August 22, 1943: The Bengal Famine

August 22, 1943: A photograph in The Statesman, an English-language newspaper in India, shows the effects of the Bengal Famine.

The Bengal province, today, consists of the nation of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha. Up to 3 million people died of malnutrition and its direct causes, such as malaria and unsanitary conditions. The state of health care in the region was woefully inadequate to the situation. People fled the countryside and headed for cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras -- known today as, respectively, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. This overflow into the cities helped spread disease as well, contributing to the death toll.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill acted as though he didn't care: He had previously called Indians "a beastly people with a beastly religion," and accused them of "breeding like rabbits." Nevertheless, he couldn't ignore it forever: He finally ended up asking President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister John Curtin of Australia for wheat, and got it. Churchill didn't want 1940s India to become 1840s Ireland. But it was too late: The death toll in India was 3 times that of the Irish potato famine. Revisionist historians have accused Churchill of genocide, though a fairer term would be "neglect."

Mohandas Gandhi had already started the "Quit India Movement" the year before. The famine accelerated the independence movement. As long as World War II was on, Britain was never going to give "the jewel in the crown of the British Empire" its independence. After the war, the new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, started the process. On August 15, 1947, 2 years and 1 day after V-J Day, independence was declared.

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August 22, 1943 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Detroit Tigers, 12-0 and 8-3 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Dizzy Trout pitched a 9-hit shutout in the opener.

* The New York Giants were swept in a doubleheader by the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 and 4-3 at the Polo Grounds. Mel Ott, by now the manager of the Giants, did not put himself into either game.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1 and 8-6 at Ebbets Field. Bobby Bragan, Augie Galan and Howie Schultz hit home runs for Dem Bums in the 1st game; Al Glassop hit one in the 2nd game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals swept the Boston Braves, 6-1 and 5-1 at Braves Field in Boston. Over the 2 games, Stan Musial went 4-for-9 with a walk and an RBI. Walker Cooper went 3-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBIs in the 1st game, and had an RBI sacrifice fly in the 2nd game.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 and 20-6 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Indians swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 and 7-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jack Salveson pitched a 2-hit shutout in the opener. In the nightcap, Oris Hackett singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-2 ang 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* A doubleheader was split at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The St. Louis Browns won the 1st game, 8-5. The Washington Senators won the 2nd game, 4-2. Mickey Vernon hit a sacrifice fly to score George Case in the top of the 10th inning.