Churchill's Secret War (52 page)

78
MT 59/631, Government of India to Secretary of State for India, July 21, 1943.

1
Phillips,
Ventures in Diplomacy
, 240–244, 250.

2
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. III, 909–910.

3
Ibid., 954, 978, 1022–1023.

4
Phillips,
Ventures in Diplomacy
, 251.

5
Ibid., 253–254.

6
Butler,
The Art of the Possible
,112–113.

7
Churchill,
My Early Life
, 145.

8
Gandhi,
Ghaffar Khan
, 167; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 186.

9
Quoted in James,
Raj
, 571; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 104.

10
Biplabi
, “British sobhyotar,” 110–11; Dhara,
Probaho
, 136.

11
Maity,
Quit India Movement
, 56; Dhara,
Probaho
, 139–140.

12
Dhara,
Probaho
, 148–153.

13
Ibid., 158–169.

14
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. III, 1014; Gupta,
Towards Freedom
, Vol. II, 1843.

15
De, “Imperial Governance and the Challenges of War,” 31, 14.

16
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. III, 1016–1019.

17
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 44, 112; quoted in Venkataramani,
Bengal Famine of 1943
,16.

18
Cherwell Papers H290/13; Santhanam,
The Cry of Distress
,166.

19
MT 59/631, “With Sir William Croft’s Compliments: India’s Foodgrains Supply,” July 19, 1943; Nanavati Papers, Vol. I, 216–217; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 76–79.

20
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 5.

21
Ibid., 135–137.

22
Wilson,
Churchill and the Prof
, 132.

23
Cherwell Papers H290/1,2.

24
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 155–157.

25
Danchev and Todman,
War Diaries
, 537; Moran,
Churchill: The Struggle for Survival
, 478; Churchill and Gilbert,
Winston S. Churchill
, Vol. VI, 1084.

26
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 158, 169.

27
MT 59/631, “Wheat for India.”

28
Wilson,
Churchill and the Prof
, 132–134. Wilson further argued that India had harvested a large rice crop in 1942, and should have possessed “substantial stocks to carry over into 1943” because the shortfall in imports from Burma and the exports to war theaters were small in comparison to the colony’s total production. No such stocks were in evidence. Notably, such statistical comparisons are similar to those that Wilson himself described, in a September 1943 memo to Cherwell, as misleading.

29
Leighton and Coakley,
Global Logistics and Strategy
, 704; Smith,
Conflict over Convoys
, 192–193, 197; Cherwell Papers H290/14; Salter,
Slave of the Lamp
, 196.

30
CHAR 23/11, “Forecast of Monthly Loss Rates of Dry Cargo Ships,” July 13, 1943; Hammond,
Food
, Vol. I, 272.

31
James,
Churchill
, 48–49, 70, 117; Taylor et al.,
Churchill
, 42–44.

32
Denniston,
Churchill’s Secret War
, 110, 121–123; Roskill,
Churchill and the Admirals
, 222.

33
Wilson,
Churchill and the Prof
, 133–134; MT 59/631, “Indian Food Situation,” September 17, 1943; Behrens,
Merchant Shipping and the Demands of War
, 348; Bayly and Harper,
Forgotten Armies
, 285.

34
CSAC, Martin Papers, Memoir, 261.

35
Nanavati Papers, Vol. IV, 1157, and Vol. II, 348–349.

36
Cherwell Papers H123/4; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 178; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 933.

37
Schofield,
Wavell: Soldier & Statesman
, 286; Voigt,
India in the Second World War
, 216–217; Moon,
Wavell
, 12–13; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 125, 131.

38
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 157, 163; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 934.

39
BRGS 2/17, August 4, 1943.

40
MT 59/631, “Wheat for India.” A small portion of the Balkan stockpile was also to be used for feeding Greek and Yugoslav guerrillas.

41
MT 59/631, “Note of a Meeting held to discuss Cross Trade Programme Requirements,” August 11, 1943; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 318.

42
MT 59/631, India Office to Leathers, October 27, 1943.

43
Nanavati Papers, Vol. IV, 1153.

44
Ibid., 1150–1152; Davis,
Late Victorian Holocausts
, 39; Hill and Hirschman, “Human Rights Abuses by the Third Reich,” 850.

1
Biplabi
, “Jibonto kawbor,” 284.

2
Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 80–81;
Biplabi
, “Durbhikkho,” 325.

3
Tucker,
The Great Starvation Experiment
, 124, 139, 148; Das,
Bengal Famine
, 9.

4
Rai, “Ponchaser Monnontor o Banglar Silposahityo,” 13; Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 75.

5
Bhaumik,
Code Name God
, 48, 52; Bandopadhyay,
Monikanchon
, 48–50, 55.

6
Narayanan,
Famine over Bengal
, 170–171.

7
Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 83; Nanavati Papers, Vol. V, 1368.

8
Nanavati Papers, Vol. II, 446. Food riots occur during relatively mild shortages, or they precede famines. See Ó Gráda,
Famine: A Short History
, 56.

9
Tucker,
The Great Starvation Experiment
, 170; Wiesel,
Night
, 108, 57.

10
Tucker,
The Great Starvation Experiment
, 8.

11
Orwell,
The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters
, Vol. IV, 467.

12
Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 87;
Biplabi
, “Durbhikkho,” 263.

1
Branson,
British Soldier in India
, 52, 69.

2
Ibid., 70–72, 81, 90, 94.

3
Ibid., 100.

4
Ibid., 101.

5
Durga Pujo refers to the worship of the goddess Durga, which takes place in the autumn. An image of the goddess, depicted as riding a lion and slaying the buffalo demon, is typically worshipped for five days; the rituals may include animal sacrifice. Durga Pujo is also a time for dancing, feasting, and giving gifts of clothing.

6
Gupta,
In the Path of Service
,77.

7
Santhanam,
The Cry of Distress
, 33.

8
Bera,
Janajuddha Patrika
, 100; Ghosh,
The Bengal Tragedy
, 9.

9
Stephens,
Monsoon Morning
, 176–179.

10
AMEL 7/36, Diary, May 13 and August 11, 1942; Stephens,
Monsoon Morning
, 248, 197, 176.

11
Stephens,
Monsoon Morning
, 181–182.

12
Bhattacharya,
Hungry Bengal
. Pages from the surviving copy are pictured in the documentary
The Forgotten Famine
(Uden Associates, 1997). See also Venkataramani,
Bengal Famine of 1943
, 31.

13
WO 208/809, “Extract from G.H.Q. India W.I.S. No. 94 dated 20 Aug 1943,” “Indian Famine: Bose Offers 100,000 Tons of Rice,” August 25, 1943.

14
WO 208/818, “Extract from GHQ India Weekly Intelligence Summary 97, Dated 10 September 1943.”

15
Hauner,
India in Axis Strategy
, 479.

16
Ibid., 486. The meeting may instead have been on May 29. See Gordon,
Brothers Against the Raj
, 484.

17
Bose,
A Beacon Across Asia
, 134–137.

18
Fay,
The Forgotten Army
, 203.

19
Anonymous, “Ba Maw, the Great Asian Dreamer,” 8.

20
India Office File No. 114/43-Poll (I), September 1, 1943. Courtesy of Sugata Bose.

21
MT 59/631, “Wheat 1,” September 28, 1943.

22
WO 298/809; Nanavati Papers, Vol. II, 461, 468–470; AMEL 1/6/14 File 2, Secretary of State to Viceroy, October 15 and 22, 1943.

23
O’Malley,
Ireland, India and Empire
, 145.

24
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 194; CSAC, Olaf M. Martin Papers, Memoir, 252–253.

25
Nanavati Papers, Vol. IV, 1038; Rai, “Ponchaser Mannontar O Banglar Silposahityo,” 53–59.

26
Nanavati Papers, Vol. IV, 1092–1093; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 973.

27
Hunter, “The Bengal Famine of 1866,” 272.

28
Bayly and Harper,
Forgotten Wars
, 300.

29
Das,
Bengal Famine
, 34.

30
CSAC, William Barnes Papers, Box 8, Diary, 125.

31
The Forgotten Famine
(Uden Associates, 1997).

32
Quoted in Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 80, 76.

33
CSAC, Olaf M. Martin Papers, Memoir, 256; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 284, 331.

34
Nanavati Papers, Vol. IV, 1038; CSAC, William Barnes Papers, Box 8, Diary, 127; Ghosh,
Famines in Bengal
, 50, 176; Gupta,
Towards Freedom
, Part II, 1915.

35
Woodhead, 224–225; De, “Imperial Governance and the Challenges of War,” 27.

36
Nanavati Papers, Vol. V, 1328–1329.

37
Woodham Smith,
The Great Hunger
, 191.

38
Mitra,
Tin Kuri Dash
, 161–163. Men are more likely than women to die during famines; see Ó Gráda,
Famine: A Short History
, 99.

39
Sheila Chapman-Mortimer, in
The Forgotten Famine
(Uden Associates, 1997).

1
Venkataramani,
Bengal Famine of 1943
, 19; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 169, 177; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 935.

2
MT 59/631, W.C.O to QUADRANT, August 23, 1943; MT 59/631, “Grain for India.”

3
Louis,
Imperialism at Bay
, 9–10; Venkataramani and Shrivastava,
Roosevelt Gandhi Churchill
, 162–163.

4
Venkataramani,
Bengal Famine of 1943
, 19–21.

5
Hull,
The Memoirs of Cordell Hull
, Vol. II, 1496.

6
Leighton and Coakley,
Global Logistics and Strategy
, 548; Venkataramani,
Bengal Famine of 1943
, 22.

7
Leighton and Coakley,
Global Logistics and Strategy
, 544, 537.

8
Quoted in Bayly and Harper,
Forgotten Armies
, 363; Venkataramani and Shrivastava,
Roosevelt Gandhi Churchill
, 301–302.

9
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 273, 217, 304–306; WO 208/809, Weekly Intelligence Summary 98, September 17, 1943.

10
Cherwell Papers, H290/3, 4, 5.

11
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 317; MT 59/631, “Grain for India.”

12
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 318–319.

13
MT 59/631, “Middle East,” October 6, 1943.

14
Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 943; Moon,
Wavell
, 19.

15
Danchev and Todman,
War Diaries
, 473.

16
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 375–376.

17
Ibid., 377; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 946; Moon,
Wavell
, 23.

18
Moon,
Wavell
, 23; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 947.

19
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 349, 396.

20
CHAR 20/97A/39, 46–48.

21
Moon,
Wavell
, 32–34.

22
Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 362–363.

23
Ibid., 415–416.

24
Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 948, 950.

25
MT 59/631, “Indian Food Situation,” September 17, 1943; Slim,
Defeat into Victory
, 143.

26
Narayanan,
Famine over Bengal
, 100; Anonymous, “Bengal Famine: Mr. Amery on Relief Measures”; Mansergh,
The Transfer of Power
, Vol. IV, 445; Barnes and Nicholson,
The Empire at Bay
, 933, 950.

27
WO 208/810, “Address by the Financial Adviser, Military Finance at the Army Commanders’ Conference,” July 9, 1943; Sinha and Khera,
Indian War Economy
, 345; Prest,
War Economics of Primary Producing Countries
, 31. The rupee was fixed at 1 shilling and 6 pence.