In Hindu mythology the spirit or atma will not rest in peace if gross injustice is done to it or if the last rites are not properly done. I am not a staunch believer of mythology but the ghosts of bhopal gas victims are too many and too evident to ignore. The actions of the congress government have been inefficient, corrupt and disgusting.
In 1985, the Indian government, through an act of parliament, granted itself exclusive rights to represent the victims of Bhopal in India and overseas. It in fact took the matter in its own hands and victims from now on were dependent on the government for relief and compensation. They could not stand by their case in US courts and the case was dismissed from US courts. In the Indian courts we saw the supreme court judge who diluted the charges against the accused made the chairman of Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust. The same judge had also allowed union carbide to slip out of its criminal liability for Bhopal disaster by allowing them to liquidate its Indian Shares.
Union Carbide/Dow claims that the sale of UCIL to Eveready Industries in 1994 ended its liability for the site, although its lease from the Madhya Pradesh government specified that the land must be returned in "usable and habitable condition." Groups of victims continue to pursue legal avenues, both in India and the US, for environmental remediation of the Bhopal site. The merger with Dow has made their case more difficult. Only one thing is clear: the proceedings will take a lot more time, specially when senior lawyers like Mr Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the ruling congress party representing Dow Chemicals in Indian Courts.
What made the government agree to the paltry compensation is anybodies guess. What made the supreme court not intervene in this shocking out of court settlement is also anybodies guess. The government would do well to at least make public the kickbacks if any received to do this act of acting like vultures and celebrating the tragedy faced by so many. To add insult to injury the supreme court also absolved union carbide of all criminal or civil liability. It was later reversed due to huge public outcry and the criminal cases continued.
The multi speciality hospital is a cruel joke on the victims. While the victims are treated free there, the other patients pay for its services and the victims are treated as second class patients.
even the meager amounts of compensation has not reached many victims after so many years due to corrupt and inefficient government. Catastrophes such as these are seen as windfalls for the corrupt officials and ministers and they squander the money meant for the victims. who will act against whom. I wonder if there are adequate honest officers in the system to act against the deluge of corrupt people in the system. Top legal brains like Mr Abhishek Manu Singhvi who also happens to be the official spokesperson of the ruling congress have taken the side of Dow Chemicals, they are busy trying to absolve it of all liabilities citing the meager amount of compensation doled out by union carbide.
just look at the argument given by union carbide to dismiss the case against it in US courts.
it stated that there is a:
practical impossibility for American courts and juries, imbued with US cultural values, living standards and expectations, to determine living standards for people living in the slums or "hutments" surrounding the UCIL, Bhopal, India, [which] by itself confirms that the Indian forum is overwhelmingly the most appropriate. Such abject poverty and the vastly different values, standards and expectations which accompany it are commonplace in India and the third world.
A US newspaper took up this line of argument, calculating that: An American life is worth approximately five hundred thousand dollars. Taking into account the fact that India's gross national product is 1.7 percent of that of the United States, the court should compensate for the decease of each Indian victim proportionately, that is to say with eight thousand five hundred dollars.
ultimately what the victims got was not even one tenth of that 1.7 percent. our government obviously thinks the worth of Indian lives is much less than what americans think about it. its a pity we will have to vote the same people back to power again. there just aren't any options.
In Bhopal, the Indian government has actively assisted in the repression and intimidation of activists working for victims. In 1985, police raided a medical clinic for victims, confiscated medical records and arrested six volunteer doctors. At least ten criminal cases have been lodged against 7,100 activists including charges for violating the Official Secrets Act. In 1991, police attacked activists from a local victims' organisation, ironically while they were trying to submit a plea to the governor asking for protection from police brutality.
I have extensively quoted from these sites
http://bhopal.net
http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/06globalsociety.html#n71
