It was particularly striking for me that the Bengal Famine took place almost on the hundredth anniversary of the Irish Famine. It points up a greater commonality between late-19th and early-20th century Brits than between the latter and the late-20th century Brits that I've come to know personally. My friends joke about "Gandhi vs Hitler" but it really does seem that the difference between that and Gandhi vs Churchill is more a matter of degree than kind.