Bangladesh famine of 1974
A severe food crisis in Bangladesh in 1974, marked by widespread hunger and death amid floods, economic disruption, and failures of food distribution.
Entitlement approach: An account of famine that explains starvation through people's loss of access to food, rather than food supply alone. The crisis exposed how rising prices and collapsing rural incomes denied food to people even when supplies existed.
Bangladesh Liberation War: The 1971 war that led to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. War damage and displacement left the new country with weakened infrastructure and strained public resources.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Bangladesh's founding leader and prime minister from independence until his assassination in 1975. His government faced the famine and made consequential choices about relief, imports, and public accountability.
Famine mortality: Deaths caused directly or indirectly by severe food deprivation and its associated disease and deprivation. Estimates of deaths vary, while the crisis's toll extended beyond starvation alone.
1974 Bangladesh floods: A major monsoon flood episode in Bangladesh in 1974 that damaged crops and disrupted transport. Flood damage intensified the food crisis and weakened rural livelihoods.
Bangladesh economy: The system of production, trade, income, and public finance in Bangladesh. Postwar economic weakness limited the state's capacity to manage scarcity and protect poor households.
Amartya Sen: An Indian economist whose work on welfare, poverty, and famine shaped modern famine analysis. His later entitlement analysis offered a framework for explaining Bangladesh's crisis beyond aggregate food availability.
Bangladesh famine of 1974 in popular culture: Depictions and cultural references to Bangladesh's 1974 famine in media, literature, and public memory. The crisis has been remembered through accounts that make hunger and suffering publicly visible.
Jute: A plant fiber used to make sacks, rope, and other coarse textiles; a major export crop in Bangladesh. Falling jute prices reduced cash earnings for many rural workers seeking to buy food.
Bangladesh food policy: Government measures governing food production, imports, stocks, pricing, and distribution in Bangladesh. Policy choices shaped the supply and public response as the crisis deepened.