Way back in 1984, thousands of innocent citizens choked to their deaths while over a lakh equally unfortunate ones lived a life of pity, of deformities and diseases.. with no fault of theirs whatsoever.
Twenty-six years later, a Rs.5,00,000 fine has been imposed on UICL. The eight convicted the case got a punishment of, hold your breath, two years which was overridden by a bail of Rs. 25,000. The chairman (notice the uncapitalized 'c') of the firm, an American citizen never presented himself in the Court.
The incident was an incident of neglect, of apathy towards security.
The price was deaths and diseases. And two years. And 25,000Rs.
The city choked in 1984. A country choked today.
However bad it is to say this, but occasions like these put a question mark on my patriotism and my belief in the country I belong to.
nice post, its good that you wrote something about such tragic incidents.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you ranting about.
ReplyDeleteIf you want death sentence then...mind you it took about 2 years for us to give verdict about 26/11.
Also, Afzal Guru wants to be hanged early. See below.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/afzal-guru-wants-to-be-hanged-quickly-750
If you are angry about the paltry sum of 5 lakhs..then I think you need to bring in some parliamentary legislation.
Hamare laws angrezo ke jamane ke hain. Us samay ka rate abhi bhi chal raha hain.
Thats why suing in India makes no sense, you will end up paying more money than you would receive in damages.
Yes ... I agree with you Aaditya ... We cannot imagine the horror of that night when so many people choked, died and if not died then were blinded by this hazardous gas. The verdict is certainly an insult to the deceased ... Lets pray for the people who suffered ... Its probably the only thing that we can do now .
ReplyDeleteDevendra Shelar
it was just 2 days back whn i happened to download and watch the movie "Bhopal Express"....though it didnt work commercially its attempt to reconstruct the events of Bhopal Gas Tragedy are commendable....
ReplyDeletei agree with u aadi, its a pathetic job of (in)justice.....earlier, a settlement was made of an amount tht counted to only 3% of actual compensation. Things have worsen over the years and the underwater currents have been contaminated with dangerously high amount of mercury and other chemical that continue to be a cause for mutation in newborns ...the biggest irony is tht a lawyer who played a pivotal role in fighting for the victims then, have become a minister or so of the same area and now pays no more heed to the cause....
these are just abt 1% of the facts surround the tragedy....
Can't agree more on the last line. But the verdict seems no surprise. Yes, in the light of number of casualties and the scale of loss, two years of imprisonment seems ridiculous. However, irrespective of the magnitude of the disaster we should not deny the fact that the accused are convicted of criminal negligence and not murder, nor a culpable homicide. In spite of their indisputably unforgivable negligence, we can not hang these people till death. These are not terrorists who have killed people. Though, I can understand the rage of people against the accused of this case. Common psychology, after disasters like these we want someone to wreak our vengeance upon.
ReplyDeleteAbout the figures Rs. 25000 or 500000, adding few more zeros do not make a difference. I believe money can not be the full recompense for the loss of life.
Post-disaster analysis shows UCC and the Government of India both are responsible for the magnitude of disaster. Guilty is our ignorance too, towards preventing corruption, towards improving the constitution. As many as 1,20,000 paid the price.
@everyone
ReplyDeletecrap...you got to understand that this is what happens in a democratic judicial system...u al are are morons...why don't you think of actually DOING something about this...instead os writing such shitty bolgs and bothering yourselves with commenting on them...grow up...and practise what you preach...lifes not just about talking...i would seriously want to know how many of you have actually had the guts to ever speak against anything like this and DO something at the same time...you all are nothing but a BUNCH OF COWARDS...DOGS WHO BARK BUT DON'T BITE...especially you "aadi" or whatever...
@Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteHeard of something called 'public sentiment'? When I am a part of the 'public', I am entitled to have an opinion about social/political events around me.
I do not see the need to justify what I 'do' to change things I do not like. I have 'done' whatever small I thought was in my energy and never ever spoken about it. I leave it to the celebrity variety.
This blog is for speaking and till the point I do not cross the lines of sanity and frivolity, I have the write to speak as much as I want.
Speaking of cowardice, your anonymity speaks volumes about the brave person that you are. The reason that you wanted to remain anonymous tells me that I am talking to a four-legged animal who stands behind a wall and barks at other four-legged animals.
@Aaditya:
ReplyDeleteTune meri aankhen khol dee...mein jaanti hi nahi thi ki mein itni badi coward hoon...thnx aaditya...i'll remember that
hey Aditya....really nice blog. On my opinion it was not only the negligence on UICL behalf, but also from our Judicial system's behalf later on...couldn't they have extradited the chairman. We could have. But still we were and we are helpless. Keep writing :)
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteCan you please suggest what do you expect us to do?
I can:
1. Shoot Mahindra and others? (That's what Naxals claim to be doing, don't they?)
2. Write IAS/IPS to join CBI? (to become a puppet of some mindless politician?)
3. Become a politician? You do expect me to become the Prime Minister of India, don't you?
4. Become a District Judge? Do you expect me to punish the accussed more than the maximum of what is prescribed by the law?
See, it is even more easier to say that do something, that doing something. I had similar views about an organization. So, feeling like I can do something, I took charge. Result: People still bark at me.
It is very very difficult to change people unless they are willing to change themselves. I try to do one good thing in Bhopal, someone from Delhi calls up, saying "stop it! you are ruining my vote bank..". And people don't really care about what I want to do for them. The only one they care about is Sachin Tendulkar.
So, can you please highlight your expectations? You have a sincere and willing to work listener over here..
Regards,
Pratyush
all i am saying is that blogging is a very passive way of doing all this...mein jantee hoon ki it needs a lot to make a change...but instead of just writing like this, we should probabaly try and bite...thats all...meri baat ka bura mat manana ...mein toh aisehi bolti hoon...i just came across this bolg when i was searching for bhopal thing...but i thought it is baseless...i wud like to thank aditya though for NOT deleting my comment...
ReplyDelete@Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. The only comment I have deleted till now said something really bad about an Indian actor. I am open to bad things about myself.
Extra facts related to Bhopal
ReplyDeletehttp://serious--fun.blogspot.com/2010/06/bhopal-case-some-ignored-facts.html
Another angle at the Bhopal Story
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/06/14/stories/2010061450471000.htm
To corroborate the above story, please download the pdf given below and search for Adil in it and read the footnote given about it
http://www.acslaw.org/files/Presidential%20Pardons%20Issue%20Brief%20-%20October%202007.pdf
http://greatbong.net/2010/06/10/the-great-bhopal-killing/
Will continue to post such interesting connections and revelations as and when I lay my hands on them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jun/08/bhopal-verdict?CMP=twt_gu
ReplyDeleteSome extra facts
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main38.asp?filename=Ne050408air_water.asp
ReplyDeleteAnother article