As someone who has read through thousands of pages of primary sources, here's the actual relationship between Churchill, India & Bengal Famine. (Sources cited at the end.)
We'll split this thread into two sections:
- First, we'll tackle the most serious accusation against him: the Bengal Famine.
- Second, we'll look at his general stance & views on India.
It goes without saying that there will be political activists who will completely ignore, what I have to say, as well as the primary sources I'll cite. They'll instead choose to 'cite' the ahistorical journalistic articles from The Guardian or conspiratorial books like 'Churchill's Secret War' by Mukerjee - a debunked book that ignores most of what I'm about to, write about, and is really what sparked the conspiracy of Churchill and the Bengal Famine.
(1) The Bengal Famine
On October 16th 1942, a cyclone hit Bengal & Orissa, wiping out the rice crop harvest in the process. Surrounding areas previously used to purchase foodstuff to alleviate famines/shortfalls had all fallen to Japan. This being Burma, Malaya, the Philippines & Thailand. The cyclone also damaged roads, telecom systems and railways - tracks needed to move food were washed away. Another byproduct of the cyclone was that it stopped the normal winter harvest in Northern India, preventing this food aid internally.
Japan maintained a military presence in the Bay of Bengal from April 1942. From submarines to battlecruisers & carriers, these posed a threat, to merchant shipping. Enemy submarines didn't just sink ships in the Bay of Bengal but also in the Arabian Sea, the South East African coast and Australia.
Dated 01/03/1944, Churchill's copy of a paper for the Chiefs of Staff Committee of the War Cabinet demonstrated the closeness of a potential Japanese battleship/carrier raiding force in the Bay of Bengal. They had surrounded the region from near the Maldives all the way to the south coast of Burma.
Japan had invaded India, Imphal & Kohima and was conducting many Eastern/Southern bombing raids. These raids worsened the shortages as they destroyed shipping at the ports. In Dec. 1943, there were severe backlogs at the ports like Calcutta from Japanese bombing. Accidents worsened the crisis - in April '44 a ship caught fire & blew up. 36,000 tonnes of foodstuff lost.
Constitutionally, the famine was a responsibility of the local administration - majority Muslim natives. They failed to deal with it. Lack of grain supply paired with general inflation crisis encouraged hoarding.
Japan had invaded India, Imphal & Kohima and was conducting many Eastern/Southern bombing raids. These raids worsened the shortages as they destroyed shipping at the ports. In Dec. 1943, there were severe backlogs at the ports like Calcutta from Japanese bombing. Accidents worsened the crisis - in April '44 a ship caught fire & blew up. 36,000 tonnes of foodstuff lost.
Constitutionally, the famine was a responsibility of the local administration - majority Muslim natives. They failed to deal with it. Lack of grain supply paired with general inflation crisis encouraged hoarding.
So how did Churchill respond?
The news of the severe famine did not reach Westminster till August of 1943. Immediately upon hearing of this, Churchill and his administration authorised 100,000 tons of barley from Iraq and 50,000 tons of wheat from Australia. Leo Amery, secretary of state for India, would write to Wavell, later Viceroy, that he "may come back to the Cabinet if that fails to help the situation."
From there Churchill summoned the war cabinet on many occasions to discuss the famine, relief and aid. This is despite the Japanese threat to shipping during a shipping crisis of the Allies, where resources were deeply stretched.
From there Churchill summoned the war cabinet on many occasions to discuss the famine, relief and aid. This is despite the Japanese threat to shipping during a shipping crisis of the Allies, where resources were deeply stretched.
For example, on 10th November 1943, the war cabinet authorised 100,000 tons of food grain to be shipped in the first 2 months of '44. From August 1943 to the end of 1944, a little under 1 million tons of grain would be shipped to India, to alleviate the famine. Correspondence between Churchill & M. King (PM of Canada) in Nov 1943 shows that rather than sending 100,000 tons of grain from Canada, where shipping was stressed, he would have it sent from Australia, as it would reach India more quickly and was less of a logistical nightmare.
Churchill did his best to aid India despite the shipping crisis and time constraints. Had shipments gone from Canada it would taken up to 2 months, compared to 3-4 weeks from Australia. He even pleaded for Roosevelt's help in a telegram on 29/4/44 where he states he was "seriously concerned" and that:
Roosevelt declined aid from the US due to their own shipping strain.
"by cutting down military shipments and other means, I have been able to arrange for 350,000 tons of wheat to be shipped [...] This is the shortest haul. I cannot see how to do more."
Roosevelt declined aid from the US due to their own shipping strain.
(2) Churchill's Views on India and Indians
So what of Churchill's racist comments which are used as evidence of his hatred for Indians?
So what of Churchill's racist comments which are used as evidence of his hatred for Indians?
He didn't hate India. Winston was born in 1874 when the concept of a hierarchy of races was considered scientific fact in the West. We know that to be rubbish today but it was the normal view then. Context, the Civil Rights Act wouldn't pass till the end of Churchill's life. Though Churchill believed in this hierarchy, he was a paternalist. He saw Britain's Empire as a way and moral obligation to uplift its peoples and natives.
Yes, this is deeply condescending. But it was far benign compared to many of his contemporaries. For example, the Neo-Darwinists like Hitler thought that inferior races could be enslaved and murdered. Churchill saw Britain as a positive force in India. Yes, today most people would disagree but that's because the Empire Churchill defended is not the Empire we discuss today. He saw British governance as a foundational part of India’s socio-economic progress. For him, the end goal was a self-governing dominion in the Empire.
He wanted India to be equal to Canada or Australia constitutionally. But he thought that the subcontinent needed more time. He opposing federal Home Rule ‘till the provinces have proved that they can govern themselves well.'
Yes, this is condescending. But we are talking about a man who was born in 1874. Nonetheless, he held no hatred to India. He opposed the India Act for a few reasons, one being that he feared that the Brahmin’s would subjugate the untouchables, with potential future violence between Hindus & Muslims. He saw it as the Empire’s duty to prevent this.
Winston's actual view of Indians is seen when meeting G.D Birla, an Indian industrialist important in the independence movement. Birla recounted to Gandhi that ‘one of my most pleasant experiences was meeting Mr. Churchill’ after Winston had invited him to lunch. This was in 1935, right after the government of India Act was passed. Despite Churchill’s heavy opposition to the bill, he held no hatred towards Birla. He even had a message for Gandhi, 'make it a success and I will advocate your getting much more.'
Moreover, as Churchill would recount in his war memoirs, ‘The unsurpassed bravery of Indian soldiers and officers, both Moslem and Hindu, shine forever in the annals of war...the response of the Indian peoples, no less than the conduct of their soldiers, makes a glorious final page in the story of our Indian Empire.’
Furthermore, Winston, as leader of the opposition, opposed the quick rapid exit of the Attlee administration without a, ‘agreement between the Indian races, religions, parties and forces.’
Winston was concerned about potential bloodshed.
Factor all of this in when we look at the few outlandish and wrong comments he blurted when angry in the war cabinet. This does not excuse his language, but it shows that Winston did not hate India, he was stressed. Churchill accused Indians of breeding like rabbits in a famine meeting. However, he immediately asked afterwards what could be done to help Indians. The later part shows he didn't actually believe his outlandish statements.
Another example is when Churchill said that he hated Indians and their beastly religion. Contextually, this was after the Quit India movement refused to compromise over Independence, when Japan was launching an invasion of the subcontinent. Of course these comments are racist and wrong. However, when you factor in all above, it is clear that he did not hold this genocidal hatred towards India, as some of his detractors try to say.
Can't we forgive a man in bad health at the centre of a world war for saying a few stupid things?
It's also important to note that some quotations attributed to Churchill, he never said or wrote. For example, he never asked why Gandhi hasn't died yet. He actually wrote:
Winston had many faults. But we have to put him into his historical context. We also have to remember that he saved civilisation itself.
"Surely Mr. Gandhi has made a most remarkable recovery, as he is already able to take an active part in politics. How does this square with the medical reports upon which his release on grounds of ill-health was agreed to by us?…In one of these we were told that he would not be able to take any part in politics again."
Winston had many faults. But we have to put him into his historical context. We also have to remember that he saved civilisation itself.
References
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