Bhopal Tragedy: US should compensate the victims

Twenty Five years have passed since the disaster stuck Bhopal where thousands of innocent people perished in their sleep when the lethal gas, Methyl Isocyanine, used in the manufacture of pesticides leaked out of the factory owned by the American chemical giant Union Carbide. There was hardly any time to run for cover and the leakage had claimed thousands of lives besides damaging the lungs and eyes of those who survived.

Warren Anderson, the Union Carbide CEO at that time, did not feel even apologetic about the incident, leave alone the megre compensation paid to the families of the dead and the injured. The issue has dragged on for years and those who suffered have not been rehabilitated in a decent way. Dow Chemicals, in the meantime, bought Union Carbide which then ceased to exist, and this effectively blocked the compensation issue. Further, Dow Chemicals distanced itself from the disaster claiming it was not the owner when the accident took place. What a convenient answer?

At the time of the disaster, US was the dominant economy in the world dictating terms to others and the American chemical giant even used the diplomatic circle to threaten the Indian government of adverse economic consequences if it pressed harder on compensation issues. The global economic scenario has changed since then and we are no more on the receiving end. India is now a global economic power to be reckoned with and it is high time we stared telling the US multinationals, “Look here, if you can’t fulfill your social responsibility, we will not be mere spectators and may have to show you the door apart from holding you legally responsible for any damage.”

The US administration has been dishing out billions of dollarsto save the cash crunched and mismanaged business houses to support its overpaid and non performing executives and it will be only proper and fitting if the Indian govt., at this juncture, take up the issue with Obama administration and negotiate a reasonable deal for the victims of the disaster. Better be late than never.