Latest news with #BengalFamine
NHK
28-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Gathering testimonies of 1943 Bengal famine
In 1943, the Bengal region of eastern India was hit by unprecedented famine that killed an estimated 3 million people. One man in Bengal is determined to pass on memories of this tragic incident to future generation.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
An emotion called East Bengal
Kolkata: It was only after a couple of matches that we really understood what this was all about, says Jamshed Nassiri near the halfway mark of the documentary 'Shotoborshe East Bengal,' to commemorate the club turning 100. The year was 1980 and Nassiri was part of an East Bengal side whose roster had been severely depleted. Yet, like Shyam Thapa who spoke of a hilsa being given to him on the pitch during East Bengal's historic 5-0 win against Mohun Bagan in the 1975 IFA Shield final, what Nassiri remembered was how fiercely the fans loved the players who wore the red-and-gold shirt. With PK Banerjee as coach, East Bengal, riding mainly on the exploits of Nassiri and Majid Baskar were joint-winners of the Federation Cup and the Rovers Cup that year. That, in essence, was what the documentary directed by celebrated film maker Gautam Ghose sought to convey. That, for their ability to defy the odds, East Bengal became an emotion, a totem for a displaced people. A temple, says the actor Soumitra Chatterjee in the film. One whose 'mashal' became more than a torch after it was lit in protest against the Indian Football Association (IFA) when Bengal's apex body had tried to stall East Bengal's promotion to the first division. The 'mashal' became a beacon of hope for the marginalised. It was where those uprooted from their moorings, first by Partition and then by the wars in 1965 and 1971 felt at home, said Kalyan Majumdar, the club's long-time former secretary. The documentary is dedicated to the 'homeless people of the world.' So, it fit that Jyotish Guha, the general secretary for 28 years spanning the Bengal Famine, World War 2 and mass migration from across the West Bengal border, would take on state chief minister Bidhan Ray and refuse to change the name of the club. A name that, the documentary says, was taken from a defunct indoor sports club in the house of the freedom fighter 'Deshbandhu' Chittaranjan Das. Stories like this fill the early part of the documentary released on Thursday in the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a number of former players, East Bengal's Indian Women's League (IWL) winning team and current men's team coach Oscar Bruzon. It was good to see and hear many of those who have died – Banerjee, Chatterjee and Chuni Goswami among them – and also proof of how long this was in the making. Incidents of players being kept in safe houses before they signed for the club, a tradition in Kolkata from the 1960 to the 1990s, are recalled through interviews as are the club's famous wins in India's blue riband competitions, most of which are now defunct. Of the interviews though there are too many and the pace slackens with one former player talking after the other. There are also factual inaccuracies such as Emeka Ezuego playing in the 1986 World Cup when he did that eight years later and the 5-0 match being played at Eden Gardens when it was on Mohun Bagan ground. The English subtitles had a number of names spelt wrongly and the club's rich tradition in hockey is mentioned as an afterthought. And if sport is all about timing, the release nearly five years after East Bengal turned 100 is questionable. But because the documentary archives the storied history of one of the extant clubs in Asia and is a rare thing in Indian sport, it, warts and all, makes for worthwhile viewing. In a country where archival footage is rare, and even harder to source, Ghose and the club deserve credit. Their effort may not be consistently memorable but monumental it certainly is.
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan
UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war. The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe. The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen. World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever." She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61. Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services. "This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said. One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold. While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief. The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.
