-
Japanese Invasion of Burma
The Japanese invaded Burma, pushing many Indians living there back to India. Japan sunk and prevented goods and food from entering Bengal that were necessary for the locals -
Denial Policies
to prevent further invasion to British India, Britain invoked policies such as scorched earth and rice denial to this part of India to ward off invading Japanese. They also confiscated any boats big enough to transport 10 people. So that the Japanese couldn't be getting supplies through local Bengalis -
Trade Barriers and Prioritised Distribution
The government decided on limiting what can be traded inbetween Indian provinces such as bengal. This included food such as rice and wheat. The also prioritized the distribution of clothes and food to military operations -
Natural disasters
Bengal also suffered from natural disasters in this time period. including fungal diseases in plants and cyclones that killed around 15,000 people and even more cattle. -
Air raid in Calcutta
Air raids in this Bengal city caused many food industry workers to flee the city to ensure that priority industries would be fed. The rice stocks were then seized by the government. -
Period: to
Refusal of imports
Government official request military supply of food and supplies to India, only to be rejected by Churchill and other leaders back in Britain. This was one of the last straws before the famine occurred -
Military Buildup
After Japan invaded Burma, Bengal was now close to the battlefront, resulting in troops from the allies to make bases here. This made the supplies strung out even thinner. Increasing the prices of necessities. This wartime crisis caused a inflation in bengals monetary system. -
Famine, diseases and death.
Famine occurred due to not being able to afford food due to inflation and lack of currency. People also started dying increasingly more from malaria, fever and smallpox. 2-3 million are estimated to have died. -
Other Famine issues
Socially, poorer families disappeared as they had to sell their homes and possessions to pay for food or burial costs. Sanitation was also an issue as the death number was so high, they could not get rid of them fast enough. There was also a cloth crisis and people would walk around naked due to military priority. Women and children would also be sold or would be homeless wanderers and the men would flee to join the army in search of better condition. -
Relief
initially aid and relief was delayed as they did not know how to deal with reforming a primarily agricultural community who no longer can grow food successfully with its own population. So what happened is they gave loans to the people and rebuilt the transportation in and out of Bengal. by 1944, agricultural products began to flow from Bengal again