Thread by @dikgaj

Absolutely! While Hitler& Stalin has to be criticized heavily for their attitudes towards Untermenschen, they cannot be solely blamed for 9+ and 5+ million deaths respectively directly as a consequence of their orders. It was a culmination of n number of major factors.

https://twitter.com/ananth_365/status/1362763380063281153

Apparently in spite of this "huge loss of Burmese rice", as the famine got worse, 70,000 tons of rice were exported from India between January and July, 1943.

https://twitter.com/ananth_365/status/1362764544586641414

Famine not frm drought (which was in early-1940) as rainfall was above average in late-1943, considered to be the peak of the famine. The army+police systematically destroyed crops and grain stores of peasants deemed rebellious in the 1942 movement.

https://twitter.com/ananth_365/status/1362765505858134019

Secular, non-Hindutvavadi authors like Sugata Bose or O'Grada pose that fraction of import dependence on overall grain production was small. The fraction of army stationed Calcutta+population (which thinned out fleeing bombing) wd be very small compared to the rural population.

Among "workers" and "elite+buddhijivis" only those directly connected to wartime services deemed "essential" wd be ensured supply: noting that open or black market price was wildly highly, making it equally difficult for "non-essential" ones.

Deliberate burning and destruction of native maritime infrastructure as part of British admin policy of "denial" to impending Japanese forces, forcible seizure and diversion of stocks from traders, continued export of rice, refusal to allow grain movement for relief.

The imperialist scoundrel Churchill is on record of being made aware of the situation (we know how well informed he was when he "misplaced" US supplies meant for Europe into the Burma campaign on Dickie birdie's whine on need to prepare against the "weak" Japanese army).

Churchill's on record response to the famine, and his keen involvement in the entire military mobilization for Burma "theatre" shows he was aware of what he had done - his words showed the scum scoundrel relished doing what he did (just as he did what his "boys" did in Ireland).

I guess the Churchill stuti is kind of driven by warm glow inside of seeing Churchill as having dealt the hated uppity Bongs a lesson (apparently those pesky challengers to Gandhian trusteeship never learned anyway).