# Canonical recap data for Bengal Famine Begins (1943)
# Source: https://recap.at/1943/bengal-famine-1943
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: bengal-famine-1943
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1943/bengal-famine-1943"
title: Bengal Famine Begins
subtitle: The Bengal Famine of 1943 killed approximately three million people under British wartime administration, exposing the human costs of colonial policy.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1943-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1943
decade: 1940
country:
name: India
slug: india
summaryShort: The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine during World War II in the Bengal Province and Orissa Province of British India. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region, from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, poor British
summaryLong: The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine during World War II in the Bengal Province and Orissa Province of British India. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region, from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, poor British wartime policies, and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the British Indian Army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often travelling to Calcutta or other large cities in search of organised relief.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Dead_or_dying_children_on_a_Calcutta_street_%28the_Statesman_22_August_1943%29.jpg/1280px-Dead_or_dying_children_on_a_Calcutta_street_%28the_Statesman_22_August_1943%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Bengal famine of 1943"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943"
  title: Bengal famine of 1943
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: "The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine during World War II in the Bengal Province and Orissa Province of British India. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people "
wikidataQid: Q522837
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260626012052/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-26
  label: Bengal famine of 1943
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943"
