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| Women queuing for rice during the Bengal Famine, Lake Market, Calcutta, 1943. (South Magazine) |
“When tragedy strikes we try to find someone to blame and in the absence of a suitable candidate we blame ourselves”. ~Violet Crawley (Downton Abbey)
The Bengal famine brought about 3 million to death, and many other displaced all over their lives. It was one of the largest man-made disasters in the history of the world. The whole world was in chaos during their period. One of the many reasons for the chaos is the war between Democracy and Autocracy. Ironically, it was the Democracies who had colonized the Asian and Africans for centuries and decades.
During that period, India was run not from Westminster. Meaning, it was under British rule. They were busy fighting over principles of Democracy and Fascism. In that time, between the war, around 1943 there came a famine. Note, it was a famine, not a drought! Famines can be treated or controlled, droughts couldn’t. Owning to all its subjects, Churchill would have controlled the situation. During World War 2, the British Government was headed by Sir Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. Mostly because the British even knew, no one in the universe could be more ‘racist’ or ‘ruthless’ as he.
It started with the cyclone of 16 Oct 1942 which eventually saw a rise in prices and thus led to hoarding of grains by peoples. But the English Bureaucrats were much busy with other things. Early phase Govt of Canada had offered about 100,000 tons of grains but Churchill refused to state the long voyage and causing ‘strain’ in shipping resources as it was needed to fight the war. In Aug 1943, while agreeing to allow 150,000 tonnes of barley from Australian Govt, he stated “Indians are not the only people starving in the war”. Wavell’s request in 1944 for 1.5 million tonnes was also turned down by London as the cabinet suspected these shortages were caused by Marwari[Hindu] supporters of congress to embarrass the Muslim government in Bengal. It was also concluded that if a cyclone had struck in peacetime, it would have prevented the famine. But the main reason behind it was the necessity of operations in Germany and Italy, also to liberate food shortages in Greece as it was a strategic location and not Bengal.
But as Dowager Crawley says we find someone to blame and in the absence, we blame ourselves, although the English with the ideals of Oriental despotism knew the excuses and blames for each and everything they could and couldn’t. And if they couldn’t find anything to state, a simple fire of communal would be enough for the chaos between its subjects. As Indians have a whole lot of faith in their Religion, everything in their daily lives is dependent on religious faiths and beliefs. The current COVID crises and Indo-China standoff as well as the migrant problems due to COVID have witnessed huge blame strategies towards the opposition parties and previous Prime Ministers. Starting from the Tablighi jamaat blames which were the early days of COVID presence in India, it witnessed Communal conflicts and blames just similar to the Cabinet in London blamed the Hindus to change the whole narrative. Similarly as occurred before, the same is occurring currently. The Migrant crisis which occurred just later the finishings of blames to jamaat, the accusations sometimes also being funny as the cause claims towards the misdoings of the First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The tweet stated, “These Migrant Workers wouldn't have struggled for Work in 2020 if only former PMs Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Super PM, MOTHER Sonia Gandhi had worked for India during their rule.” These kinds of adding Family-connections and accusations aren’t new for the Congress party, which is in opposition.
The main problem lies with the misinterpretation of history and distortion of facts not just by the Ruling party, but also by some sections of Indian media. Each and every problem or crisis takes them back towards History, but they tend to forget the present in which they live. The joining of many historical situations into one, and thus forming an opinion about the opposition party isn't new. But it thus takes us to the time when India was ruled by the British. Each and every citizen has the right to learn the history and form an opinion and also inspire from it. But the current politics lives into history to an extent that they forget the present and its consequences towards the future. Islamic invasions and English rule have done many atrocities, but the current Muslims and British cannot be thus blamed for the misdoings of their ancestors, some even don’t have their lineage. Similarly, if the citizens are blamed as anti-Indian for questioning of its governments or the Governments which lays their back behind the previous mistakes of opposition and thus hide their own mistakes isn't the way the founding fathers of Indian democracy wished.
The media which plays a major role in a democracy should be unbiased but with an opinion. As their roles aren’t just making their citizens know about the doings of Government [in fact it's the workings of PIB for the same], it should be able to ask questions not to the opposition but towards the authority which is governing. Thus the blames can hide the persons in authority from being liable to an extent, but the history won’t be as biased as the media. Somewhere in the future maybe the Opposition can be doing the same as the Ruling party does now.
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