Near three decades have gone by since the Bhopal gas tragedy took place. But the fight is not over yet for the victims of the industrial disaster. Indulekha Aravind speaks with Suroopa Mukherjee, author of Surviving Bhopal, on the cause and aftermath of the disaster and the systemic failure which has let the victims down. Edited excerpts:
You have written two books on the Bhopal gas tragedy, have been a staff advisor to the student movement, 'We for Bhopal', and been involved with social movements about the crisis. How did you become involved?
My involvement with Bhopal goes right back to 1998 when I embarked on the adventurous task of writing a nonfiction for children on the industrial disaster of 1984 (published by Tulika). My involvement with the survivors and their life stories have become part of the research I am doing on 'oral history' for which I have used the Bhopal gas tragedy as a case study. Given the political nature of my research, I have evolved a strategic approach which works with different forms of data that can be used as campaign material, as well as pedagogical tools.
Surviving Bhopal draws on the oral testimonies of women survivors. Why did you choose oral testimonies, and why of women?
Women survivors of Bhopal have been twice victimised, given their already marginal position in a patriarchal system. Many of them have gynaecological problems and social issues of failed marriages which have not been recognised as long-term problems of surviving the aftermath of the disaster. Soon after the disaster, about 100 women were selected to join a relief scheme that was meant to provide livelihood to widows. They got training in stitching, tailoring and making stationary items. After three months of training, their names were removed. They were asked to get jobs on their own. Women protested, for they did not have the means to carry on earning a livelihood. This was the beginning of the social movement at the level of the mohalla.
The number of people who died and were affected is disputed. What would be the approximate numbers?
It is impossible to give verifiable numbers. All I can say is that both the government and the corporation tried to reduce the scale of the disaster, which has been compared to Hiroshima, by tampering with numbers in the mortality list and fudging details in the morbidity list. People continue to die every day from gas-related diseases. An approximate number could be 20,000 and still counting.
What compounded the tragedy - the apathy of the government or the actions of Union Carbide?
Both in equal measures. The survivors blame the government for making them expendable and betraying their trust in a democratic, electoral form of governance. The government works in collusion with the multinational company, is what they will tell you. Profit before people is behind the apathy and injustice. The survivors are clear about one thing. Dow Chemical should not be allowed to set up business in India, in the context of new liberal policies, till it owns up for Bhopal. A company cannot use the merger factor to take over assets and not the liability.
Have any steps been taken to dispose of the industrial waste at the site?
The first phase of the clean-up has been done by removing the surface waste and putting it in sealed containers. The government still needs to figure out the disposal. Talks with other states have failed. But the real work of cleaning the toxic water system and atmospheric pollution still needs to be done. The cost is staggering and technical knowhow needs to be determined. Dow Chemicals, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, still refuses to take liability. So political nitpicking goes on, while the contamination continues to kill and maim innocent people. Bhopal is a case study of the most appaling travesty of justice. Worse still, it is done in the name of development and progress.
Do you feel there is any hope of justice for the victims?
Hope is what gives moral strength to one of India's longest social movements against two monolithic giants: a repressive state and a globally powerful company. Many battles have been won by the survivors. One of them was getting water from the Kolar dam to individual colonies. But many more battles remain. The people of Bhopal are never weary, or without hope.
You have written two books on the Bhopal gas tragedy, have been a staff advisor to the student movement, 'We for Bhopal', and been involved with social movements about the crisis. How did you become involved?
My involvement with Bhopal goes right back to 1998 when I embarked on the adventurous task of writing a nonfiction for children on the industrial disaster of 1984 (published by Tulika). My involvement with the survivors and their life stories have become part of the research I am doing on 'oral history' for which I have used the Bhopal gas tragedy as a case study. Given the political nature of my research, I have evolved a strategic approach which works with different forms of data that can be used as campaign material, as well as pedagogical tools.
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One of the demands of the survivor groups is to include Bhopal in the curriculum at the level of higher studies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to this. The Oral History Association of India can provide an ideal forum for this. My contention is that the demand for research must come from the grassroots and not just from within academia.
Surviving Bhopal draws on the oral testimonies of women survivors. Why did you choose oral testimonies, and why of women?
Women survivors of Bhopal have been twice victimised, given their already marginal position in a patriarchal system. Many of them have gynaecological problems and social issues of failed marriages which have not been recognised as long-term problems of surviving the aftermath of the disaster. Soon after the disaster, about 100 women were selected to join a relief scheme that was meant to provide livelihood to widows. They got training in stitching, tailoring and making stationary items. After three months of training, their names were removed. They were asked to get jobs on their own. Women protested, for they did not have the means to carry on earning a livelihood. This was the beginning of the social movement at the level of the mohalla.
The number of people who died and were affected is disputed. What would be the approximate numbers?
It is impossible to give verifiable numbers. All I can say is that both the government and the corporation tried to reduce the scale of the disaster, which has been compared to Hiroshima, by tampering with numbers in the mortality list and fudging details in the morbidity list. People continue to die every day from gas-related diseases. An approximate number could be 20,000 and still counting.
What compounded the tragedy - the apathy of the government or the actions of Union Carbide?
Both in equal measures. The survivors blame the government for making them expendable and betraying their trust in a democratic, electoral form of governance. The government works in collusion with the multinational company, is what they will tell you. Profit before people is behind the apathy and injustice. The survivors are clear about one thing. Dow Chemical should not be allowed to set up business in India, in the context of new liberal policies, till it owns up for Bhopal. A company cannot use the merger factor to take over assets and not the liability.
Have any steps been taken to dispose of the industrial waste at the site?
The first phase of the clean-up has been done by removing the surface waste and putting it in sealed containers. The government still needs to figure out the disposal. Talks with other states have failed. But the real work of cleaning the toxic water system and atmospheric pollution still needs to be done. The cost is staggering and technical knowhow needs to be determined. Dow Chemicals, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, still refuses to take liability. So political nitpicking goes on, while the contamination continues to kill and maim innocent people. Bhopal is a case study of the most appaling travesty of justice. Worse still, it is done in the name of development and progress.
Do you feel there is any hope of justice for the victims?
Hope is what gives moral strength to one of India's longest social movements against two monolithic giants: a repressive state and a globally powerful company. Many battles have been won by the survivors. One of them was getting water from the Kolar dam to individual colonies. But many more battles remain. The people of Bhopal are never weary, or without hope.