January 1, 1970

There’s been much heated debate about Churchill’s alleged culpability in the deaths of thousands of Indians during the Bengal Famine of 1943. Some say he denied vital food supplies to India at a time when lives could have been saved, diverting these to Allies in the Mediterranean instead, while others say food was no scarcer in Bengal in ’43 than in ’41 (when there was no famine); that hoarding, declining wages, unemployment, rising food prices and poor food-distribution systems all contributed to the deaths. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, historian Mark Tauger and science journalist Madhusree Mukerjee have all entered the debate recently and the findings are inconclusive. See the Indian ‘Telegraph’ article about the debate.

It seems that, at worst, Churchill’s failure was in not sending more aid – but then he was determined to win a war to protect Europe first and foremost. To say that Churchill caused the deaths of millions is untrue.

To find out more about this debate, read this article by the Churchill Project at Hillsdale College.