Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T00:29:54.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Government Famine Relief in Bengal, 1943

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

Lance Brennan
Get access

Extract

An estimated seven and a half million people died of starvation and related diseases in China, Vietnam, and India during the last half of the Second World War. This death toll reflected the severity with which the poor were affected by the combination of natural disaster, military imperative, political conflict, economic dislocation, and corruption that caused these famines. But famine mortality is also a function of the effectiveness of the relief system. The famines in China and, to a lesser extent, Vietnam, occurred in times of administrative disruption. During the Bengal famine of 1943, however, the central and provincial administrations were intact, if under strain, as the Japanese army tested the eastern defenses of India. Moreover, the Bengal government had recently revised the instructions for bringing relief to those affected by famine. The possibility of an ordered administrative response to the crisis means that the analysis of this operation provides an opportunity to make a contribution to the general understanding of famine relief.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , August 1988 , pp. 541 - 566
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ABP. Amrit Bazaar Patrika. English-language newspaper, Calcutta. NLI.Google Scholar
Agricultural Economics Research Centre. 1956. Measures of Food Control, Procurement and Distribution, and Their Effects on the Agricultural Economy. Madras: University of Madras.Google Scholar
Appadurai, Arjun. 1984. “How Moral Is South Asia's Economy?—A Review Article.” The Journal of Asian Studies 43:481–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, Frank Owen. 1943. “Tour Diary.” Frank Owen Bell Collection, Miscellaneous Papers, IOR.Google Scholar
Bell, Frank Owen. 1983. Interview. Dacca, January 5.Google Scholar
Bell, Frank Owen. 1985. Interview. Chesham, March 8.Google Scholar
BRCP. Bengal Relief Committee Papers. N.d. Center for Research Libraries, Chicago. Courtesy Paul Greenough.Google Scholar
BrennanLance, R. Lance, R.Heathcote, Leslie, and Lucas, Anton. 1984a. “The Causation of Famine: A Comparative Analysis of Lombok and Bengal, 1891–1974.” South Asia, n.s., 7:1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BrennanLance, R. Lance, R. 1984b. “The Role of the Individual Administrator in Famine Relief: Three Case Studies.” Disasters 8:287–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Census, . 1941. Bengal: Tables. Calcutta: Govt. of Bengal.Google Scholar
Chakravarty, Nihar Chandra. 1939. The Problem of Bengal's Rice Supply. Calcutta: Govt. of Bengal.Google Scholar
Chakravarty, Nihar Chandra. 1943. “Setting Up an Organization for Proper Administration of Relief in the Province.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D 911/4, IOR.Google Scholar
Chittaprosad, . 1944. Hungry Bengal. Calcutta.Google Scholar
Council of Action, BPCC (Bengal Provincial Congress Committee). 1942. “Report of the Struggle for Independence in Bengal (August and September 1942).” R/3/2/38. IOR.Google Scholar
Council of Action, BPCC (Bengal Provincial Congress Committee). 1943. “Report of the Struggle for Independence in Bengal (October, November, and December 1942).” R/3/2/38.Google Scholar
Das, Manga Mohan. 1943. President, Mahendra Relief Committee, Touring Report, BRCP, file 528.Google Scholar
Dash, Arthur Jules. N.d. “A Bengal Diary” (unpublished manuscript). MSS Eur. C188/6. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1943a. “Historical Notes for H.M.'s Reference.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1943b. “L. G. Pinnell to All District Officers, 25 March.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/2. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944a. “Figures of Despatches of Rice/Paddy ex Calcutta During 1942.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944b. “Control by Embargo.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944c. “Reply to Question 5, Annexure 1.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944d. “Policy from Mid-February to Mid-April.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944e. “Reply to Question 1(a).” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944f. “Reply to Question 2(i).” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D9H/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944g. “Further Information Desired by the Commission on 3 September 1944.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944h. “Causes of the Famine.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/1. IOR.Google Scholar
DCS. Department of Civil Supplies. 1944i. “Tabular History Statement.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. 911/1. IOR.Google Scholar
Economic Department. N.d. India Office, L/E/8/3300.Google Scholar
FAU. The Friends Ambulance Unit. 1944. Reports appended to the “Memorandum Presented to the Famine Inquiry Committee.” L/E/8/3320. IOR.Google Scholar
FIC. Famine Inquiry Commission. 1945. Report on Bengal. Delhi: Govt. of India.Google Scholar
Foodgrains Procurement Committee. 1944. Report. New Delhi: Govt. of India.Google Scholar
GB. Govt. of Bengal. 1943. Instructions for the Organisation and Distribution of Relief. Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
GB. Govt. of Bengal. 1944. Brief Preliminary Objective Statement to FIC. Calcutta.Google Scholar
GBH. Govt. of Bengal. Home Dept. 1943. District Officer's Chronicle of Events of Disturbances upon the All-India Congress Committee's Resolution of 8th August, 1942, and the Arrest of Congress Leaders Thereafter. Alipore.Google Scholar
GBHP. Govt. of Bengal. Home Dept. Political Branch. 1937. File 10/37, WBA.Google Scholar
GBHP. Govt. of Bengal. Home Dept. Political Branch. 1942. File W616/1942(c), WBA.Google Scholar
GBR. Govt. of Bengal. Revenue Dept. 1941. Famine Manual. Alipore.Google Scholar
GBR. Govt. of Bengal. Revenue Dept. 1944. “Memorandum on the Famine of 1943 and the Measures Taken in Relation Thereto.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/4. IOR.Google Scholar
GBRM. Govt. of Bengal. Revenue Dept. Miscellaneous Branch. 1937. A Proceedings, March–November. WBA.Google Scholar
Greenough, Paul. 1982. Prosperity and Misery in Modern Bengal. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Islam, M. M. 1978. Bengal Agriculture, 1920–1946. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jack, James Charles. [1916] 1975. The Economic Life of a Bengal District. Reprint. Delhi: Agam Prakashan.Google Scholar
Kar, Krishna Kishore. 1983. Interview. Calcutta, January 26. Circle officer, Tamluk, 1943.Google Scholar
Mansergh, Nicholas, and Lumbey, E. W. R., eds. 1973. The Transfer of Power, vol. 4. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Marr, David G. 1980. “World War II and the Vietnamese Revolution.” In Southeast Asia Under Japanese Occupation, ed. McCoy, A. W., 125–58. New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies.Google Scholar
Marr, David G. 1984. Independence or Death: Vietnam 1945. Adelaide: Flinders Asian Studies Lecture, no. 15.Google Scholar
Martin, Olaf M. N.d. “Memoirs.” Cambridge: South Asia Archives.Google Scholar
Mitra, Asok. 1985. Interview. Calcutta, January 4.Google Scholar
Momin, A. 1983. Interview. Dacca, January 11. Subdivisional supply officer, Munshiganj, 1943.Google Scholar
Mukerji, Karanamoy. 1965. Agriculture, Famine, and Rehabilitation in South Asia. Santiniketan: Visva-Bharati.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, Ramkrishna A. 1944. “Destitution at Contai Thana, Midnapur.” Modern Review 76:142–44.Google Scholar
Nanavati, Manilal B. 1944. Papers. The Records of the FIC. NAI.Google Scholar
Narayan, T. G. 1944. Famine over Bengal. Calcutta: The Book Company Limited.Google Scholar
Pinnell, Leonard George. 1978. “Pages from Mr. Pinnell's Memoirs Relating to the Bengal Famine.” Pinnell Papers, MSS Eur. D911/3. IOR.Google Scholar
PW. People's War. English-language newspaper published by the Communist Party of India, Calcutta. Courtesy Robin Jeffrey.Google Scholar
Raina, Bishen Lal, ed. 1953. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War, 1939–45: Medical Services, Administration. New Delhi: Combined Interservices History Section, India and Pakistan.Google Scholar
RCC. Relief Coordination Committee. 1944. Relief Organizations Fight Bengal Famine. BRCP, file 181.Google Scholar
Samanta, Satish Chandra, Bhattacharyya, Syamdas, Das, Ananga Mohan, and Pramanik, Prahlad Kumar. 1946. August Revolution and Two Years' National Government in Midnapore. Pt. 1 (Tamluk). Calcutta: Orient.Google Scholar
Santhanan, K. 1943. Cry of Distress. New Delhi: Hindustan Times.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1982. Poverty and Famine. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1986. “Food, Economics, and Entitlements.” Lloyds Bank Review 160:1–20.Google Scholar
Sen, Bhupendranath N. 1983. Interview. Calcutta, January 27. Additional subdivisional officer, Midnapore, 1943.Google Scholar
Sen, Binay Ranjan. 1982. Towards a Newer World. Dublin: Tycooly.Google Scholar
Sen, Binay Ranjan. 1983. Interview. Calcutta, February 1.Google Scholar
Stephens, Ian. 1966. Monsoon Morning. London: Ernest Benn.Google Scholar
Symonds, Richard [John Charters, pseud.]. 1946. “My Minister.” The Spectator 176:86.Google Scholar
Symonds, , Richard [John Charters, pseud.]. 1985. Interview. Oxford, March 8.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. C. 1942. Letters to A. D. Gordon, Inspector-General of Police, Bengal, October 27 and November 2. R/3/2/36. IOR.Google Scholar
White, Theodore Harold, and Jacoby, Annalee. [1946] 1961. Thunder out of China. New York: William Sloane.Google Scholar