OBTAINING THE DOCUMENTS

Very few people have had the opportunity to check Sen's work against its sources, and only a handful have - myself, my referees and a few researchers.

The key reference, the Famine Commission Report, is very difficult to obtain. The Government of India printed very few copies because, it said, there was a wartime paper shortage. Many people, including members of the Commission thought that this was because they were trying to hide evidence of their gross incompetence.

When Pergamon proposed to publish it as a classic and relevant account some years ago, Sen made a strong recommendation that the report was so flawed as not really to be worth putting out as a book. As a result it is still virtually impossible for most people to check his work.

Other sources must be collected from specialist libraries in London, Oxford and Cambridge for instance. It is time consuming and expensive to get it. Again, it is impossible for most of his readers to get hold of.

I would be very pleased to assist readers in obtaining source documents. peter@bowbrick.eu