But many questions were left unanswered in the books and journals I studied. ------
Bengal famine looms large in the minds of people of lived in eastern region in 1960s and 1970s when there were spectre of rice shortages on and off.
There is another aspect which remains unanswered is why Bengal famine did not loom large in the consciousness of Indian National Congress leaders who had organised Quit India Movement. If the issue was not supply shortage but people found prices unaffordable, why did no political organisation, including freedom movement leaders mobilise efforts to distribute food. If there indeed was some causal social factor for it, the same factor appears to be operative even today.
Re: also left unanswered
by this that on Dec 04, 2010 10:29 AM
IT LOOMS LARGE ON EVERY HINDU AS YET ANOTHER CALAMITY BY INVADERS. CHURCHILL WAS ANOTHER BLOODTHIRSTY WARMONGER IN SUIT.
One interesting aspect of the Bengal famine is that the scarcity was so artificial The fields were full of rice crops, the trees were full of fruits and nuts, yet people died! From our Indian context Churchill was much more of a villain than Adolf Hitler. He was against Indian independence too. If anyone is interested, Satyajit Ray made a fantastic movie on Bengal famine called Ashoni Shanket (The distant thunder).
Re: Bengal famine
by this that on Dec 04, 2010 10:32 AM
THE BRITISH DISMANTLED GRANARY SYSTEM AND ALIGNED NEW GRANARIES TO EXPORT ALL THE PRODUCE. HE WAS NO DIFFERENT TO INDIANS THAN HITLER TO JEWS.
When will we get a book by an Indian author that will expose the dark side of Nehru, Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi? When will any Indian publishing house be able to muster the guts to publish such a book? First expose the leaders in your own country.
Re: When will
by palanki narayana on Dec 04, 2010 12:48 PM
Books by Indian authors denigrating our leaders are aplenty.Mahatma and muslims(Y.G.Bhave),Mahatma:A sublime failure(S.S.Gill),Mana mahatmudu(M.V.K,Sastry in Telugu),First Prime Minister of India(Y.G.Bhave)deal severely with Gandhi and Nehru.Dom Moraes,Kuldip Nayar,Arun Shouri trashed Indira Gandhi in their books.Arvind Lavakare produced a series of articles on Gandhi.Rajeev Gandhi faced a barrage of criticism by Jethmalani and Arun Shouri.A complete book on Rajiv is only a matter of time.
Re: When will
by giveanid on Dec 04, 2010 07:07 AM
What stops you Vivek Dev, from doing that? Or you prefer to eat 5 times, belch and advise other people on what they should be doing?
History should be an account of facts.And the writer need not be a historian.
Her intentions and efforts are commendable. "I began looking at hunger and poverty in India many years ago and came to view the role played by famine. I have no background in history; I had to look at not only history, but also the economics of colonialism. I read the works of many eminent scholars, including B N Bhatia, who has written extensively on famines in India. But many questions were left unanswered in the books and journals I studied."
She was worried that the Bengal famine was always studied as a local issue. "Nobody had really studied the complicity of outsiders [the imperial British power], and how the shipping constraints during World War II added to the situation. I had to dig deep into the history of wartime shipping and I came across information as to how Churchill changed the shipping routes around the Indian Ocean," she said.
No doubt India has suffered at the hands of invaders and still suffering from the legacies they have left behind.
More fact findings from the past need be published to enable Indians to reflect upon and to resolve for the future.
Re: Nothing is impossible
by this that on Dec 04, 2010 10:34 AM
YOU WILL BE SHOCKED HOW MANY FAMINES TOOK PLACE IN INDIA BECAUSE OF THE CIVILIZED BRITISH. BRITISH PAUPERIZED INDIA AND CONVINCED OUR LAZY POLITICIANS THAT EVERYTHING WAS ALRIGHT WHEN THEY LEFT AND NOTHING HAS TO BE CORRECTED.
