street or being literally assigned to slavery.

Some cases at that time also came up; one such case was on October 20, 1943, when a woman sold her daughter for Rs 15 only in Khulna. Could you believe the value of a person is 15 Rupees?

However, this thing, as usual by the great British Empire (who was busy in their war to defeat fascism), was unnoticed until news of the sale of a small girl in 1943 in exchange for some rupees to a British soldier was reached on the House of Commons which made the Secretary of State for India to get summoned about it on there. Finally, they thought we had to do something to tackle it. But still,this mass exploration of children and women occurred secretly during the Bengal famine.

The humanitarian aids

One of the significant organisations that played a part in providing humanitarian aid during the Bengal famine was The Friends Ambulance Unit. A British NGO led by the Religious Society of Friends. As soon as they arrived in Bengal, they created relief centres and deployed volunteers. In this process, they have also collaborated with the youth workers of the Indian National Congress and established a strong connection with the local people to ensure they gain local confidence. Friends Ambulance Unit distributed food, milk and clothes to those affected by the Bengal famine. Besides this, other organisations were also prominent and active during that time of Bengal famine to provide aid; the groups mainly were Ramakrishna

Mission, Bengal Relief Committee, Marwari Relief Society, Muslim League Relief Committee, Bengal Women’s Food Committee, All India Women’s Conference, Bengal Christian Council Relief Committee, Bengal Medical Relief Coordination Committee and Bengal Civil Protection Committee. After an extended period, the Bengal government finally realised that there was a thing called the Bengal famine, and they needed to do something to comfort it. With support from the British Army, they managed to distribute more than 110 million free meals to

tackle the Bengal famine, but this was very little compared to the significant

population at that time who was starving, and the relief organisations

mentioned in the above portion did more contribution then them as pointed out in various research.

Role of Media

Media, more like news media outlets, are always described as the 4^th pillar of democracy. This particular characteristic was well spotted during the Bengal famine time. Two prominent English newspapers at that time, The Statesman and Amrita Bazar Patrika published detailed and increasingly critical accounts of this incident from mid-1943, when the cause of the famine was in its worst shape.

Despite the British government’s strict censorship regarding the Bengal famine, where the government also banned the word famine from being written by newspapers thanks to the courageous personalities of Ian Stephens (The editor of The Statesman ) and Tusharkanti Ghosh (The editor of AmritaBazar Patrika )they didn’t bow down to the authority. Ian Stephens photographed the disturbing images of the people who were victims of the famine and were lying down on the footpath of Calcutta. These photographs drew international attention regarding the Bengal famine and a massive amount of criticism to the British Indian administration.

Depiction in films and stories

The Bengal famine is subjected to various stories and films made using the Bengali language, like “Chera Tar,” “Ke banchay ke Banche,” etc. However, one of the most realistic novels in this backdrop was “Ashani Sanket, “written by one of the prominent authors, Bibhutibhusan Banerjee. The novel  “Ashani Sanket”  was adapted into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray in 1973  ( The greatest director India has ever produced ). Another such

film is “Akaler Shandhaney,” directed by Mrinal Sen. The women’s point of view regarding

this famine was also shown in “Darkening Days Being a Narrative of

Famine-stricken Bengal,” which was a collection of short stories written by Ela

Sen. Besides that, there are a lot of novels, books and plays which deal with this incident.

Final views

The Bengal famine could have been easily averted if only the British government had initially taken some solid and measurable steps to deal with it effectively. They never cared about the people of India, which shows their attitude in this process, especially from Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

They were busier saving Europe from a monster (Adolf Hitler), while in their colony, what they were doing was no less than an activity that a beast does. Winston Churchill, the so-called hero for Britishers and Hollywood films, was certainly not such a saint as he was for the Indians; It was basically what Hitler was for Jews. He deliberately, for his staunch and racist mentality, led to the Bengal famine and the death of millions of Indians. He is accountable for the blood of them.

The British administration directly created a rotten system through this famine, and the people, like jotedars just, used this rotten system for their benefit. It is a shame for humanity that there are no memorial museums or even a plaque for the people of the Bengal famine who have died. The history of this process has been deliberately hidden in rubble from the common person’s eyes. Lastly, in this presentation, I would like to conclude with a line from Hamlet as Hamlet said , “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” By tweaking it a bit, I would like to say, “Something was rotten in the British Empire since its inception!”

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