Bengal famine of 1943 - Revision history

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	=== Sanitation and undisposed dead ===		=== Sanitation and undisposed dead ===

	[[File:Chittaprosad-Hungry-Bengal-sketch1.jpg\|alt=Hand-drawn sketch of a half-eaten corpse on the ground, a jackal gnawing on its leg bone, five vultures waiting for the jackal to leave. The corpse's facial expression resembles someone screaming. \|thumb\|upright=1\|Image of [[Midnapore district\|Midnapore]] famine victim from [[Chittaprosad]]'s ''Hungry Bengal'', five thousand copies of which were [[Book burning\|burned]] by Indian police. The caption read "His name was Kshetramohan Naik."]]

	The disruption of core elements of society brought a catastrophic breakdown of sanitary conditions and hygiene standards.{{sfn\|Famine Inquiry Commission\|1945a\|p=118}} Large-scale migration resulted in the abandonment of the facilities and sale of the utensils necessary for washing clothes or preparation of food.{{sfnm\|1a1=Greenough\|1y=1980\|1p=342\|2a1=Bowbrick\|2y=1986\|2p=27}} Many people drank contaminated rainwater from streets and open spaces where others had urinated or defecated.{{sfn\|Das\|1949\|pp=5–6}} Particularly in the early months of the crisis, conditions did not improve for those under medical care:		The disruption of core elements of society brought a catastrophic breakdown of sanitary conditions and hygiene standards.{{sfn\|Famine Inquiry Commission\|1945a\|p=118}} Large-scale migration resulted in the abandonment of the facilities and sale of the utensils necessary for washing clothes or preparation of food.{{sfnm\|1a1=Greenough\|1y=1980\|1p=342\|2a1=Bowbrick\|2y=1986\|2p=27}} Many people drank contaminated rainwater from streets and open spaces where others had urinated or defecated.{{sfn\|Das\|1949\|pp=5–6}} Particularly in the early months of the crisis, conditions did not improve for those under medical care:
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	{{main\|Media coverage of the 1943 Bengal famine}}		{{main\|Media coverage of the 1943 Bengal famine}}

	[[File:PeoplesWar Sept1943.jpeg\|thumb\|upright=1.2\|alt=Top half of the front page of a newspaper. The paper is "People's War". The headline is "Queues of Death". There is a hand-drawn sketch of a distressed mother holding an unconscious or dead male child. \|The ''People's War'', an organ of the [[Communist Party of India]], published graphic photos of the famine by [[Sunil Janah]].]]

	Calcutta's two leading English-language newspapers were ''The Statesman'' (at the time British-owned){{sfnm\|1a1=A. Sen\|1y=1977\|1p=52, ''fourth footnote''\|2a1=Ó Gráda\|2y=2015\|2p=42}} and ''[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]'' (edited by independence campaigner [[Tushar Kanti Ghosh]]).{{sfn\|Newspaper baron\|2014}} In the early months of the famine, the government applied pressure on newspapers to "calm public fears about the food supply"{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=4}} and follow the official stance that there was no rice shortage. This effort had some success; ''The Statesman'' published editorials asserting that the famine was due solely to speculation and hoarding, while "berating local traders and producers, and praising ministerial efforts".{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=4}}{{efn-ua\|''The Statesman'' was the only major newspaper that had acquiesced to (or been persuaded by) government pressure to present the Quit India movement in a negative light ({{harvnb\|Greenough\|1983\|p=355 ''note{{nbsp}}7''}}; {{harvnb\|Greenough\|1999\|p=43 ''note{{nbsp}}7''}}).}} News of the famine was also subject to strict war-time censorship – even use of the word "famine" was prohibited{{sfn\|J. Mukherjee\|2015\|p=125}} – leading ''The Statesman'' later to remark that the UK government "seems virtually to have withheld from the British public knowledge that there was famine in Bengal at all".{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=57}}		Calcutta's two leading English-language newspapers were ''The Statesman'' (at the time British-owned){{sfnm\|1a1=A. Sen\|1y=1977\|1p=52, ''fourth footnote''\|2a1=Ó Gráda\|2y=2015\|2p=42}} and ''[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]'' (edited by independence campaigner [[Tushar Kanti Ghosh]]).{{sfn\|Newspaper baron\|2014}} In the early months of the famine, the government applied pressure on newspapers to "calm public fears about the food supply"{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=4}} and follow the official stance that there was no rice shortage. This effort had some success; ''The Statesman'' published editorials asserting that the famine was due solely to speculation and hoarding, while "berating local traders and producers, and praising ministerial efforts".{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=4}}{{efn-ua\|''The Statesman'' was the only major newspaper that had acquiesced to (or been persuaded by) government pressure to present the Quit India movement in a negative light ({{harvnb\|Greenough\|1983\|p=355 ''note{{nbsp}}7''}}; {{harvnb\|Greenough\|1999\|p=43 ''note{{nbsp}}7''}}).}} News of the famine was also subject to strict war-time censorship – even use of the word "famine" was prohibited{{sfn\|J. Mukherjee\|2015\|p=125}} – leading ''The Statesman'' later to remark that the UK government "seems virtually to have withheld from the British public knowledge that there was famine in Bengal at all".{{sfn\|Ó Gráda\|2015\|p=57}}

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{{Infobox famine
| image =Dead or dying children on a Calcutta street (the Statesman 22 August 1943).jpg
| image_size = 270px
| alt = A healthy young Indian woman wearing traditional Indian clothing sits on her haunches in a street, tenderly touching the smaller of two very emaciated, dead or dying children. Her facial expression is sad and concerned.
| caption= From the photo used in ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'' on 22 August 1943 showing people in famine in Calcutta.
| country = [[British Raj|British India]]
| location = [[Bengal]] and [[Orissa Province|Orissa]].{{sfn|Maharatna |1992|pp=320–333}}
| period = 1943–1944
| total_deaths = Estimated 2.1 to 3 million in Bengal alone
}}
The '''Bengal famine of 1943''' was a [[famine]] in the [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal province]] of [[British Raj|British India]] during [[World War II]]. Between 2.1 and 3 million people died in the famine.<ref>{{harvtxt|Maharatna|1996|pp=214–231}}</ref><ref>{{harvtxt|Dyson|Maharatna|1991}}</ref> They died mainly of [[starvation]], [[malaria]], and not having the right [[health care]]. The famine caused men to sell their [[farm]]s and find work somewhere else. Some joined the [[British Indian Army]]. Women and children were made homeless and starving. Many had to move to cities like [[Calcutta]] to look for help.{{sfnm|1a1=Famine Inquiry Commission|1y=1945a|1p=67|2a1=Greenough |2y=1980 |2pp=227–228}} [[Historian]]s usually say that the famine was caused by [[policy|policies]] by the British government at the time.{{sfnm|1a1=A. Sen|1y=1976|2a1=A. Sen |2y=1981a |3a1=Ó Gráda |3y=2015|3p=90}} A small amount of historians say that the famine happened naturally.{{sfnm|1a1=A. Sen|1y=1976|2a1=A. Sen |2y=1981a |3a1=Ó Gráda |3y=2015|3p=90}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1943]]
[[Category:Disasters in India]]
[[Category:India]]
[[Category:World War II]]