The 1943 Bengal Famine:
Nehru’s Critique of British Wartime Policies in The
Discovery of India
Rajagopal Mukherjee
ABSTRACT
This article examines Jawaharlal Nehru's
analysis of British colonial practices in his work The Discovery
of India, with a special emphasis on the 1943 Bengal Famine
which killed over three million people. Nehru was not of the opinion
that the ‘Bengal Famine of 1943’ was just a natural phenomenon or
catastrophe, rather it was the result of long continuing policy of
economic exploitation by the British, their misguided and
ill-motived administrative mechanism and their reckless diversion of
essential resources for the Second World War purpose at the expense
of human life. This article first contextualizes the historical
context which gave rise to the devastating situation of the Bengal
Famine. Thereafter, this paper delves into the Nehruvian critiques
not only of the politico-economic policies of the ‘British Empire’
in India, but also the deep-rooted colonial racist attitude of the
British administration which worsened the calamity. The role of
native Indian businessmen and their profiteering motif even at the
cost of humanity and their complete detachment from their native
roots are also highlighted. Nehru was also critical of Winston
Churchill from the very day when he became the Prime Minister of
Britain and his misguided policies and racist apathy towards the
Indian in aggravating the situation which are also examined and
analysed. Finally, this paper concludes with lessons of the Bengal
Famine on Nehru and how he attempted to mitigate such events from
reoccurring in the post independent India through proper planning
and administrative interventions.
