40 Years of BHOPAL

Art Has a Role to Play

Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster

by Rahul Varma, December 2, 2024

Rahul Varma

Today is the 40th anniversary of the world's worst industrial catastrophe, the Bhopal disaster. On this night, December 2, 1984, shortly after midnight, the pesticide plant of Union Carbide exploded, killing 2,600 people overnight and over 25,000 to date and counting. An estimated 150,000 people continue to battle chronic illnesses, with an alarming rise in cancers, fatal kidney diseases, chronic morbidities, respiratory and mental health, and reproductive disorders. The generation born to survivors or their progenies have inherited horrible morbidities of the industrial poison as congenital disabilities, impeded physical growth, disabilities, chronic respiratory diseases,  hindered mental development, chronic respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, psychiatric, and ophthalmic diseases, attributed to methyl isocyanate exposure from four decades ago.

Rashida Bi, a survivor, then 25, recalls that dreadful night, "Soon we were all breathless, nauseating, our eyes swollen, and we were praying to God for a quick death."  Rashida Bi not only survived the disaster but also became the face of the struggle for Justice for survivors. Along with another survivor, Champa Bai Shukla, she organized women to fight for their rights, seeking retribution, reparation and restoration of Justice. Life ended for those who died on that night or in its aftermath; the horrible nightmare continues for survivors and their progenies. Rashida Bi says, "The gas has left us sick for life. We are seeing its effects in several generations. Our water is poisoned. Despite judicial rulings, we have not received rightful compensation, and those responsible for the crime have not been punished."

Rashida Bi and Champa Bai Shukla, activists such as Satinath Sarangi of Sambhavna Trust and Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information and Action, and Madhumita Dutta of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and many other activists, artists and health professionals have become the beacons of hope raising awareness and continuing to fight to restore dignity to the lives of survivors in the face of apathy by the state.

The Indian Government has ignored to categorize the health impacts of methyl isocyanate as a syndrome with multisystemic effects. It has failed to provide comprehensive long-term and second-generation treatment to improve lives. The Government has not paid due attention to the quality of life of affected communities.

Besides facing lingering health effects from methyl isocyanate exposure and groundwater contamination, survivors are still fighting legal battles. Court ruling directed the Indian Government to press criminal charges, the U.S. refused to cooperate, and the Indian Government failed to extradite Carbide's chairman, Warren Anderson, who died in 2014, without facing justice. 

The disaster site continues to pose health hazards to the local population because it has not been remediated. The Government has been unwilling or failed to clean up the contamination site to prevent further deaths. Dow Chemical, which took over now defunct Union Carbide, maintains the same stand.

Bhopal remains a grim example of multinational crimes in the Third World, the apathy of local governments, and the failure of Justice.

Artists have a role in raising awareness, respecting the dignity of life and supporting the restoration of Justice. They organize exhibitions, movie screenings, solidarity action and speaking about Bhopal.

Teesri Duniya Theatre has produced my play Bhopal in English and French across Canada—different companies in the U.S. and India have produced the play. In India, it was produced in Hindi as Zahreeli Hawa under the direction of iconic Lt. Habib Tanvir and in Punjabi as Khamosh Chiragan di Daastan under the direction of Kewal Dhaliwal.

In 2024, Bay Area Drama Company is marking the 10th anniversary of its founding by producing Bhopal – a meaningful action by a meaningful theatre company. The play is a reminder and a struggle against forgetting. It confronts corporate crimes and honours lives.   

Rashida Bi (left) and Champa Bai Shukla (right)

Basab Pradhan