NETWORKING AND ADVOCACY
LG II
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DECEMBER 3, 1984: Shortly after midnight, poison gas leaked
from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by Union Carbide
Corporation.
There was no warning; none of the plant's safety systems were
working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness
to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses
and mouths.
Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.
Twenty three years after the pollution episode, contamination
continues to kill people in India
Third generation affected
Gas composition secret not revealed
Various campaigns conducted by:
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Local NGOs
International Organisations
Individuals (Activists)
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Warren Anderson, Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation
at the time of the 1984 gas disaster in Bhopal is
summoned along with UCC to appear before a court in
Bhopal to face criminal charges of culpable homicide.
Since 1992 he and the corporation have been refusing to
appear and have been declared "absconders from justice".
A non-bailable warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Belated efforts by the Government of India to extradite
him from the US have been rejected by the US State
Department.
Campaigns to bring Anderson to India to face trial
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This glorious idea was devised in 2002 by the women
survivors
of
Bhopal's
bastis,
caused
major
embarrassment to Dow executives around the globe.
CEO Michael Parker was jhadoo'd at a prestigious
luncheon.
Dow's European CEO fled from the broom of Champa
Devi.
Mysterious beings turned up in remote Kings Lynn,
Norfolk, England. All were demanding that Dow accept
responsibility for Bhopal.
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The hunger strike has been used effectively by the
Bhopal survivors and their allies.
The first major fast was in 2002. It begand with three
people, was taken up by another in the USA and grew
into a rolling hunger strike involving more than 1,000
people around the world.
1) THE DELHI DHARNA
2) THE SEADRIFT HUNGER STRIKE BY DIANE WILSON
3) THE WORLDWIDE HUNGER STRIKE
The hunger strikers around the world strongly demand that:
 The Government of India withdraw its application for dilution
of charges before the 17 July hearings at the Bhopal
Magistrates court and take immediate steps to extradite
Warren Anderson.
 The Government of India act rapidly to hold Dow Chemicals,
Carbides new owner, responsible for the pending medical and
environmental rehabilitation liabilities in Bhopal.
 Dow Chemicals take full responsibility for Union Carbide’s
liabilities in Bhopal
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Highly toxic chemicals abandoned by Union Carbide at
its derelict factory have leaked into soil and
groundwater.
Cancer- and birth-defect causing chemicals have been
found in drinking wells and women in nearby
communities have poisons in their breast milk.
There were campaigns for clean water to be supplied to
these communities.
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Thousands of people have been wrongfully denied
compensation for injuries due to the gas disaster.
The gas victims that have been compensated have
often received inadequate compensation through a
process that’s often humiliating.
The children of the gas victims, who are themselves
genetically affected by the gas, are not even tracked
The ICJB has campaigned for these funds to be
released to survivors, to whom it belongs.
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NRIs Urge Acceptance of the Demands of the
Bhopali Survivors on Hunger-Strike.
Solidarity fasts by over 10 volunteers with
Association for India’s Development and
Students for Bhopal was held in front of the
Indian Embassy for 3 days
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The protestors held a banner “DOW clean up or
shut up! Justice for Bhopal” which captures the
irony of the CEO of Dow Chemicals, a company
with a record of tarnishing the environment,
preaching about energy and environment.
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SET UP A NATIONAL COMMISSION ON BHOPAL
PROVIDE SAFE DRINKING WATER
PROSECUTE UNION CARBIDE AND ANDERSON
MAKE DOW CLEAN UP AND PAY
BLACKLIST DOW AND UNION CARBIDE
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Three key acts that dealt with industrial hazards were amended,
i.e. the Factories Act (1948), the Water Act (1974 and 1977), and
the Air Act (1981).
The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 was enacted
Established the principle of "strict and absolute liability" in the
Shriram Food and Fertilizer Industries oleum leak case.
The Supreme Court also established the principle of "vicarious
liability"
The Supreme Court began taking public interest litigation for
environmental protection.
New administrative units were set up at the state level to monitor
compliance of laws.
National Disaster Training College was also set up in Bhopal
1969: Bhopal factory built in state capital of Madhya Pradesh, India.
1973: First methyl isocyanate (MIC) imported from the USA.
1979: The Bhopal plant starts to manufacture its own MIC.
1980 to 1984: Death of workers due to gas leakage. The senior officials were well
aware of 61 hazards.
December 2-3, 1984: Poisonous gas leak from Union Carbides pesticides factory. In
three days around 8,000 people die.
December 7, 1984: Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson amongst nine people
arrested by Indian police during a visit to the factory. He is released on bail of
US$2000 and promptly flees the country.
1985: Indian government files claim for US$3.3 billion from Union Carbide in US
court.
1986: Union Carbide succeeds in persuading the court to send case back to Indian
courts where it knows it will be able to get away with much smaller damages.
March 1988: Chemical weapons kill thousands in the Kurdish town of Halabja. Union
Carbide and Dow Chemical were among the companies which supplied chemicals to
the Saddam Hussein regime, despite being warned they could be turned into nerve
gases.
February 1989: After five years of legal wrangling the Indian Government and Union
Carbide strike an out of court settlement. Compensation amount brought down to
US$470 million from original US$3.3 billion claimed by the Indian Government.
Union Carbide shares immediately rocket as markets realise the company has
escaped lightly.
April 1992: After ignoring four court summonses, Warren Anderson is declared a
"proclaimed absconder" and fugitive from justice.
November 1994: Indian Supreme Court allows Union Carbide to sell off its
encumbered assets in India to fund a hospital. Criminal proceedings against Union
Carbide become difficult to enforce because, although the accused refuse to appear
in Court, Carbide no longer has any assets in India.
August 1999: Union Carbide announces forthcoming merger with Dow Chemical
Company.
November 1999: Greenpeace tests soil, groundwater and wells iand finds 12 toxic
chemicals and deadly mercury in quantities up to 6 million times higher than
expected.
November 1999: Several victims of Bhopal disaster file class action suit against Union
Carbide and its former CEO, Warren Anderson, in federal court in New York.
August 2000: Greenpeace sets up a computer centre outside the factory to allow
survivors of the disaster to demand justice from Union Carbide.
February 2001: Union Carbide and Dow chemicals merge. Dow claims it is not
responsible for a factory it didn't operate.
January 9, 2002: Dow accepts Carbide's liabilities in the US and settles a Texas asbestos
lawsuit originally filed against Union Carbide.
January 2002: A scientific report finds lead and mercury in the breast milk of nursing
mothers in neighbouring communities around the plant.
May 2002: Bhopal survivors tour the US culminating in an informal meeting with the
then Dow CEO, Michael Parker at the Dow AGM. Dow continues to ignore claims to
clean up Bhopal.
July 19, 2002: It is revealed that the Indian government plans to drop charges against
Warren Anderson, Union Carbide CEO at the time of the disaster. Survivors of the
disaster launch of 28 day hunger strike in Delhi and global relay hunger strike is called
in support of the survivors.
17 July - 15 August, 2002: On hearing of the plight of the survivors in Bhopal, Diane
Wilson starts a hunger strike outside a Dow plant in Texas, USA. The Dow factory has
been polluting the Gulf coast since construction of the plant.
July 2002: Commenting on the plight of survivors, Dow claims: "$500 is plenty good for
an Indian." Now banned in the US, Dow still markets Dursban as safe in India.
August 28, 2002: Despite pressure from the Indian government, charges of
culpable homicide reaffirmed against Warren Anderson in Bhopal court. Court
demands his immediate extradition.
August 29, 2002: Despite being wanted by India and Interpol, US authorities
have made no effort to extradite Anderson, claiming they are unable to find
him.
September 30, 2002: A new study from The Peoples Science Institute, Dehra
Dun confirms the presence of highly toxic mercury in Bhopal drinking water.
October 4, 2002: The CEO of Dow Europe is presented with a broom and
requested to clean up the toxic mess in Bhopal. Polite acceptance is followed
by further Dow inaction.
October 6 2002: "Jhaadoo Maaro Dow Ko" campaign launched by survivors in
Bhopal.
October 21 2002: State of Madhya Pradesh announces that it will petition the
Indian Supreme Court to compel Dow Chemical to clean up the contaminated
soil and ground water at the Union Carbide factory site.
October 21-23 2002: Indian Government Ministers tell reporters that India is
proceeding with an application to extradite Carbide's ex-CEO Warren
Anderson from the US.
October 23 2002: ICJB activists hijack a Nature Conservancy luncheon at which Dow CEO Michael
Parker is the guest of honour and interrupt his speech to present him with a broom.
October 25 2002: Guidelines drawn up by us for the clean-up of Carbide's abandoned factory site
are presented to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and simultaneously handed to Dow offices in
India, Europe and the USA.
October 2002: Bhopal survivors tour Dow plants in Europe to confront executives of Dow
Chemical and chemical industry associations in different countries with brooms they have carried
with them from Bhopal.
November 11, 2002: Plaintiffs organisations share documents which disclose that the company
and Warren Anderson had imposed "unproven technology" on their Bhopal factory in the critical
MIC unit.
November 14, 2002: Survivors release documents obtained via discovery in the New York class
action.
November 19, 2002: Activists erect signs to warn people living around an area of land used by
Union Carbide to dump its hazardous waste.
November 22, 2002: Secret Union Carbide documents go public.
November 25, 2002: Local residents and Greenpeace activists enter the Union Carbide site to
contain part of the toxic waste on site and police arrest everyone within one hour for trespassing.
November 28, 2002: Dow posts an internal memo on its website stating the following: "But what
we cannot and will not do - no matter where Greenpeace takes their protests and how much they
seek to undermine Dow's reputation with the general public - is accept responsibility for the
Bhopal accident." A few days later the author Dow CEO M. Parker is dumped.
December 2, 2002: Women survivors march to Indian headquarters of Dow to bring to
it a sample of what is poisoning them every day. After a peaceful protest a Dow
employee accepts the contaminated soil and water from around the plant.
December 3, 2002: Thousands march in the streets of Bhopal on the 18th anniversary
of the disaster. Candle lit demonstrations are held across the globe in support of the
call for justice in Bhopal.
December 3, 2002: Activists pay Dow CEO a visit at his home to ask what he will be
doing about Bhopal. Parker meets with the activists, and promises to release the
composition of the gas.
December 3, 2002: Tired of the endless public relations platitudes on Dow's website
but complete lack of action in Bhopal, internet activist group, the yesmen, decide to
represent Dow a bit more honestly on the internet. The story rumbles on, on the web
and in print.
December 5, 2002: Money talks - Investment firms with stock of US$13 billion say Dow
should resolve the Bhopal issue to prevent further damage to its image.
December 13, 2002: Dow CEO M. Parker is sacked and replaced by William S.
Stavropoulos who masterminded the takeover of Union Carbide. Parker was sacked
only for the 'poor financial performance' of the company, apparently.
December 13, 2002: Inspired by the yesmen, Greenpeace launches parody website
mad-dow-disease.com to expose Dow's blatant double standards.
December 23, 2002: Dow files a claim for US$10,000 against women survivors who
peacefully protested outside the Dow Bombay office on Dec 2nd. Not content with
ignoring Bhopal, Dow is now suing the very people it should be helping.
January 7, 2003: To show Dow that problems in India cannot just be ignored because
they are far away, ICJB activists returned Bhopal waste to its new owner at Dow's
biggest plant outside the US. Dow's response: arrests of over twenty activists.
January 23, 2003: In the last few months Dow has recieved over 15,000 emails and
thousands more postcards asking it to clean up Bhopal. So far it has ignored all
messages from concerned citizens. Se we organised something that is not so easily
ingnored - a call in day to Dow's ethics line. Hundreds of people called in and Dow's
response was the closure of phone lines to any questions on Bhopal.
March 10, 2003: To highlight Dow's attempts to silence survivors protests in India with
a US$10,000 damages claim, we launch a internet sit-in of Dow's greenwash site at
bhopal.com. True to form Dow refuses to drop the suit against peaceful protestors and
attempts to evade the internet action with technical tricks. The protest brings down
bhopal.com on Wednesday 12 March.
March 11, 2003: Activists block the entrances to the Houston Dow Center after
delivering 250 gallons of contaminated water taken from wells in Bhopal, the site of the
world's worst industrial disaster. Dow gets people in chemical suits to remove the
water but is content to let poor Indians use it everyday?
March 18, 2003: Disappointment as a US court throws out Bhopal survivors' civil damages lawsuit.
"glaring instance of juridical prejudice."
March 25, 2003: Survivors organisations confirm intent to appeal the decision. Even the local paper
in Dow's hometown says Dow should be cleaning up the polluted site.
April 22, 2003: Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, gas affected Bhopal survivors and Satinath
Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action arrive in Texas for a 40 day tour of the US.
During their tour, Rashida and Champa visit various communities affected by Dow Chemical, and
also engage in strategic discussion with support groups to strengthen their struggle for justice.
May 1, 2003: Rasheeda, Champa and long-time Bhopal activist Satinath Sarangi along with other
Bhopal supporters launch a satyagraha - fast for justice - against Union Carbide's new owner, Dow
Chemical, with a demonstration in New York.
May 8, 2003: At the Dow annual meeting in Midland, Michigan, Rasheeda, Champa and Satinath
bring the disaster home to top executives of Dow Chemical. William Stavaropolos, Dow CEO, claims
in a speech to the shareholders at the meeting that Dow-Carbide no longer faces any criminal cases
in India. John Musser, Dow's public relations spokesperson is later forced to admit that this claim is
wrong.
May 12, 2003: The three hunger strikers today end their personal fast by calling on supporters and
justice campaigners around the world to take over and fast in relays from now until the 19th
anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster.
July 1, 2003: Significant developments as the Indian government finally and reluctantly do what it
and its predecessors ought to have done long ago by serving extradition papers to the US
government for the chairman of Carbide at the time of the disaster, Warren Anderson.
July 22, 2003: Eighteen members of US Congress send a letter to Dow Chairman William
Stavropoulos demanding that his company assume liability for the wrongdoings of Union Carbide
(its 100 percent subsidiary) in Bhopal.
Category People
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Environment Health and Safety community across the globe
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Professional organizations
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Processing industry
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Social workers and environmentalists working for public benefits
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Government and funding agencies
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Media
D1
People
D2
Affected Parent company
D3
Local politicians, social workers, and non-profit organizations involved
in relief operation
D4
Law-practitioners
D5
Medical practitioners
D6
Media & consummate journalists & book writers
D7
Bureaucrats whose job profile was closely associated with the incident
D1
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D7
D2
I6
I2
BHOPAL
INDIRECT
DIRECT
D6
D3
I5
D5
D4
I3
I4
Stakeholder
People
Effects
Reactions
Activities
Outcomes
Loss of lives
Outrage
Collective
action
Communal
Harmony
Health
Hazards
Anger
Protest
Medical Relief
Distress
Outcry
Campaigning
Compensation
Economic
Impacts
Justice
Poverty
International
Attention
Social
Imbalance
Legal action
Communal
disharmony
Policy
Changes
Stakeholders
Government
Effects
Reactions
Social Imbalance
Concerns
regarding
immediate
of people
Activities
Outcomes
Medical
rehabilitation
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Relief
and
Rehabilitation
Department
Government of MP
were set up.
Economic
rehabilitation
Welfare
commission
set up
Social
rehabilitation
Bhopal memorial
hospital trust and
research centre
Legal Issues
Environmental
rehabilitation
Centre
rehabilitation
studies
International
Conflicts
interest
Judicial
and
administrative
rehabilitation
Political instability
Economic impacts
of
relief
Concerns
regarding
oppositional and
people’s furore
Concerns
regarding
rehabilitation
was
for
Stakeholder
Union
Carbide/DOW
Effects
Reactions
Activities
Outcomes
Loss of business
Concerns
Power Games
regarding furore
of people
Minimal liability
Legal Issues
Apprehensions of Networking to get Withdrawal
litigations
and through clean
charges
government
actions
of
Loss of faith of Apprehensions of Compensation
Further
the community
economic losses offer to the awe operations of the
struck
company in India
remained
unaffected
Denial
of
disclosure of the
gas composition
Stakeholders
NGOs and
Activists
Effects
Empathy
Reactions
Activities
Concerns
and Mobilization
apprehensions
resources
regarding relief and
rehabilitation
Congruence
congregation
Campaigns
conventions
Outcomes
of Formation
people’s
organisations
and Public disapproval
of Dow chemicals
and Disclosure
of
chemical processes
in production was
made
a
legal
obligation
Protests
Relief measures
Survey and research
International
community
mobilisation
of
Rashida Bee and
Champa Devi
received the
Goldman Award
Stakeholders
International
Organisations
Effects
Sense of urgency
Reactions
Activities
Outcomes
of International
Empathy
and Mobilisation
concerns for the International funds medical
and resources
affected people
commission
on
Pesticide
Action Bhopal was set up
Network
North
America
became
active for the issue
Greenpeace became
active
Surveys
and
research
by
International
organisations
Condemnation
of
Government policies
overlooking
the
common gentry of
Bhopal
Permanent people’s
tribunal helped too
FACTS AND FIGURES
Total no wards in Bhopal M.C.(1984)
Total no of Gas Affected wards
Total no of Non Gas Affected wards
Estimated Population of Bhopal M.C.(1984)
Estimated Population of 36 wards(1984)
Estimated Population of 20 wards(1984)
56
36
20
8,94,539
5,59,835
3,34,704
MEDICAL REHABILITATION (as on MAY 2007)
Super-Specialty hospitals
Specialty hospitals
General hospitals
Day Care Units/Dispensaries
Ayurvedic Dispensaries
Homeopathic Dispensaries
Unani Dispensaries
01
02
04
09
03
03
03
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152 Industrial Shed have been constructed.
42 Work Shed have been constructed.
Industrial
Training
Institute
have
been
established.
Rs.4.00 crores has been earmarked for economic
rehabilitation of gas victims.
Expenditure upto May, 2007 Rs.27.05 Crores
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Widow pension was provided to widows of the
gas related deaths @ Rs.200/- p.m. (Now it has
been stopped)
2486 houses has been constructed and allotted
to Kith & Kin of Gas victims diseased
27 Orphans were maintained since 1984 to 2000
at present 3 orphans children were providing
assistance.
Expenditure upto May, 2007 Rs.45.69 Crores
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plantation of trees
development of green belts and open areas
children’s park
construction and covering Nullahs
pavement of streets
construction of roads
construction of sewage/drainage
improvement of water supply schemes
development of open land
lighting of streets
disposal of wastes etc.
Supply of 9,000 smokeless choolahs
Expenditure upto May, 2007 Rs.28.55 Crores
Total cases registered
10,29,517
Number of decided cases
10,29,517
Number of awarded cases
574304
Number of rejected cases
455213
Total compensation awarded
Rs.1546.47 crores
Total compensation disbursed
Rs.1545.97 crores
LG 2
ABHIROOP CHATTERJEE
AMIT GARG
PRASHANT SHARMA
SANJEEV MOHAPATRA
SIVAKUMAR KS