requirements are 9.4 million tons. There is, therefore,
a clear deficit of 2 million tons.
Assuming that the daily average caloric require-
ment of the Indian is 2800 calories, 48 million average
men have no food, or there is an average deficit of
423 calories in each man's food! At the Hot Springs
Conference, the British representative admitted that
one-third of the Indian people are habitually underfed
in normal times on account of 10 to 20 million tons of
shortage in cereals.
In 1937-38 it was found that a deficit of 15 per cent
in food supply was diminished further by 7 per cent
since 1910-15—"a striking deterioration in recent years
but which left the Government unshaken out of its
criminal indifference."
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
The stupid man blames fate for his mishaps. The
British administration in India blames the growing
population. But Kate L. Mitchell says: "It is true that
the present production of food is wholly inadequate..
But... .there is every reason to believe that by making
full use of her resources, India can support a far larger
population than at present. The cause of Indian
poverty is not the rate of population growth but the
fact that India is a case of arrested economic develop-
ment."
Every civilised Government has a food drive, but
the British Government has never attempted any.
During the war years, Great Britain began a vi-
gorous food drive. In 1939 U.K. produced only 40 per
cent of her food requirements. In 1942 it was 60 per
cent self-sufficient; In 1943, nearly 75 per cent. The
British Exchequer granted alluring subsidy of £200
58