Bengal Riots

In 1931, when India's demand for independence was growing from the push for autonomy, Churchill made the following remark about the indifferent masses:

"They are only concerned with unemployment and increased taxes. Or they are obsessed with sports and crime reports. Don't they realize that the large passenger ship they are on is quietly sinking?"

At this time, the Viceroy of India was Lord Irwin (who later inherited the title of Viscount of Halifax in 1934).

(He also appeared in Chapter 2: "The Philadelphia Experiment Used a Tesla Coil to Open a Portal in the Bermuda Triangle..." and is expected to appear in future chapters.)

- ほうこうおんち

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The King of England also holds the title of Emperor of India. The Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, governs the Indian Empire on behalf of the King. His mission is to procure food for Great Britain.

Prime Minister Churchill harbored racial disdain for Indians. Though he seems to hold a certain respect for Japan, which is a constitutional monarchy and one of the great powers, he generally holds a strong aversion to all people of color. He also shows a clear, discriminatory view toward the Chinese, whom he had once supported. Regarding Japan's Manchurian Incident, he expressed an understanding by saying, "What Japan is doing in China is the same as what we are doing in India," and added, "This may help bring some order to China."

This contempt extends to Africans as well. He said, "I don't like the Chinese, the Indians believe in a beastly religion, and the Africans are childish."

He was even more harsh when speaking of Indians, going beyond disdain and showing an intense hatred.

"I hate Indians. They are filthy people living in a barbaric region."

"Indians breed like rabbits."

His remarks were so appalling that the Secretary of State for India, Leo Amery, even complained, "I cannot see much difference between your views and Hitler's."

This same Churchill enforced the strict procurement of food from colonies to ensure the survival of the motherland and its people.

Agricultural output in Egypt had declined due to increased humidity, placing a greater burden on other colonies. The effects of the disappearance of North America were slight, but they reached as far as the Indian Ocean.

The equatorial ocean currents, unimpeded by North America, flowed directly connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, causing temperatures around the equator to rise. This warm air mass was carried by the trade winds from the Pacific Ocean to the skies above the Indian Ocean. As a result, wind strength and rainfall increased. Though the warm currents flowing into the Malacca Strait were minimal, their impact on the temperature was still felt in the Indian Ocean region. This warming in the low-latitude area increased the evaporation of water vapor and also strengthened upward air currents. The tropical cyclones (typhoons) forming in the Indian Ocean grew stronger.

From the summer of 1941, these cyclones began to strike the Bengal region repeatedly. Floods and storm surges ravaged this low-lying area, destroying many crops.

However, Great Britain still sought food. It continued to greedily pursue it. Since Egypt had failed, there were high expectations for India, and the British began to purchase food in large quantities. Indian merchants—comprising Indians, local British, and people from other nations—were pleased. The prices of grains were rising. The successive natural disasters from the previous year made the price hikes inevitable.

Despite the damage, the fertile lands of Bengal still allowed for double or triple cropping of rice. Even so, there were people living here, and food was not abundant. Nevertheless, at the initiative of the Viceroy of India, the British government purchased the food, no matter the cost. Without trying to negotiate or reduce prices, the British prioritized quantity over price when buying. Such business opportunities were rare.

The merchants stored the grains, gradually raising the price by selling them in small amounts, making a huge profit. The low-income population of India could not afford these inflated prices. In fact, they used the local "lower classes" in India, employing violence akin to a Mohican tattooed gang from some post-apocalyptic era to gather food hidden in the villages. In some places, food was abundant, while in others it was completely absent. Thus, starvation gradually began to spread in the Bengal region.

Hunger first strikes the poor and the weak. It primarily affected the farmers of Bengal, who produced crops. Many Bengalis petitioned the Viceroy's office, asking for help. They begged for action against the merchants who were forcibly taking food, setting exorbitant prices, and refusing to sell it to the people. However, the order passed through the Secretary of State for India to the Viceroy was simple: "Suppress them."

Food was also being transported from Australia.

In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia, unaffected by the disappearance of North America, remained calm. Australia produced wheat, and because of its small population, 70% of it was available for export. Although Australian merchants were also profiting, they still showed a degree of compassion.

Here, it's worth noting that while some Indians, who held deep social divisions like tribe, religion, caste (varna), and origin (jati), might not feel any pain or concern when seeing someone starve to death—much as Churchill had contempt for them—this attitude was not universal.

Australia's Governor-General, Lord Gowrie, became aware of the famine emerging in India and said: "We are sending food to the homeland, but we want to help India as well."

The response from Churchill, however, was: "If you have that much spare food, send it all to the homeland."

Both the Australian and Indian governors found it hard to grasp why Churchill was so desperate to collect food. They knew of the disappearance of North America, but they couldn't imagine its consequences. This was also the case for the people of India. What they only heard were Churchill's contemptuous remarks about Indians.

What further angered them was the fact that Britain had already signed a ceasefire with Germany. Why, when there was no longer a war, did they still need to take so much food?

Under the pretext of preventing panic, Churchill had not shared any information with the colonies. Moreover, the fact that he was secretly diverting food supplies to Germany and the Soviet Union to prolong their war was something that could never be spoken of.

The British did not directly whip the Indians to take the grains. Generally, the oppression of colonized people was carried out by local individuals who had become agents of the imperial power.

"There's no rice for you to eat!"

"Hey, hey, I have money! I'll buy all of it! Oh, Mr. British! I just got a huge amount of grain. Please buy it at a high price!"

"What's wrong with you poor people? Those with money live happy lives!"

"I'll give you land as debt! You'll work it as tenants, but I won't feed you!"

"Are you British? And yet you're protecting these Indians, who are lower than dogs?"

"Ugh! Just saying 'India' makes my mouth taste like curry!"

"Indians don't deserve any rice! Let them eat grass!"

It was among such individuals that the first to erupt in anger appeared.

"I can't stand this anymore!"

This person, who had studied in Britain and was seen as part of the establishment, was the leader of the liberation front of India. When the merchant's henchmen attempted to capture him, a Hindu monk with a sambar on his head dipped the fiery sambar sauce and rubbed it into their eyes.

"Eat this! Garam Masala Samming!"

"Agh, the spicy spices! It hurts! It hurts! My eyes, my eyes!"

With an anger as fiery as a super-spicy curry, the man massacred the merchant's group.

This sparked a rebellion, and many brave fighters rose up. The riot quickly spread throughout the Bengal region. Warriors who had trained in the mountains of India and inherited the spirit of Devadatta, those who used King Cobras, fire-breathing monks, warriors riding giant elephants and fighting with elephant combat techniques, and legendary wrestlers wearing mysterious masks (?), all joined the Indian Liberation Front. However, it was merely a brief flash of brilliance in the history of India's struggle for independence.

It was like the winter sun. It illuminated the history of independence but never warmed it with tangible results.

Churchill ordered the Middle Eastern army to deploy for suppression. With the movement of the Middle Eastern forces, he also ordered reinforcements to be sent to Britain.

"Keep the Middle Eastern army stationed in India. Move the British army to the Middle East. By creating these facts on the ground, we will gradually move the military."

Thus, the longer the struggle dragged on, the more it would serve as a justification for maintaining the military presence.

"To finish this quickly, we should deploy the Gurkhas."

"That's useless; it's just moving Nepalese into India. What we need is to move the United Kingdom's troops into India."

However, there were times when even the British soldiers, armed with modern weapons, lost to the fierce fighters of the Indian Liberation Front. So, the Viceroy secretly, without Churchill's knowledge, deployed a small number of Gurkha troops. The struggle in Bengal intensified.

"Prime Minister, we can deal with the stationing of the troops later. The priority is suppression. Due to the riots, we haven't been able to secure the planned amount of food for last month and this month."

"What? Is the rebellion that intense?"

"No, it started because Gandhi criticized the food procurement, and the civil disobedience movement has reignited."

"Gandhi... that half-naked, self-styled saint lawyer! Tell the Viceroy—why is Gandhi still alive?"

"Are you ordering his execution?"

"Can't you figure that out without me saying it?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

The Bengal rebellion entered its third month, and only when food procurement plans were severely affected did the British army get serious. Using tanks and machine guns, they suppressed the riot. While they couldn't kill those involved in civil disobedience who were nonviolent, the Viceroy's office was unable to carry out such actions. The Viceroy's office was still not fully desperate and had some leniency. Gandhi and other leaders were imprisoned.

The members of the Indian Liberation Front fled to the deep forests of Bengal, continuing their struggle there. In such terrain, the British army had no choice but to rely on the Gurkha troops. The warmer climate had increased the number of mosquitoes that spread malaria. With the assistance of endemic diseases, the struggle in India continued.

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I will upload the next chapter at 18:00.

- ほうこうおんち