1943-1944, when World War II reached its climax, a terrible famine swept across several other provinces of Bangladesh and British India. The British government deliberately ignored the situation and did not take adequate relief measures to make the situation worse. Eventually, more than 3 million people died from hunger, disease and other causes caused by this largely man-made famine.
1943 The Bangladesh Famine
As a traditional agricultural country, India has been facing the problem of famine throughout its long history. You will find records of these in many ancient folk tales, epics and other cultural cases. In most cases, these famines occur due to natural reasons—the lack of adequate rainfall, belated monsoons, pests, etc. Of course, wars and epidemics often cause famines.
Local rulers will also usually find ways to prevent things from getting out of control. They have put in place many relief measures for famine to prevent the spread of large-scale famine and death. Farmers can also rely on the support of rulers, such as lower taxes and obtain seeds from national granaries.
For example, during the Mughal era, the Mughal emperor levied 10-15% tax on farmers. And the food they took from the people was always stored in the Mughal granaries. During the difficult times, the government used this food to feed the population. Therefore, if crops fail to harvest, farmers always have a safety net to rely on.
But after the British seized power from the Mughals, they lost this safety net. First, the British raised the tax rate to 50%, and were mainly concerned about their own wealth accumulation. The status of farmers or other populations does not cause much trouble for them. With the outbreak of the Bangladesh famine from 1769 to 1773, the government provided no relief measures at all, but stood by and watched as about 10 million people died. In fact, the British later increased taxes repeatedly in order to make up for the tax losses caused by the deaths of farmers. So simply put, those who survived are actually punished for their own survival, and they must work harder to bear the taxes their dead brothers should have paid.
Although time later came to 1943, the situation did not change much.
India remains a major agricultural economy country, with most of its population continuing to live in rural areas. Bangladesh province is particularly dependent on agriculture, with rice planted on large tracts of land. Rice is the main crop in Bangladesh – as the government later said in its famine report, Bangladesh is a province that grows rice and eats rice. Farmers plant rice for three seasons a year, and rice in winter is usually particularly harvested.
However, in 1942, it was damaged by the widespread outbreak of brown spot fungi, and winter crops failed to harvest. The massive rainfall that year, accompanied by cyclone and storms, promoted the spread of fungi. Crop failures were undoubtedly the main factor leading to the 1943 famine in Bangladesh.
In addition, the decline in soil fertility also leads to a decrease in crop yield.
Other factors that led to the 1943 Bangladesh famine
In addition to natural causes, let’s take a look at some other factors that caused the famine:
- Social and economic factors
1943, Bangladesh was still a semi-feudal land, but the strictly defined social boundaries began to collapse. Traditionally at the top of the Zamindars Indian landlords, are losing their power, while Jotedars landlords of West Bengal, are becoming landowners and usury. At the same time, the farmers worked hard on their barren land and were always at the bottom of the social class. In fact, many of them watched their situation deteriorate further.
Extreme poverty began to make them lend money to sharecroppers, even just to meet basic daily needs. The high interest charged on these loans later basically ensured that farmers would never be able to repay these loans and would always be in the shackles of poverty and debt. Many of them lost their own land and had to work as laborers on other people's farms.
In the 1943 Bangladesh famine, the peasant class suffered the worst and naturally suffered the greatest losses.
- World War II
The ongoing war interrupted communication and transportation. The British confiscated ships and barges that could be used to transport food and burned them. This was done to prevent these ships from being occupied by the advancing Japanese. However, the policy also hindered Indian farmers from transporting their harvests, resulting in economic losses. It also prevents food from reaching the hands of hungry people.
In addition, wartime speculation and hoarding of rice also contributed to the severity of famine.
- Japan attacked Myanmar
Under normal circumstances, the British government could have imported rice from neighboring Myanmar to supply the hungry people in Bangladesh. However, Japan's offensive and occupation of Myanmar prevented all of this from happening.
- Exit India Movement
Under the leadership of Gandhi, the Indian National Assembly launched the "Exit India Movement" in 1942. Although this was a large non-violent resistance against the British, the arrest of Congress leaders also led to violence across the country. Due to the war efforts of Indians to destroy Britain by destroying bridges, factories, trains, etc., the British took a more tough and violent stance towards Indians.
- The failure of the government
Just like in the eighteenth century, the British government adopted a policy of indifference.
The government had the potential to alleviate the plight of hungry people and prevent millions of deaths. After all, the harvests in other parts of the country were good at that time, and it was possible to ship enough rice to Bangladesh to feed its population. However, the British were more interested in supporting their war efforts than providing relief to provinces suffering from famine.
The food that could have fed hungry Indian people was transferred to feed British civilians and British soldiers participating in the war in other parts of the world.
In British Parliament , Prime Minister Winston Churchill ignored or rejected all official requests for importing food to Bangladesh. He doesn't like Indians and once claimed that it doesn't matter if Indians die because they look like rabbits to breed quickly. He even asked, if the famine is as severe as everyone said, then why is Gandhi still alive?
The British government also rejected the proposal of Canada and the United States to provide food to Bangladesh.
When the government finally takes action, the relief policies they implement are completely inadequate and too late. The government then appointed a famine investigation committee to investigate the causes of the famine and to make recommendations to prevent future famines.
Impacts of the Bangladesh famine in 1943
More than three million people died of famine. People lose their families, homes and livelihoods. Diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera and malaria have further claimed the lives of more people. The farmland was abandoned and turned into wasteland. This tragedy tore the social structure of Bangladesh so much that it took the country a long time to restore its economy. However, due to the British government's heartfelt policy, the Indians' struggle for freedom has been further developed.
Last view
Finally, let's figure out the cause of this famine. Although natural factors play an important role, this is mainly an artificial famine. If the British government hadn't been so ruthless that it was a crime, it would have been possible that it would have delayed the occurrence of famine and saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, in modern India, few people still remember this completely avoidable tragedy.
