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The Bengal Holocaust: A Graphic Reimagining of "Chhiattor-er Monnontor" or The Great Bengal Famine of 1770

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posted on 2025-06-12, 09:20 authored by Nazneen HoqueNazneen Hoque

 

The Bengal Holocaust: A Graphic Reimagining of "Chhiattor-er Monnontor" or The Great Bengal

Famine of 1770

 

This paper explores the historical representation of the Great Bengal Famine of 1770, a

catastrophe that led to the death of millions in Bengal, as depicted in the graphic tale “Drawing

Disaster: A Lost Sketchbook” by artists Debkumar Mitra and Argha Manna. Featured in the

anthology Famine Tales from India and Britain by Professors Ayesha Mukherjee and Amlan

Dasgupta, the narrative intertwines the historical account of William Wilson Hunter’s Annals of

Rural Bengal (1868) with a metafictional dialogue between Hunter and Debdulal Mitra, a

fictionalized character based on the painter Debkumar Mitra. While the famine is traditionally

attributed to environmental factors like poor monsoon, the paper argues that it was a result of a

complex interplay of socio-political and colonial forces. The East India Company’s policies

including systemic exploitation, forced taxation, and the destruction of Bengal’s agrarian and

industrial systems, exacerbated the crisis. Additionally, colonial racism, socio-economic

disparities, and the role of local elites, such as Zamindars and Nawabs, were critical factors in

shaping the famine. This analysis sheds light on the famine as not just a natural disaster, but a

man-made catastrophe, with long-lasting effects on Bengal’s landscape and society.

History

Biography

Nazneen Hoque is currently a Commonwealth PhD Split-Site Scholar at the University of Exeter (2024-2025). She is originally registered as a PhD scholar in the Department of Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, India (reg. 2019-2020). Her doctoral research focuses on the representation of transnational refugee movements in graphic novels, with particular attention to the Syrian refugee crisis and the migration of Latin American refugees over the last two decades of the twenty-first century. Nazneen previously completed her MPhil (2017-2019) in the Department of English at Jadavpur University, where her dissertation explored Shaun Tan's graphic narratives through the lens of Diaspora Studies, especially examining themes of home and displacement.

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