The Famine of the Forties and Tarashankar Banerjee’s Manvantar Novel : A Tale of Helpless Human Life/ চল্লিশের দুর্ভিক্ষ ও তারাশঙ্কর বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের মন্বন্তর উপন্যাস : অসহায় মানব জীবনের কথা

Abstract

The Bengal Famine of 1943, one of the most devastating human tragedies of colonial India, left a deep scar on the collective psyche of Bengal. Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s novel Manvantar (The Famine) stands as a powerful literary testimony to this catastrophe, capturing the agony, exploitation, and resilience of the subaltern masses. Through vivid portrayal of hunger, death, and social disintegration, the novel not only documents the famine’s immediate impact but also critiques the exploitative structures of colonial rule, feudal oppression, and capitalist greed that worsened the crisis. By giving voice to the silenced and marginalized, Bandyopadhyay transforms the famine from a historical event into a human experience of suffering and survival. Thus, Manvantar becomes both a social document and a political critique, emphasizing the plight of the oppressed and questioning the moral failures of society during one of Bengal’s darkest chapters.