UNDERSTANDING THE ENTITLEMENT APPROACH TO FAMINE

The writings of the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen caused a huge stir when it challenged the popular view that famine was due to shortage of food. Though this view of Professor Sen was based on analysis of the Bengal famine that occurred in the year 1943, he subsequently analysed the contemporary famine of Asia and Africa and generalized his conclusion. Thus the criticism of the popular view on famine and emergence of the ‘Entitlement Approach’ encouraged various scholars to put forward their views in support of and against this approach. The present paper in this regard is a humble attempt to reach a clear understanding of what the entitlement approach really claims and how it is misunderstood by various scholars.