#+TITLE: Documents can wait, hunger cannot #+EXPORT_FILE_NAME: ./Churchill-vs-Stalin-during-the-Bengal-famine.md

#+OPTIONS: toc:nil -:nil \n:t #+STARTUP: fnlocal fnadjust

#+caption: Stalin's response to post-independence food-grain shortage. \label{fig:stln-vs-chrchll}

#+attr_html: :width 550px

#+attr_latex: :placement [H] :width .9\linewidth

[[file:../../../../../MEGA/MEGAsync/Downloads-workdebian/Recaffeinated-Bourgeoisie/Stalins-help-during-food-shortage.jpg]]

The above is to be contrasted with what Churchill did during the Bengal famine of 1943 [fn:1][fn:2]. Reference [fn:1] is particularly interesting as it is based on a paper that analyses 6 major famines between 1873 and 1943, and found that the Bengal famine of 1943 was the only one that could not be attributed to soil moisture deficit and crop failure. In fact the famine-affected region received above average rainfall during the 1943 monsoon!

And they call Stalin a dictator and Churchill a democrat!

[fn:1] [[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/4/1/churchills-policies-to-blame-for-1943-bengal-famine-study][Churchill’s policies to blame for 1943 Bengal famine: Study | News | Al Jazeera]] (published: 01 Apr 2019)

[fn:2] [[https://openthemagazine.com/columns/churchills-bengal-famine/][Churchill’s Bengal Famine - Open The Magazine]] (published: 26 May 2023)