There have been several significant famines in the history of Bengal (now independent Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal) including: Bengal famine may refer to: Great Bengal famine of 1770 Bengal famine of 1873–1874 Bengal famine of 1943 Bangladesh famine of 1974 See also Famine in India Akaler Shandhaney (1982), a film about the 1943 Bengal famine Churchill's Secret War (2010), a book about the 1943 famine Distant Thunder (1973 film) (1973), a film about the 1943 famine Late Victorian Holocausts (2000), a book discussing the 1943 famine