Volume-I, Issue-I, September, 2024
Volume-I, Issue-I, September, 2024 |
দ্য স্টেটসম্যান পত্রিকার দর্পণে ১৯৪২-৪৩ সালের কাঁথির দুর্ভিক্ষ মৌসুমী খাতুন, গবেষক, ইতিহাস বিভাগ, আলিয়া বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, কলকাতা, ভারত |
Received: 25.08.2024 | Accepted: 27.09.2024 | Published Online: 30.09.2024 | Page No: 42-48 |
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.1.issue.01W.006 | |||
ABSTRACT | ||
Bengal
famine of 1943 was one of the terrible famines during the colonial period that
caused millions of deaths and socio-economic crisis. Kanthi sub-division of
Midnapur was one of the worst affected regions which is located near coastal
area in southern Bengal. Since the end of 1942, a famine situation arisen here.
This famine is blamed as ‘man-made disaster’ by many modern scholars. According
to Madhusree Mukherjee the then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was
responsible for the crisis and it was occurred mainly for the economic
exploitation of the then British government and the destructive impact of World
War II. The rice imports from Burma hampered when Burma was occupied by
Japanese soldiers during War. Damage of agricultural crops due to October’s
cyclone and flood in South Bengal also contributed to the crisis. As a result,
food shortage was seen in many parts of India especially in Eastern India. From
May 1943, famine occurred in some parts of Bengal province. Within next few
months, the entire province faced terrible crisis. An estimated 3.5 million
people died due to starvation and severe epidemic diseases. 1943’s famine
reflects the cruelty of British government because colonial government did not
take sufficient relief works to prevent famine. Whatever
measures were taken was largely city-centric. Moreover, they wanted to suppress
the news of the famine as much as possible. Various NGOs like Hindu Mahasabha,
Bengal Relief Committee, Muslim Chamber of Commerce Relief Committee,
Ramkrishna Mission and Bharat Sevasram Sangha paid relief work in Midnapur
especially at Kanthi and Nandigram. The British Government had to face a lot of
criticism. Newspapers were banned to suppress the real facts of the famine.
However, British newspaper ‘The Statesman’ highlighted the plight situation of
the people of Bengal at that time.
Keywords: Statesman
Newspapers, Bengal Famine of 1943, Colonial, Kanthi, Midnapur |