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Bengal famine of 1943: Difference between revisions
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=== Sanitation and undisposed dead === | === Sanitation and undisposed dead === | ||
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}} | ||
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}} | ||