Desicritics Comments on Bhopal, Union Carbide, and Dow Chemicals - The Forgotten Holocaust

Comment by v.c.krishnan

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 12:28:05 EST

Dear Sir, May be I am provoking. Shall we say that there are two sides to a coin and I shall also play the devil's advocate! Further to my statement above, I would like to state that the people who got affected brought it upon themselves. I may be wrong, and I would like to stand corrected; I understand that at the time of the construction of the Factory, it was located at a place that was far away from the city and the owners at that time had advised the government that the chemicals that are to be manufactured there were dangerous and human habitation was not to be permitted for atleast three to four kilometers in radius. Our friends, as usual used their political clout and corruptive measures to overcome the problems of setting up a human habitation very near the factory, and because of an ACCIDENT, lives were lost in the process. Now who is to blame, the manufacturers or the persons who brought it upon themselves? We tend to break all laws at every stage and all is hunky dory until we get hurt, then we blame the system, the politicians and all, but we are not willing to accept the blame. We tend to set up tea kiosks very near the highway and everything is fine, until one day a brake fails and we have a tragedy of some people killed. Now who is to blame, is it the person who drove the vehicle, or the person who illegaly set up his tea kiosk very near the highway? We tend to buy firearms from dons and the underworld and when we get caught, we try to use influence, our powerful friends to escape, now who is to blame, the person or the state or others? Let us believe in what the act of Karma states, in scientific terms, for every action there is a opposite reaction!! I awaiting the reaction also! Regards, vck

Comment by bd

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 17:29:49 EST

You might find couple of essays of mine relevant to this. I was there at that time. http://piquancy.blogspot.com/2004/07/for-every-glance-behind-us-we-have-to.html http://piquancy.blogspot.com/2004/07/land-of-hope-if-not-glory.html

Comment by Tim

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 13:20:09 EST

Thanks for this piece, Abhinandan. There's a contradiction in the text that I feel needs pointing out: you say that survivors have accepted their helplessness, then quote a survivor who expresses the opposite of helplessness, never mind any acceptance of such a thing. Rashida's is not a lone voice: thousands of survivors share the same strength, determination and resoluteness. This is a fight that is far from over, and it's the survivors unyielding efforts that are keeping it that way.

Comment by v.c.krishnan

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 12:44:21 EST

Dear Sir, What is this hullabulo about Bhopal. India is growing at 9% and it needs to grow at a greater rate. For Abhishek Singhi it is a "Few Dollars More". For the new generation it is all lucre, malls, jobs, new gadgets. What are a few deaths in comparison to a Billion$? We do not care for the nevironment. We do not care for the safety of our animals, like the Tigers and Elephants. We do not care if we pollute our atmosphere and our water resources. We do not care for our culture. Will this current generation ever think of a few deaths? Regards, v.c.krishnan

Comment by temporal

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 10:13:16 EST

ss: I was under the impression that the Indian Government, long ago shamefully accepted a settlement from Dow that amounted to some pittance and absolved Dow from any further culpability... did I imagine that? no you did not somebody in the ministry agreed to fight the case in the US IF it was dealt with in Indian Courts, UC would not have gotten off so easily

Comment by smallsquirrel

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 10:04:38 EST

I was under the impression that the Indian Government, long ago shamefully accepted a settlement from Dow that amounted to some pittance and absolved Dow from any further culpability... did I imagine that? Shame on all sides here, really. The Indian Government knew that Dow was doing shady things in Bhopal and was sidestepping necessary safety. Yet they were greedy and allowed Dow to continue so they could line their pockets. And Dow functioned as a disgustingly greedy pig gobbling up resources that were not theirs to use, and eventually murdering not one, but multiple generations of innocent people.

Comment by Aaman

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 09:46:43 EST

IITs boycott Dow Chemicals for Bhopal Tragedy"

Twenty-three years after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy left 3,000 people dead and thousands others affected, Union Carbide's parent company, Dow Chemicals, is quietly trying to enter India but the IITs are putting their foot down. Petitions are doing the rounds of the seven IITs asking their directors to ban Dow Chemicals from campus."