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irisblue

(34,412 posts)
8. Did you know about the Bengal Famine of 1943?
Mon Dec 14, 2020, 05:46 PM
Dec 2020

It's wiki...."An estimated 2.1–3 million,[A] out of a population of 60.3 million, died of starvation, malaria, and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the British Indian Army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often travelling to Calcutta or other large cities in search of organised relief.[8] Historians usually characterise the famine as anthropogenic (man-made),[9] asserting that wartime colonial policies created and then exacerbated the crisis. A minority view exists, however, that holds that the famine was the result of natural causes.[10]"

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/4/1/churchills-policies-to-blame-for-1943-bengal-famine-study

Snip-"The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, provided scientific backing for arguments that Churchill’s policies played a significant role in contributing to the 1943 catastrophe.



To be honest I have no memory of learning about it in high school or in college. My formal education was very American & Eurocentric. I started looking up to learn more about Churchill after the movie 'Darkest Hour' in 2017. I was astounded in learning more about his actions.
We so often here in the US only see & know his Boer war history, and his WW2 in Europe and bits of the British Navy in the Pacific theater.

Many of my heroes have feet of clay.



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