The rice production was poor in 1942. The result was higher prices for rice, so high that many could not afford to purchase the rice. Many moved to the cities to find jobs and rice, but found neither and were left to starve. During this time the world was raging with war, the English empire was crumbling and the victorious Japanese Army along with the Indian National Army were knocking at the gates of eastern India. Though administrative failures were immediately resposible, the primary cause of the rice shortage was the problem. A fungal pathogen called Helminthosporium oryzae, or brown spot of rice was killing the rice production which led to the death of 2 million people.
Image to the left from: University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Fact Sheet PP-128, May 1994. L. D. Dathoff and R. S. Lentini. Brown Spot in Florida Rice
