Bengal Famine: An Unpunished Genocide - A Commentary on Syama Prasad Mookerjee Panchasher Manwantar

This book is a commentary on the 1944 book Panchasher Manwantar by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, a political stalwart of the time. In his book, Syama Prasad argues that the famine of 1943-44 that is said to have caused the death and displacement of three million people, tearing apart Bengal’s social and economic fabric, was a man-made disaster. The acute food shortage was deliberately created by the Churchill government to punish a rebellious, militant Bengal. The colonial government adopted a ‘scorched-earth’ policy, burned the boats that carried grain, promulgated an anti-hoarding act that prevented farmers and householders from keeping even small buffer stocks, while hoarding by private lobbies was allowed resulting in huge price rise. This policy was actively supported by the communal practices of the local Muslim League government. Translator Sudip Kar Purkayastha believes this to be a deliberately crafted and ruthlessly implemented policy that resulted in a GENOCIDE of Bengalis and notes that its perpetrators have not yet been called to account.