The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

On December 3, 1984, India faced another great tragedy: a leak of the toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from the pesticide plant of the US multinational company Union Carbide (UCC) at Bhopal killed thousands and left many more impaired for life. The gas caused internal haemorrhage, lung failure and death. Worst affected were the inhabitants of the villages and slums in the neighbouring areas of the factory.

It was one of the worst industrial tragedies of the world. The plant should not have been allowed in the city in the first place; further, it seemed to have disregarded safety measures several times.

After the disaster, UCC tried its best to disown responsibility for the gas leak by shifting culpability to the Indian subsidiary UCIL, stating that the plant was wholly built and operated by UCIL. Soon after, the first multi-billion dollar lawsuit was filed by an American attorney in a US court. And the legal battles and machinations began with the ethical implications of the tragedy and its effect on the people being pushed to the background. In March 1985, the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act was enacted by the Indian government so as to ensure speedy and equitable settlement of claims arising from the accident. As per the act, the government became the sole representative of the victims in legal proceedings anywhere in the world. Eventually, all cases were removed from US jurisdiction and shifted to Indian jurisdiction. Under the aegis of the Supreme Court of India, UCC agreed to pay $470 million to the Indian government to be distributed to claimants as a full and final settlement. The figure was based on a number of claimants that was on the lower side, whereas the actual number came to be much larger.

There were allegations that American pressure and political influence had resulted in the UCC chairman, Warren

Anderson, being allowed to leave India for the US without being arrested. The controversy continues and so do the troubles of the people who suffered from the fallout of the gas leak and had to do with such low compensation.

The 1985 General Elections

Rajiv Gandhi on assuming the post of prime minister in October 1984 recommended early elections. General elections were to be held in January 1985; instead, they were held in December 1984. The Congress (I) won an overwhelming majority, securing more than 400 seats, the largest ever majority in independent India’s Lok Sabha election history till then. The mandate was partly the result of sympathy wave and largely from a desire to keep extremism and separatism down. Rajiv Gandhi, who now assumed the

post of prime minister, was also the youngest person to do so in India.

The March 1985 elections to assemblies in eleven states brought the Congress (I) to power in eight of them.