The tragedy of the Bengal Famine in 1943 casts a sombre shadow over the pages of history, which has the Churchill-era British policies to blame for its occurrence. As the world grappled with the turmoil of World War II, over 3 million people died in Bengal because Winston Churchill relentlessly diverted Bengal’s resources to fuel the war effort elsewhere.
Even in the face of widespread starvation, Churchill persisted in the exportation of Bengal’s vital food supplies, callously disregarding the plight of its people. Adding to this tragedy, Winston Churchill’s response to the famine was that of sheer indifference. He condemned the people of Bengal for “breeding like rabbits”, shifting the blame from his own policies to the victims.
Fast forward to recent times, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is of Indian origin, took to X to write how the world owes an “enormous debt” to Winston Churchill for defeating Nazism and freeing Europe from tyranny. He unwittingly reopened wounds long festering in the collective memory of the Indian populace.
The world owes an enormous debt to Winston Churchill and the many heroes who defeated Nazism and freed Europe from tyranny.
We honour and remember them. This #VEDay and always. https://t.co/7nuttejE3Y
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 8, 2024
Sunak’s post ignited a swift and passionate response from Indians and people across the globe who were quick to remind him of Churchill’s deplorable wartime actions. There is no doubt about the fact that Churchill was racist and if he were alive today, he wouldn’t even have spared Rishi Sunak with his remarks.
Winston Churchill is a mass murderer directly responsible for death of 3 Millions Indians in Bengal Famine.
They left India because of our freedom fighters. So India doesn’t owe any debt to Winston Churchill or British Tyranny.
Infact, UK owe $45 Trillion to India !Pls return.
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) May 8, 2024
Read about what he did to Millions of Indians in Bengal! Churchil was a racist and was lucky that he happened to be on the winning side of war!
— Akash Deshpande (@akashd7781) May 8, 2024
Had Winston Churchill met you, he would have called you such a heinous slur that your ear hairs would have curled up https://t.co/8SyOCz0eR2
— সিদ্ধার্থ (Siddhartha) (@quinoa_biryani) May 8, 2024
On August 22nd 1943, ‘The Statesman’ published this photo of the Bengal famine, which resulted in the deaths of 3 million Indians.
The famine was caused by Winston Churchill's policies, who ordered the export & stockpiling of food in case Europe needed it as the war dragged on. https://t.co/xqHa1YoR2M pic.twitter.com/0ckuAkny2h
— Advaid അദ്വൈത് (@Advaidism) May 8, 2024
4 million death in Bengal famine thanks to his policies. Debt my foot. https://t.co/21cmYL8JI6 pic.twitter.com/peQivLw9YH
— Aparna (@chhuti_is) May 8, 2024
Are you talking about the same Winston Churchill who was responsible for #BengalFamine in 1943 which killed three million Indians??
How can anyone forget his role in the death of millions in India 🇮🇳?? https://t.co/BxardbAdtV
— Ruchi Angrish (She/Her/Hers) (@RuchiAngrish) May 8, 2024
British India was the largest contributor to the empire's war,providing goods & services worth more than £2 billion
While Churchill caused the 1942 Bengal famine that killed 3 million people
The real cost was paid by India & specially Bengal,whose resources saved Britain. https://t.co/JWDym1ismM— সত্যান্বেষী (@satyanewshi) May 9, 2024
Churchill was a murderer…
Have you even read about Bengal Famine in your history class? Shame on you Sunak… Shame. https://t.co/LvURKDShVP— Sucheta (@X_tremeThinker) May 8, 2024
Churchill: the mass murderer of Indians. Churchill: the man who deemed Indians no better than beasts. Churchill: the orchestrator of the famine that starved millions of our ancestors—children and adults alike.
And now, Rishi Sunak pays homage to this very figure. Yet,… https://t.co/iM5i75PS1l
— Puneet Sharma (@PuneetVuneet) May 9, 2024
You are celebrating a man that would not just look at you with dusgust due to your ethnicity but would probably put you to death to your ethnicity. https://t.co/OEH3s1Wc8B
— DarkDetective786☪️ (@DarkDetect786) May 9, 2024
Winston Churchill genocided your ancestors, but yet here you are, being a damn🥥 for that racist man who killed 3 million Indians. https://t.co/nhTkp90kg4
— Nettles 🇵🇸 (@Nettlesbrown) May 8, 2024
Winston GEN0CIDE Churchill's history is worse and darker than Hitler & Bin Laden because of the famine that caused 4 million Indian deaths. https://t.co/gY4S32hOLZ pic.twitter.com/6ZlxcVonv2
— Imran Sekh (@isekh23) May 8, 2024
Winston Churchill might be hailed as a “hero” by his own people, but the scars of his past injustices still linger.