Ian Stephens (editor)

Ian Stephens
Born1903
London
Died28 March 1984(1984-03-28) (aged 80–81)
NationalityBritish
OccupationEditor
Known forEditor of the Indian newspaper The Statesman from 1942 to 1951

Ian Melville Stephens CIE (1903 – 28 March 1984)[1] was a British journalist who was the editor of the Indian newspaper The Statesman (then British-owned) in Kolkata, West Bengal, from 1942 to 1951.[2] He became known for his independent reporting during British rule in India, and in particular for his decision to publish graphic photographs, in August 1943, of the Bengal famine of 1943, which claimed between 1.5 and 3 million lives. The publication of the images, along with Stephens' editorials, helped to bring the famine to an end by persuading the British government to supply adequate relief to the victims.[3][4]

When Stephens died, Amartya Sen wrote in a letter to The Times: "In the subcontinent in which Ian Stephens spent a substantial part of his life, he is remembered not only as a great editor (with amiable, if somewhat eccentric, manners), but also as someone whose hard-fought campaign possibly saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people."[5]

  1. ^ Riddick, John F. (2006). The History of British India: A Chronology. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 316.
  2. ^ McDermott, Rachel Fell (2011). Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the Goddesses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 253.
  3. ^ Sen, Amartya (2011). The Idea of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 341.
  4. ^ Schiffrin, Anya (2014). "Ian Stephens, Editorial (1943) from The Statesman". Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Journalism from Around the World. New York: The New Press. pp. 177–179.
  5. ^ Sen, Amartya (27 April 1984). "Mr Ian Stephens". The Times.