Famine Inquiry Commission

If an inquiry had to be held, it should focus not on Indian financing of the war effort—which he believed was responsible for the famine—but instead on the food supply and population growth to the exclusion of political considerations.

Other members included a representative each from the Hindu and Muslim communities, a nutrition expert, and Sir Manilal Nanavati, the former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

[14] According to developmental economics professor Siddiqur R. Osmani[15] and Amrita Rangasami,[16] the report was "designed to exonerate the administration from any blame for the famines" by focusing on a FAD (food availability decline) explanation.

[7] Cormac Ó Gráda refers to "the muted, kid-glove tone" of the report, stating that wartime circumstances led the commissioners to omit criticism of the British government for allegedly failing to send additional supplies.

[6] Economist Peter Bowbrick defends the report's accuracy, which he considers "excellent... [i]n spite of the deficiencies of their market analysis" and much superior to that of Amartya Sen's writing.