William Collins acquires Kavita Puri's investigation of the 1943 Bengal famine

William Collins has acquired Three Million, a "groundbreaking" investigation of the 1943 Bengal famine by Kavita Puri—this year’s chair of the Women’s Prize for non-fiction.

Publishing director Arabella Pike bought UK and Commonwealth rights from David Godwin at David Godwin Associates, and the book will be co-published by HarperCollins India in 2026.

"Between 1943 and 1944, at least three million Indians, who were British subjects, died from starvation or diseases linked to malnutrition during the Second World War," the synopsis says. "It is one of the darkest chapters in colonial history, yet the memory of those millions who perished is not well remembered in Britain, India or Bangladesh. There is no memorial, museum, or archive dedicated to them anywhere in the world, not even a plaque."

It adds: "In Three Million, Puri will forensically piece together their stories for the very first time through eyewitnesses and survivors, who have never forgotten that time, even if others may not wish to remember it. The book will also draw on extensive archival research and new discoveries and will tell the dramatic and complex story of British colonialism, Indian nationalism, global war and the end of empire, while challenging national mythologies, our war story and heroes."

Pike said: "Prize-winning journalist and author Kavita Puri’s podcast about the Bengal famine rightly won the gold award for Best New Podcast at the British Podcast Awards, was a finalist for The Orwell Prize and attracted millions of listeners across the world. Her book starts from the research she did for the series but builds from it to present an extraordinary portrait of those who lived through the famine, lost loved ones or attempted to manage the fallout from widespread starvation. It is also a book that looks closely at the reasons for collective forgetting and seeks to bring a long-neglected period of history to the fore."

Puri added: "The 1943 Bengal Famine in British India is one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the 20th century, leaving at least three million Indians dead. It is not well known in Britain, India and Bangladesh—and if it is discussed it is a furious debate about responsibility, often centred on Winston Churchill. The three million and the survivors are at the heart of this book, and for the first time this shocking story is told through the remarkable voices that I have uncovered, as well as groundbreaking new research."