Kick Dow Chemicals's ass, the Indian way
A lot has been said and written over the Bhopal gas tragedy judgement over the last few days, and quite rightly so. The shock and consternation over the lack of value of the victims’ lives and the governmental and judiciary collusion for the benefit of Union Carbide instead of against it is appalling.
There have been calls to extradite Warren Anderson from the US, to reopen the case, for the SC to review its judgement et al. But all of this seems like crying over spilt milk, simply because none of these are likely to happen. Warren Anderson is unlikely to be extradited at his ripe old age. We should now allow him to face his own demons elsewhere. Dow Chemicals is unlikely to cough up any further compensation. In its own words, it has taken over Union Carbide’s assets but not its liabilities. And increasing the terms of the now 60ish managers of UC is just punishing the pawns and anyways not justice enough to the victims.
So what do we do? What does India and we Indians do to show that such things wont be tolerated ever again, that an Indian life is worth as much as a first world country’s citizen’s life? We must do what we I feel a modern day Gandhiji would have done, albeit a little more aggressively. Boycott the bloody firm. Boycott Dow Chemicals and every company, every subsidiary, every product, every damn thing associated with it. BAN the company and all its outlets and subsidiaries from India. Peacefully refuse to use anything produced by a firm which has no sense of corporate responsibility nor value for human life and emotions. Not a single chemical produced or distributed by Dow Chemicals should be utilised by India, or for that matter by any Indian across the globe. Try and convince other countries and people to do the same.
I never imagined that the firm would have the guts to conduct business in India. But a check on the net had me shell-shocked. ‘The company has so far invested about $200 million in India with two manufacturing sites and three centres of excellence. The company has so far registered sales of 550 million dollars in India and is aiming for a three-fold increase in sales by 2010’ – Wall Street Journal. Dow Chemicals earns $550 million from Indian sales!!!! Shocking.
Further information from a site called bhopal.net says ‘Dow currently has, as far as we know, four subsidiaries located in India:
1. Dow Chemical (India) Private Ltd. Dow is 100% owner
2. Dow Chemical International Private Ltd. Dow is 100% owner
3. Anabond Essex India Private Limited
4. DE-NOCIL Crop Protection Ltd.’
All this is really appaling. For me, the best response India can give to Dow Chemicals is to send it packing out of our country for good. It might not make the company go into bankruptcy or cause heavy losses, but it will cause a substantial dip in its profits for sure. It will somewhat soothen the frayed nerves of the victims. And it will send out a firm message to the world to never take India and Indians so callously ever again.
posted by Akshay @ 11:56 AM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
Interesting knee-jerking Akki, but substantially loop-holed.
Has there been a miscarriage of justice? Yes. Who have been the purveyors of this injustice? Certainly not Dow Chemicals, who have entered the scene "after the fact". Their only culpability is the pittance that they are giving as compensation to the victims. However, this compensation too has been agreed upon by an Indian court, in full accordance with the law of the land. Dow is a profit-seeking capitalist, and it pushes the envelope to make maximum profit to the limit, within the confines of law, no more than Coca Cola does in flushing poison-water down our throats.
But blame must be laid, and our hands must be bloodied, and the question remains to be answered, whose ass must we kick?
Justice delayed is justice denied, goes the cliche. 25 years is beyond pathetic; it's beyond even funny. The incident happened 18 days after I was born (might explain the stunted neurological development), and the verdict comes now, and that too a verdict which is, per se, an injustice in terms of quantum of punishment. I'm wondering whether you are going to call upon us to boycott the judiciary, and the investigative agencies, because in my book, they are certainly much more responsible for this miscarriage of justice. How much money must have changed hands in all the shady revelations is anybody's guess, but a number of nests have definitely been lined.
The fact is that we, you and I and all the readers of this blog, have cynically undermined our system, by playing party to it, when it has suited our convenience. This miscarriage of justice will be seen just as another instance, only with graver consequences. Justice is miscarried every time a child dies of a preventable disease. Justice is miscarried every time a patient dies in KEM because the AMO has ordered substandard medical equipment. Justice is miscarried every time an intern pays off the Khardi MO. If we are to boycott injustice, let's start with these. In calling to boycott Dow, you are putting the burden on farmers who rely on Dow for their fertilizers and pesticides. I'm wondering whether a resident will show the wherewithal to boycott an injustice in his immediate world.
i agree reasonably with what shaun has to say. boycott will not only mean all that abt the farmer but will also jeopardise jobs that the MNC has created. it will in no way help the victims, only create more problems.by the calls for A's head, and the cry abt the meagre sentence the other have been served, we are turning a blind eye to our own incompetence for not moving the judicial machinery faster. the idea shouldnt be abt revenge, its justice.both are not the same, unlike what the media leads us to believe
I thought a lot before writing this blog and my opinion remains unchanged. Reasons; well quite a few.
First, there's a difference between us and them. That is why while both the Maoists and the mujahideens cnoduct what would be fall under the same purview of terrorist activities, India deals with them differently. Ditto here. Whatever wrong our society, our judiciary, our politicians have done cannot be dealt with in the same way as dealing with Dow.This is not saying that they shud be left scot free,but boycootting the judiciary is ridiculous.As to the reasons why the case was delayed so much, lets not discuss that. Spilt milk again.
Secondly,boycotting Dow is necessary to make them stop taking us and our lives so lightly.BP is spending so much on the oil spill simply 'cos of Obama's strong stance.And Dow not being responsible is not an argument.A company cannot buy anothers assets but not its liabilities.But the point is beyond that.Its to do with attitude and lack of corporate responsibility.'Each Indian has been given 500$.That's enough for a years medical bills.How much more do they want'-Dow Chem chairman.He's equating 25 years of disability with a years medical bills ka payoff!! Imagine instead,after buying UC,Dow had offered to clean up the Bhopal site as a goodwill gesture!!Thats what Tatas have offered and what would is corporate resp.Had they done that,it wud have healed a lot of wounds and set them up as a separate more responsible company.
India has always been seen as a weak state.This one move will send a signal to everyone else to shape up.Thats very very important.
And Shaun,there are more companies than just Dow for the farmers to buy quality chemicals from.Infact,if they knew they are buying a Dow product,i m sure they themselves would shift to some other brand.And stop mixing up all issues with the 'we are part of the system' dialogue.
Dow has 1750 jobs in India.I m sure that they ll find a better placement with the economy looking up.A's head is immaterial.The important point is to send a strong and stern message that hits them hard.
Akki, I totally agree with you where sending out a message to the world is concerned. For MNCs to stop regarding our country as a third-world pushover, I think our country's courts will have to stop acting like this.
By laying the blame at the door of UC's American overlords, the SC effectively diluted the punishment that cud have been meted out to its Indian personnel who logically are equally culpable. So I dont see why the SC judgement shud not be reviewed now. The damage it did needs to be repaired.
I dont understand how Warren Anderson was ever allowed to leave in the first place, and we all know how America has historically resisted extradition of its citizens. They're the big bad bully and we're the little weaklings and everyone knows it.
Thats why you're even suggesting we follow Gandhi's path of non-violent boycott. Becoz even Dow Chemicals know we can do nothing more forceful than that.
And even then, it will be a purely symbolic gesture. Which is not to say that symbols dont have power but I wish there was an even more forceful way of bringing them to their knees, to punish them for their arrogant "only assets, no liabilities" stance, than a boycott which will damage Indians more than it will damage Dow.
The international outcry over BP's oilspill has sent them scrambling to make repairs to their reputation. How come nobody so much as internationally condemns the irresponsible, insensitive stance that this particular MNC takes towards a much more dreadful, more human disaster, let alone the gross miscarriage of justice?
Its just like nobody blinked for the 1993 Bombay blasts but the world grieved for September 11. Sickening that Indian lives count for so little.
Oh n btw, nice to be reading you blog again. :)
Akki, perhaps my rambling obscured my simple point. Let's not point fingers when our own backyard is dirty. I do argue that the system needs changing, and unless we, you and me, start that change by making certain sacrifices for the cause of moral righteousness, it isn't our place to tell others that they are criminals.
Is Dow scum? Yes! Will boycotting them solve the problem? No! What will work is letting organizations know that we are out to get them if they flout safety rules, BEFORE the mishap has occurred. This can only be achieved by rigid enforcement, which in turn can only be achieved by non-corruptibility of enforcement personnel. Non-corruptibility is something that you and I ourselves cannot claim at the moment, and subjecting others to this lofty standard without adhering to it ourselves is unreasonable.
The sad fact is that Bhopals will continue to happen, and justice will continue to be miscarried in India. Boycotting Dow's products will solve the prick in your conscience. But it won't solve the problem. What will solve the problem is a pill we sadly refuse to swallow.
P.S.: Hi to Bhabhi!!! :)
Wrong again Shaun. There's this book on the tragedy in RRDD - Black December or something. Read it. This is one place where all your non corruptibility argument fails. You are mistakenly comparing 1984 with 2010. India went out of its way to enable UC to piut up its plant in Bhopal (that was a time there was no big ticket MNC investment in India). We trusted them, thought they would be great and efficicent and good for everyone. A job at UC was prestigious like anything. The American bosses words were the last words, simply because we werent used to the MNC corporate world. We thought they knew better than us. UC got reports of decreased safety standards from its Bhopal unit and an American unit. Anderson decided to rectify everything in the American unit and left the Bhopal unit as it was (he himself had relaxed all the standards to decrease expenditure in the first place). The maximum we can blame our officials is that they were so overawed by their American counterparts that they didnt enforce safety standards strongly enough. But then when our PM himself couldnt enforce anything on Anderson, what are these officials to blame for?!
Is Dow scum? Yes! Do we need to let organizations know that we are out to get them if they flout safety rules. Yes. What if we let Dow go scotfree? 'India essentially punishes all its Indian officials, lets the foreign officials go scot free and makes the responsible company pay a pittance' is the message that will go. Certainly not 'we are out to get you.'
The govt is already pondering over giving 15oo crore estra to the victims. Should this money come from the taxpayers pockets or from UC/Dow Chem. Boycoting them is the only way to force them to get in line.
Thats my last take.
PS: Bhabhi asks when can she meet you?!
interesting ny friend......but u know...im in the chem tanker trade....n for us, dow is one of the biggies in the business...
if DOW goes...our business goes...we lose ships...n eventually our jobs...
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