Churchills Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India During World War II - Madhusree Mukarjee
Category: Political
Narrator: James Adams
Tags: Political, History, Military, Adults
In the tradition of The Rape of Nanking and A Problem from Hell, this account will change the way we think of Churchill and World War II. In 1943 Winston Churchill and the British Empire needed millions of Indian troops, all of Indias industrial output, and tons of Indian grain to support the Allied war effort. Such massive contributions were certain to trigger famine in India. Because Churchill believed that the fate of the British Empire hung in the balance, he proceeded, sacrificing millions of Indian lives in order to preserve what he held most dear. The result: the Bengal Famine of 1943-44, in which millions of villagers starved to death. Relying on extensive archival research and first-hand interviews, Mukerjee weaves a riveting narrative of Churchills decisions to ratchet up the demands on India as the war unfolded and to ignore the corpses piling up in the Bengali countryside. The hypocrisy, racism, and extreme economic conditions of two centuries of British colonial policy fin
