A dogged enemy of Hitler, resolute ally of the Americans, and inspiring leader through World War II, Winston Churchill is venerated as one of the truly great statesmen of the last century. But while he has been widely extolled for numerous successes, parts of Churchill s record have gone woefully unexamined. As journalist Madhusree Mukerjee reveals, at the same time that Churchill brilliantly opposed the barbarism of the Nazis, he governed India with total contempt for native lives. A series of his decisions between 1940 and 1944 directly and inevitably resulted in the deaths of some three million Indians. The streets of Indian cities were lined with corpses, yet instead of sending emergency food shipments Churchill used the wheat and ships at his disposal to build stockpiles for feeding postwar Britain and Europe. Combining close research with a vivid narrative and riveting accounts of personality and policy clashes within and without the British War Cabinet, Churchill s Secret War places this oft-overlooked tragedy into the larger context of the Second World War, India s fight for freedom and Churchill s enduring legacy. Winston Churchill may have found victory in Europe, but as this groundbreaking historical investigation reveals, his mismanagement facilitated by dubious advice from scientist and eugenicist Lord Cherwell devastated India, and ultimately set the stage for the massive bloodletting that accompanied independence.
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"(A) significant and - to British readers - distressing... It is a ghastly story, and the book's eye-witness accounts of the consequences for the people of Bengal make harrowing reading. Most recent western histories of the war in the east mention the famine as earlier chronicles did not. But Mukerjee's book offers the fullest account I have read...I myself have argued that Churchill's disdain for the interests of black and brown peoples besmirched his awesome wartime record. If the Bengal famine arose from circumstances beyond British control, failure to relieve the starving millions - or even to be seen to care much about them - was in substantial degree our fault."
--Max Hastings, The Sunday Times
"shocking, important study of Britain's treatment of India in the second world war."
--The Sunday Times
--Max Hastings, The Sunday Times
"shocking, important study of Britain's treatment of India in the second world war."
--The Sunday Times
About the Author
Madhusree Mukerjee won a Guggenheim fellowship to write her previous book, The Land of Naked People. She previously served on the board of editors of Scientific American and now lives in Frankfurt.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By KP
Format:Hardcover
This is a work of monumental proportions that sheds new light on Indian and British history. Not only has Madhushree trawled through British archives and personal accounts from Chruchill's own right hand men, but she has also conducted original research by interviewing the survivors of the 1943 Bengal Famine.
Being a science writer, Madhushree analyses and lays out the facts in a meticulous and academic style. But do not be fooled into thinking that this is a dry academic read; her book draws the reader into the personal accounts and tragedies of the famine victims as well as the mixed joy of eventual freedom and partition. My advice is - do not read this book in bed - it will give you sleepless nights due to the personal harrowing accounts.
In Britain our education system still to some extent gives us a rose-tinted view of colonialism -spreading civilisation, removing savage practices, building railways etc. Madhushree shatters this image in the very first chapter but detailing how within 20 years of the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British East India Company brought poverty and terrible famine to this once richest and most prosperous corner of the planet - causing the deaths of millions of Bengalis. Again, with Churchill, our historical teaching tends to portray him only as a national hero, whilst dismissing as irrelevant his racism - e.g. his description of Hindus as "A beastly people with a beastly religion". Madhushree, through her meticulous research lays down a compelling case for how this racism was responsible for the deaths of so many in Bengal 1943. Whilst Churchill fans no doubt will be critical of Madhushree's work, even they cannot argue against the fact that 3 million people, under direct British protection, starved to death whilst British ships carrying grain were allowed to sail by. These deaths should be explained, although belatedly, and Madhshree deserves high praise for her painstaking research and highly readable account of this holocaust.
Being a science writer, Madhushree analyses and lays out the facts in a meticulous and academic style. But do not be fooled into thinking that this is a dry academic read; her book draws the reader into the personal accounts and tragedies of the famine victims as well as the mixed joy of eventual freedom and partition. My advice is - do not read this book in bed - it will give you sleepless nights due to the personal harrowing accounts.
In Britain our education system still to some extent gives us a rose-tinted view of colonialism -spreading civilisation, removing savage practices, building railways etc. Madhushree shatters this image in the very first chapter but detailing how within 20 years of the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British East India Company brought poverty and terrible famine to this once richest and most prosperous corner of the planet - causing the deaths of millions of Bengalis. Again, with Churchill, our historical teaching tends to portray him only as a national hero, whilst dismissing as irrelevant his racism - e.g. his description of Hindus as "A beastly people with a beastly religion". Madhushree, through her meticulous research lays down a compelling case for how this racism was responsible for the deaths of so many in Bengal 1943. Whilst Churchill fans no doubt will be critical of Madhushree's work, even they cannot argue against the fact that 3 million people, under direct British protection, starved to death whilst British ships carrying grain were allowed to sail by. These deaths should be explained, although belatedly, and Madhshree deserves high praise for her painstaking research and highly readable account of this holocaust.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A. D. Smith
Format:Hardcover
I can only endorse the other reviewers that this in an important book that reveals terrible events in Bengal in 1943-44 and at the same time shows up some of the worst side of Churchill, Lord Cherwell and many in the War Cabinet. Churchill's attitude towards Indians was unforgivable and makes me ashamed to be British, so it is some relief to read that he apparently relented shortly before he died. The book makes depressing reading but this story must be told and heard widely. While urging everyone to read it, I have to confess that I did not find the book well-written. It is a mixture of personal anecdotes, which are tragic, and factual records that often appears disjointed. Although a lot of research went into the book, and the references are comprehensive, what this topic needs is the skills of a professional historian.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Gooner1970
Format:Hardcover
A very well documented and detailed account of the thoughts and strategies that were in play by the Empire and the results which were forced upon India.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
"I didn't see much difference between Churchill's outlook and...
Guess who said that? Perhaps it was Subhas Chandra Bose leader of the Japanese alligned Indian National Army? Or Nehru or Gandhi during an intemperate moment? Read more
Published 9 months ago by S Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anatomy of a war crime.
Madhusree Mukerjee has produced a well researched and well written account describing and analysing the causes and course of the famine that struck Bengal and other areas of India... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Germinal
1.0 out of 5 stars
Was this famine REALLY forgotten?
Having lived and worked for some years on the Sub-Continent and being somewhat of a student of WW II I approached this book with an open mind. Read more
Published 18 months ago by mufuliraman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine study of the Bengal famine of 1943
Robert Clive had called Bengal `the paradise of the earth'. In 1757 Clive's forces conquered India. By 1770, there was a famine in which 3 million people died. Read more
Published 20 months ago by William Podmore
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Scholarly Narrative
Ms Mukherjee has produced a truely remarkable chapter in the Indo-British era in the 20th century,from written documents. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2010 by Historybuff
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truth will out
Whoever proclaims that he will be judged kindly in history because he intends to write it must surely be a man that cannot be trusted. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2010 by Hande Z
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