{"id":1801,"date":"2015-07-16T11:30:21","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T11:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=1798&preview_id=1798"},"modified":"2015-07-16T11:30:21","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T11:30:21","slug":"unspoken-story-of-indian-holocaust-uk-remains-silent-about-its-atrocities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=1801","title":{"rendered":"Unspoken Story of Indian Holocaust: UK Remains Silent About Its Atrocities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

While British policy makers are expressing their “righteous” anger over\u00a0Russia’s decision to\u00a0veto their resolution on\u00a0the Srebrenica “genocide” of\u00a01995 discussed by\u00a0the UN Security Council earlier this month, London should obviously look in\u00a0the mirror and recall its own colonial past, New Zealand-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst Rakesh Krishnan Simha told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

There is no need to\u00a0delve deep into\u00a0history, the analyst noted, referring to\u00a0the infamous Bengal Famine of\u00a01943-44 that can be classified as\u00a0the greatest disaster in\u00a0the subcontinent in\u00a0the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Citing Australian biochemist Dr. Gideon Polya, Simha underscored that the Bengal Famine was a “manmade holocaust” directly caused by\u00a0UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s policies.<\/p>\n

“Bengal had a bountiful harvest in\u00a01942, but\u00a0the British started diverting vast quantities of\u00a0food grain from\u00a0India to\u00a0Britain, contributing to\u00a0a massive food shortage in\u00a0the areas comprising present-day West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Bangladesh,” the foreign affairs analyst narrated in\u00a0his article “Remembering India’s Forgotten Holocaust” in\u00a02014.<\/p>\n

Just in\u00a0a year, the manmade famine had claimed the lives of\u00a0over 3 million Indians.<\/p>\n

\u00a9
\nWikipedia\/ Adam63The Famine in India: Natives Waiting for Relief at Bangalore<\/div>\n

“Winston Churchill was just the last of\u00a0the many murderous despots who presided over\u00a0India’s fate during\u00a0the over\u00a0200 years of\u00a0British rule. He said, “I hate Indians. They are beastly people with\u00a0a beastly religion”,” Simha told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

Can We Classify the Bengal Famine as\u00a0Genocide?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can we classify the Bengal Famine as\u00a0genocide? Genocide is a systematic killing of\u00a0a people in\u00a0great numbers and Churchill intentionally, and with\u00a0open malice towards\u00a0Indians, diverted grain from\u00a0India to\u00a0Europe, the analyst pointed out. He added that even when desperate pleas came from\u00a0the administration in\u00a0Bengal, Churchill refused to\u00a0dispatch emergency food supplies. The UK prime minister even went so far as\u00a0to blame Indians for\u00a0the famine, saying that they “breed like\u00a0rabbits.”<\/p>\n

“When the British representatives in\u00a0India asked Churchill to\u00a0stop diverting Indian food grains to\u00a0Europe and to\u00a0supply India with\u00a0wheat from\u00a0Australia, he replied: “If there is famine in\u00a0India, then why is Gandhi still alive?”” the analyst remarked bitterly.<\/p>\n

The Bengal Famine happened despite\u00a0India being a food-surplus country with\u00a0a bumper harvest that year, he stressed. And that had not been the first time when the British rulers facilitated food shortages in\u00a0India.<\/p>\n

\u00a9
\nWikipedia\/ W.W.Hooper. 1878Photograph of a South India family in 1878 by W.W. Hooper<\/div>\n

Simha stressed that during\u00a0over 200 years of\u00a0British rule, India saw at\u00a0least two dozen major famines, which collectively killed 60 million people. The journalist added that the figure is based on\u00a0numbers collated by\u00a0British officials and economists and in\u00a0reality it is significantly higher.<\/p>\n

The analyst pointed out\u00a0that during\u00a0the 1877 famine in\u00a0India, the only acquire to\u00a0get some food was to\u00a0work in\u00a0the British labor camps. Within those camps, starving Indians received only 16 ounces of\u00a0rice per day\u00a0\u2014 less than\u00a0the Jewish inmates of\u00a0Buchenwald, the Nazi concentration camp of\u00a0the Second World War.<\/p>\n

One would say that India had faced famines even before\u00a0the British colonial rule. However, “in the past\u00a02000 years of\u00a0Indian history, there were very few famine deaths because the Indian rulers ensured the well-being of\u00a0the people through\u00a0emergency food supplies and field kitchens,” the journalist underscored.<\/p>\n

India’s Forgotten Holocaust\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The history of\u00a0manmade famines in\u00a0India under\u00a0the British rule can be obviously compared to\u00a0the Jewish Holocaust of\u00a0the Second World War, according to\u00a0Rakesh Krishnan Simha.<\/p>\n

“Hitler’s hatred for\u00a0Jews led to\u00a0the Holocaust and Britain’s malice towards\u00a0Indians caused the deaths of\u00a0at least 60 million Indians, including three million people during\u00a0the Bengal Famine. Proportionately, the Bengal Famine was a holocaust on\u00a0a bigger scale than\u00a0the Jewish Holocaust. It took Hitler 12 years to\u00a0murder 6 million Jews, but\u00a0the British starved at\u00a0least 3 million Indians to\u00a0death in\u00a0a 15 month period from\u00a01943 to\u00a01944. Indian estimates put the toll at\u00a07 million,” the journalist told Sputnik.<\/p>\n

Simha pointed out\u00a0that Hitler wanted to\u00a0destroy the entire Jewish population of\u00a0Europe because of\u00a0race and religious reasons; furthermore, Hitler saw Jews as\u00a0competitors in\u00a0the German economy.<\/p>\n

“Hitler also wanted to\u00a0create Lebensraum in\u00a0Europe for\u00a0pure Germans. If you look at\u00a0the history of\u00a0English colonialism, they have created their own versions of\u00a0Lebensraum in\u00a0Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand after\u00a0the genocide of\u00a0native populations,” the analyst underscored.<\/p>\n

“They [the British] may have wanted to\u00a0do the same in\u00a0India. But the British couldn’t replicate armed genocide in\u00a0India because Indians put up\u00a0a ferocious counter attack and defeated the British in\u00a0several wars. So the British may have decided to\u00a0systematically eradicate Indians through\u00a0famines. In fact, Churchill’s scorched earth policy was intended to\u00a0enfeeble the Indian population so the Japanese-armed Indian National Army which was planning to\u00a0liberate India from\u00a0the east would not find able bodied men in\u00a0Bengal,” he elaborated.<\/p>\n

Why Does the Story of\u00a0the Indian Genocide Remain Unspoken?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, why does the story of\u00a0the Indian genocide still remain unspoken? Why does the West that has recently rushed to\u00a0blame Serbs for “genocide” of\u00a0Bosnian Muslims remains suspiciously silent about\u00a0its own hideous atrocities?<\/p>\n

“First up, why would the US, UK, Spain or France admit at\u00a0all to\u00a0genocides they have committed? It is precisely because the scale of\u00a0their own crimes is so staggering that they quickly latch on\u00a0to other countries’ internal problems. For instance, after\u00a0an alleged 100,000 East Timorese were killed by\u00a0the Indonesians, the West suddenly adopted the role of\u00a0savior, conscience keeper and protector. It then invaded East Timor and illegally made it an independent country. It did the same in\u00a0Kosovo,” Rakesh Krishnan Simha elaborated.<\/p>\n

“The UK and British immigrants in\u00a0America wiped out\u00a0Native Indians by\u00a0the tens of\u00a0millions. In Africa, the British massacred Kenyans,” he added.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0the journalist, considering the scale of\u00a0the atrocities, the international community should conduct an official investigation into\u00a0the Indian genocide.<\/p>\n

“If the US Congress can condemn the Turkish genocide of\u00a0Armenians a 100 years ago, then they can also censure Britain for\u00a0even bigger holocausts in\u00a0India. For this to\u00a0happen, private Indian individuals must come forward to\u00a0demand apology and reparations. There are a number of\u00a0Indians who remember the holocaust and were affected by\u00a0it,” the analyst pointed out.<\/p>\n

And there is a precedent, he stressed: “Kenya has asked Britain for\u00a0an apology, and the British have rendered one.”<\/p>\n

However, there are a number of\u00a0obstacles in\u00a0the way of\u00a0restoring justice. First of\u00a0all it is not in\u00a0the British interests to\u00a0recognize such a hideous crime. Furthermore, the Indian elite have already established close ties with\u00a0the British nobilities. Many of\u00a0them have their children studying in\u00a0American and British colleges, or have business connections, or have family living in\u00a0Britain, Simha noted. Maybe that is why most Indians have no memory of\u00a0these holocausts because they are not taught in\u00a0Indian schools, the foreign affairs analyst emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: Unspoken Story of Indian Holocaust: UK Remains Silent About Its Atrocities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While British policy makers are expressing their “righteous” anger over\u00a0Russia’s decision to\u00a0veto their resolution on\u00a0the Srebrenica “genocide” of\u00a01995 discussed by\u00a0the UN Security Council earlier this month, London should obviously look in\u00a0the mirror and recall its own colonial past, New Zealand-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst Rakesh Krishnan Simha told Sputnik. There is no need to\u00a0delve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}