The Bengal famine of 1943 in which 3 million persons died was the direct result of the escalation of British war expenditure on the eastern front. Such massive loss of life could have been avoided if the manner of financing war expenditure had been different. The war expenditure on the eastern front was financed by a "profit inflation" generating "forced savings". Financing war expenditure this way imposed a heavy burden, especially on the poor people of rural Bengal who were net food purchasers. The forced reduction in consumption they had to undergo, entailed a drastic reduction in their foodgrain intake, and hence the famine.

* This article was originally published in The Telegraph on November 14, 2018.