ABSTRACT

First published in 1988, The Bhopal Syndrome documents one of world’s worst industrial disaster: The Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984. The tragedy exposed a variety of issues plaguing rapid development such as the negligence of corporations and government, prioritizing of commercial benefits over human lives, inadequate post-disaster rehabilitation and compensation, and frightening levels of environmental pollution. The author argues that the Bhopal gas tragedy is being replicated across the globe at various intensities facilitating a dangerous normalisation. He asserts that workers and consumers should fight for their ‘right to know’ about working conditions, chemicals used in pesticides, the harm caused by producing such chemicals, how these chemicals end up on our food as well as the manner in which the chemicals interact in our body. Climate crisis and undeterred industrial development still haunt our reality making this book an essential read for any concerned citizen and for students of disaster management, industrial disasters, climate change, environment, toxicology and workers’ rights.

chapter |11 pages

Introduction

Our Need to Know

part One|41 pages

The Tragedy

chapter One|6 pages

Running Toward Bhopal

chapter Two|7 pages

The Global Pesticide Industxy

chapter Three|9 pages

A Disaster Waiting to Happen

chapter Four|7 pages

A Night of Terror

chapter Five|7 pages

The Aftermath

part Two|71 pages

The Syndrome

chapter Six|8 pages

Nobody Knows

chapter Seven|12 pages

Slow-Motion Bhopal

chapter Eight|10 pages

Run into the Wind

chapter Nine|10 pages

The Neighbors Strike Back

chapter Ten|10 pages

From the Nile to Mexico

chapter Eleven|7 pages

Worrying at Kurosaki

chapter Twelve|11 pages

It Can Happen in America

part Three|20 pages

The Solution

chapter Thirteen|7 pages

Power and Money

chapter Fourteen|10 pages

Our Obligation to History

chapter |12 pages

Conclusion

Path Toward a Future

chapter |24 pages

Afterword

A Walk Through Bhopal