Bhopal: The Auschwitz of India
===============================
"Methyl Isocyanate" is used as a pesticide.
First questions first -
why is a "cyanide" compound approved by the govt. as a "pesticide"?
From wikipedia -
"Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is extremely toxic. The threshold limit value set by the American Conference on Government Industrial Hygienist was 0.02 ppm. MIC can damage by inhalation, ingestion and contact in quantities as low as 0.4 ppm. Damage includes coughing, chest pain, dyspnea, asthma, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat as well as skin damage. Higher levels of exposure, over 21 ppm, can result in pulmonary or lung edema, emphysema and hemorrhages, bronchial pneumonia and death. Although the odor of methyl isocyanate cannot be detected at 5 ppm by most people, its potent lachrymal properties provide an excellent warning of its presence (at a concentration of 2–4 parts per million (ppm) subject's eyes are irritated, while at 21 ppm subjects could not tolerate the presence of methyl isocyanate in air)".
The toxic effect of the compound was apparent in the Bhopal disaster, when around 42,000 kilograms (93,000 lb) of methyl isocyanate and other gases were released from the underground reservoirs of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) factory, over a populated area on December 3, 1984, immediately killing thousands and leading to the deaths of tens of thousands in subsequent weeks and months."
why proper care was not taken to store the highly toxic methyl isocyanate?
was a proper investigation launched into the "cause" of the disaster?
Is the "cause" of the disaster known to the Indian govt.?
If yes, then why is the cause of the disaster not in the public domain?
If no, then it is a shame on India and Indians who do not have the proper controls, technology and will to know the cause. The Mangalore plan disaster where 200 died will be another feather in the cap for India.
why was the district collector of Bhopal transferred when he wanted the Union Carbide plant to be shifted out of the populated place before the disaster?
Who signed his transfer orders?
after the disaster why a massive clean up activity was not taken up urgently by the govt.?
why is the water polluted till today (2010)?
why proper compensation was not arranged by the govt. of Rajiv Gandhi at the Center and Arjun Singh at the state?
If the company was not liable then being the sole trustee of the Bhopal victims, the govt. becomes liable.
The govt. is elected and selected by the people. how can govt. declare "itself" to be the sole trustee of the people? A trust is established only if the "people" "select" the govt. to be its trustee. Such law if passed by parliament is null and void.
who were in the parliament who voted "yes" for this motion?
can a govt. who aided Warren Anderson to fly out of the country without even proper air tickets and also abetted in the storage of methly isocyanate without proper safeguards in a populated area be trusted to become a trustee of the victims?
Can such a govt. be allowed to "declare itself" as the sole trustee of the victims?
All and any such law is hence null and void. Which provides the foundation to reopen the Bhopal case, file RTI applications to find out who all in the govt. were behind the abetment of the crime both before and after the crime, and file criminal cases against those who are known to have abetted the crime and aided Warren Anderson to fly out.
20,000 dead is not a small crime and the govt. figure of 8000 dead is not acceptable.
if the leaders who support the present UPA do not withdraw support with immediate effect over the Bhopal crime, they also are to be counted in the line of abetters to the crime of Bhopal - the Auschwitz of India.
Not to dilute the case of the victims of Bhopal, I keep the question of the Nuclear Liability Bill out of scope of this writing.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
India is going to lose J&K
India is going to lose J&K
And Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese have made that intention clear by issuing stapled Visas to people from these regions prompting authorities to reject their travel in the fear that the Visas were fake. Let there be no mistake of taking this as ample indication of Chinese intentions.
While Arunachal Pradesh is disputed territory and China is in all probability going to bag it, China has already calculated that it will be a war situation in which it would like to win. For that purpose, it will ask Pakistan to occupy the entire J&K, under its auspices.
India is not and will not be prepared to simultaneously win a war with China and Pakistan on the eastern, the northern and the western fronts. And make no mistake, this time the South will not be spared too with attacks coming from Chinese nuclear capable submarines and warships stationed in Vietnam. For the first time in the history of India, the entire sub-continent will be under attack, will suffer, lose and be insulted without heed to caste, creed or religion simultaneously. We Indians for that matter, are quite sweetly engaged in inter-community discrimination at every level of the social and political strata throughout the country and what is “China” anyway!!!
So, what will India do because it knows it will lose the war?
Become an ostrich of course. Put our heads in the sands and pretend there is no enemy.
Well, that is exactly what the Congress has been doing for the past 20 years now. “There are no enemies in our neighbourhood” is what our, the then finance minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh, said and cut defence expenditure to the minimum possible. It took a Kargil to realize how miserably our soldiers were sent to their deaths, with no jackets and sometimes even without proper boots. Can you even imagine the pain of walking on ice without boots? Top it up with the enemy firing on you and no scope of turning back. Russian suffering in the war with Germans becomes a mere speck in comparison. We lost more than 500 officer class and nobody counts the jawans.
But will the ostrich attitude help India? Well… it will, if the wolf becomes a sheep by looking at the ostrich.
So, what should we do?
Actually, the question should first be: “What should we “not” do?”.
Firstly, we should not pacify China on every aspect – which is what the current Congress government is doing - just because it is strong, and make the same mistake as the Europeans and the Americans did with Hitler (And China will be worse than Hitler with its nuclear weapons. Hitler didn’t have any!). Our leaders should boldly tell China, that we perceive a threat from them if they don’t mend their ways – which means we will arm ourselves, tooth and nail.
Secondly, in return for Chinese claims on Arunachal and supporting Pakistan in all its nefarious activities, we should not recognize Tibet as a part of China. That single stroke will push the Chinese borders far away from our shores. We should support Tibetan independence movements in Tibet. A bullet for a bullet that is.
Thirdly, we should not slow down our capability to win a nuclear war. That and only that will ensure a friendly China. So if the scientist Santhanam, is saying we are not Thermonuclear capable, we do the extra nuclear tests required to give us that capability and throw the nuclear deal with US in the dustbin, unless of course, the US gives us some of its Thermonuclear weapons to fend off China. Power respects power.
Fourthly, we should consciously try to come out of our sweet inter-community discriminations which is by far the most thought-draining, energy-draining, respect-draining activity that all of us Indians are engaged in today. Today there is a divide between Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Castes, Biharis and Marathas, Brahmins and Lingayats, North Indians and South Indians, East Indians and Indians, Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Muslims, Barry muslims with other muslims, Nagas and the Bodos, Maoists and the Marxists, Shias and sunnis, naxalites and the police, people and the corrupt state – you name it and you get it. Working on this foremost internal threat, will make us a better society capable of thwarting any external threat. Be the change you want to see.
Great sages and even Chinese travelers have described India as a land of paradise. We must continue to let it be so by living peacefully ourselves and having the capability to destroy any demon who attempts to destroy our peace.
May God give us sense before it is too late.
And Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese have made that intention clear by issuing stapled Visas to people from these regions prompting authorities to reject their travel in the fear that the Visas were fake. Let there be no mistake of taking this as ample indication of Chinese intentions.
While Arunachal Pradesh is disputed territory and China is in all probability going to bag it, China has already calculated that it will be a war situation in which it would like to win. For that purpose, it will ask Pakistan to occupy the entire J&K, under its auspices.
India is not and will not be prepared to simultaneously win a war with China and Pakistan on the eastern, the northern and the western fronts. And make no mistake, this time the South will not be spared too with attacks coming from Chinese nuclear capable submarines and warships stationed in Vietnam. For the first time in the history of India, the entire sub-continent will be under attack, will suffer, lose and be insulted without heed to caste, creed or religion simultaneously. We Indians for that matter, are quite sweetly engaged in inter-community discrimination at every level of the social and political strata throughout the country and what is “China” anyway!!!
So, what will India do because it knows it will lose the war?
Become an ostrich of course. Put our heads in the sands and pretend there is no enemy.
Well, that is exactly what the Congress has been doing for the past 20 years now. “There are no enemies in our neighbourhood” is what our, the then finance minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh, said and cut defence expenditure to the minimum possible. It took a Kargil to realize how miserably our soldiers were sent to their deaths, with no jackets and sometimes even without proper boots. Can you even imagine the pain of walking on ice without boots? Top it up with the enemy firing on you and no scope of turning back. Russian suffering in the war with Germans becomes a mere speck in comparison. We lost more than 500 officer class and nobody counts the jawans.
But will the ostrich attitude help India? Well… it will, if the wolf becomes a sheep by looking at the ostrich.
So, what should we do?
Actually, the question should first be: “What should we “not” do?”.
Firstly, we should not pacify China on every aspect – which is what the current Congress government is doing - just because it is strong, and make the same mistake as the Europeans and the Americans did with Hitler (And China will be worse than Hitler with its nuclear weapons. Hitler didn’t have any!). Our leaders should boldly tell China, that we perceive a threat from them if they don’t mend their ways – which means we will arm ourselves, tooth and nail.
Secondly, in return for Chinese claims on Arunachal and supporting Pakistan in all its nefarious activities, we should not recognize Tibet as a part of China. That single stroke will push the Chinese borders far away from our shores. We should support Tibetan independence movements in Tibet. A bullet for a bullet that is.
Thirdly, we should not slow down our capability to win a nuclear war. That and only that will ensure a friendly China. So if the scientist Santhanam, is saying we are not Thermonuclear capable, we do the extra nuclear tests required to give us that capability and throw the nuclear deal with US in the dustbin, unless of course, the US gives us some of its Thermonuclear weapons to fend off China. Power respects power.
Fourthly, we should consciously try to come out of our sweet inter-community discriminations which is by far the most thought-draining, energy-draining, respect-draining activity that all of us Indians are engaged in today. Today there is a divide between Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Castes, Biharis and Marathas, Brahmins and Lingayats, North Indians and South Indians, East Indians and Indians, Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Muslims, Barry muslims with other muslims, Nagas and the Bodos, Maoists and the Marxists, Shias and sunnis, naxalites and the police, people and the corrupt state – you name it and you get it. Working on this foremost internal threat, will make us a better society capable of thwarting any external threat. Be the change you want to see.
Great sages and even Chinese travelers have described India as a land of paradise. We must continue to let it be so by living peacefully ourselves and having the capability to destroy any demon who attempts to destroy our peace.
May God give us sense before it is too late.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The story of Shiva
Shiva is blind. He has also not taken bath for a long time - it seems.
Dirty and disposed, he sits near BEML gate with a aluminium bowl, but his arms are not outstretched asking for alms. Even so, there are a few coins in the bowl - donations from kindly souls. The value of the coins dropped into the bowl, Shiva cannot know, because he has no fingers.
He sits at one place the whole day, never moving from one place. He cannot move because he has no legs - rather legs stricken by polio.
But strangely, Shiva disappears by night.
Shiva is taken to his sisters' home by his brother-in-law where they take the money collected by Shiva and leave him again near BEML gate the next day.
I asked Shiva whether he dislikes his brother-in-law and sister because they take his money. I was surprised to hear a confident "No". He said - "What will I do with the money? - They give me food and a bath every week."
Dirty and disposed, he sits near BEML gate with a aluminium bowl, but his arms are not outstretched asking for alms. Even so, there are a few coins in the bowl - donations from kindly souls. The value of the coins dropped into the bowl, Shiva cannot know, because he has no fingers.
He sits at one place the whole day, never moving from one place. He cannot move because he has no legs - rather legs stricken by polio.
But strangely, Shiva disappears by night.
Shiva is taken to his sisters' home by his brother-in-law where they take the money collected by Shiva and leave him again near BEML gate the next day.
I asked Shiva whether he dislikes his brother-in-law and sister because they take his money. I was surprised to hear a confident "No". He said - "What will I do with the money? - They give me food and a bath every week."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)