Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II Kindle Edition

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. Churchill had wilfully ensured, by his conduct, and unavoidably, by his appearance, that he will be likened to a bulldog. His admirers also likened him to a lion (probably the only kind native to England). Although his leadership in the Second World War was clearly vital to England, some may not agree. The Americans occasionally have their reservations in this regard (see Mukerjee). A war-time prime minister probably required qualities that might not be appropriate in a prime minister in peace-time. M Mukerjee has written what seems to be a well-researched book on Churchill's darker side. "Winston Churchill's true love was war, and it took precedence over such dreary matters as colonial economics" she wrote. Has she made a case? That should be left to the reader. This was a fine, evocative book without appearing to be so. Churchill's prejudice against Asians and contempt for the colonies was made abundantly clear without hyperbolic descriptions. Some blame might be attributed to the "goad", Lord Cherwell who was so right-wing he could have made Churchill appear left. "Those who succeed in getting what everyone wants must be the ablest" she quoted Cherwell as saying. Lord Cherwell also thought the masses to be "very stupid" and advocated a tough attitude to homosexuals and criminals who, he was convinced, ought to be treated harshly (Mukerjee wrote "cruelly") because "the amount of pleasure derived by other people from the knowledge that a malefactor is being punished far exceeds in sum total the amount of pain inflicted on the malefactor by his punishment."Churchill was perhaps a vain egomaniac and a patriot in that order. That left no place in his mind or heart for the colonies and their natives. Even his determination to recapture Singapore from the Japanese was actuated by the thought that it was "the only prize that will restore British prestige in this region." The thrust of Mukerjee's book was the detailed account of the famine in Bengal in 1943. She set out a riveting narrative of the conditions that led to it; the stance taken by the British government, and more critically, the conduct of the British cabinet (led by that leonine prime minister) and administration, that resulted in a horrific tragedy in which millions died of a famine that could have been averted. Mukerjee added personal accounts of the people who suffered or had witnessed the suffering, into her narrative.It's fair to say that Winston Churchill was not only a sturdy war-time prime minister but also a fine prose writer. For his effort in writing "history" Churchill was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize - for literature. Perhaps he didn't fool all the people after all.

Sir Winston Churchill is often called the greatest politician of the Twentieth Century, at least by petty politicians who think they want to share his grate values and great glory. His great virtue was absolute dedication to crushing Nazi ideology which condemned millions to starve as part of deliberate national policy. In what is now Bangladesh, starvation claimed millions due to the incompetence, indifference and racial prejudice of Churchill and his senior aides. Mukerjee details how Churchill's anti-Nazi obsession plus his basic hatred of India blinded him and thus let three million people starve to death. In all likelihood, he never knew; if he did know, Mukerjee shows he didn't care. Churchill's bitterness and hatred of Indians let them die as he set priorities on food for Britain and the Allied armies. In every sense of the responsibility of leadership, he could and should have known. Yet he faced air raids on England and the constant threat of the U-boat blockade; in retrospect, the famine need not have occurred, but that conclusion is much clearer after the fact than at the time. The irony is without Indian troops sent to the Mediteranean, Rommel might have crushed Britain's meagre Eighth Army and taken the Suez Canal and oilfields of the Mid-East. Why were Indian troops in North Africa? Churchill was afraid of an Indian army revolt, similar to the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, in an uprising to win independence ande freedom for India. It's a complex history. President Franklin Roosevelt constantly deferred to Churchill's tirades for the sake of the overall war effort. Stalin didn't care. Canada had ships and grain to spare, and was told it wasn't needed. Perhaps the prime lesson is incompetence has a much greater impact in human affairs than we ever care to admit. In that, Churchill wasn't the first incompetent nor will he be the last. It brings to mind an old saying, "When elephants fight, the mice are trampled." Mukerjee presents a gripping and horrific story about the impact of great leaders who fight great wars that inflict great death, destruction and misery upon great numbers of "little" people. In the great scheme of history, Churchill will remain a great man; Mukerjee shows he was also a man with great flaws. It makes this a great book.

History is written by the victors. In this case it is by those who won WWII and whitewashes the victors crimes against humanity. The Indians did not complain as it was the price for freedom, but more importantly never held malice against the English people that they love.The criticism of this book is that it doesn’t read chronologically like a history book, nor does it present a time line. It expects the reader to have some knowledge of European colonial economic history, history of India, WWII history, and British history from 1600-1947. If you don’t have that, particularly some Indian history, then you might have some difficulty. This book does go in to detail about the elements which caused the famine and food denial. After 1947 there were no famines in India as central and state governments effectively addressed food shortages. It is documented by British records.The ugly fact is that Churchill was a colonialist racist when it came non-Europeans. Yes, he did help win WWII in Europe, but at what human and moral cost? From 1941-1944 some 4 million Bengalis died from starvation as food and their livelihood was denied through the active denial program. Some have tried to blame provincial governments who had no control over interstate commerce, but that falls as flat as the holocaust deniers. The reality is the British government under Churchill ensured the loss of India as the “Jewel in the Crown” and had a better annual kill rate than the Nazis from 1941-1945 where over 5 million civilians were murdered.Churchill kill rate = 1.33 million/yearHitler kill rate = 1.28 million/year

Heartbreaking and tragic. Well written and researched. Throws new light on Churchill that needs to be considered alongside the airbrushed version of history that we learned at school.

Very much an eye opener. darkness inside a great man. Wonderful to read. Look forward to more from this author.

My father joined the Royal Air Force in 1943 and at the age of 18 passed through Kolkata on his way to the Burma front in Manipur. I first heard of the great famine in Bengal from him. He was moved by the misery and helplessness of the people, but did not quite understand then, that his masters were the one's who had created the problem. Madhusree's book is extremely well researched and presented coherently. The introduction chapter flows well and sets the tone for the rest of the book. As an individual reader, I was overwhelmed by the details of depredation of our people of Bengal. This reducing , a once thriving people to rank penury, poverty, hunger, alongwith collapse of their gentle nature and structures of good society, must rank as one of the largest human rights violation in human history. I had to put the book aside every now and then as I could only take that mush misery at a time. Indian history is coming of age and our educational institutions should take note.

Excellent seller and great item

History has mostly dubbed , Churchill , Stalin and Roosevelt as heroes and Churchill (especially after the latest movie 'the darkest hour's' success) particularly was considered a hero . However for 1940s India , Churchill and Hitler weren't a whole lot differentIn fact , for much of India , Hitler was a foreign monster in a foreign land , committing atrocities on a foreign community , Churchill and the British Empire were the big bad monsters at home , killing them after the torture of taxations , Starvations , rapes , and mass shootings .Ms. Mukharjee's book details the attrocities committed by British Empire , the callousness shown by Churchill when it came to India , and she does it all citing sources to back her claims .The main focus of the book obviously deals with Churchill , Bengal famine and everything related to it , however other atrocities are also depicted in detail .The gruesomeness feels too real and really pulls the emotional distress beacon in every fibre of my body as a reader . However sometimes this gruesomeness also feels too heavy and makes you want to stop reading .For every history enthusiast who wants to learn more and question the "History is written by the Victor" idiom , this is a must read