Issue a formal apology for the UK’s role in the 1943 Bengal Famine — 13 signatures. Status: open.
We call on the UK Government to issue a formal apology to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for policies enacted by the British War Cabinet, which we feel caused or severely worsened the 1943 Bengal Famine and was estimated to have led to 3 million deaths.
During WWII, the UK Government enacted a “Denial Policy” in Bengal, confiscating or destroying food stocks and destroying transport boats which crippled the economy. As starvation spread, requests for emergency food imports were repeatedly denied by London. While the UK Government has expressed regret for some events like Jallianwala Bagh, it has never formally apologised for the UK Government’s administrative choices that allowed millions of colonial subjects to perish from preventable hunger.
View this petition on the official UK Parliament website