Double Standards vis-a-vis Dow Chemicals

Double Standards vis-a-vis Dow Chemicals

We're all conscious about the fact that politicians are prone to practice double standards depending on their vote banks at different points of time. However, with respect to the Bhopal Gas tragedy (a couple of decades back) & the sponsorship of the London Olympic by Dow Chemicals, the entire country seems to be going overboard without bothering about genuine justice. And without bothering at all about who ought to share the blame.

Here are a few points which sound odd, to say the least:

• People want to punish Anderson (preferably catch hold of him and hang him from the nearest pole in public). However, when it comes to Keshub Mahindra, a whole lot of folks claim that he played only a "non-executive" role, he happens to be "old", he happens to be a "gentleman", etc. I have no specific opinion as to whether or not Anderson deserves to be punished. However, Anderson's role and that of Keshub Mahindra are somewhat comparable. We ought to use the same yardstick to determine their guilt levels.
• Dow Chemicals runs a business in India generating an annual turnover of over 500 million dollars. That's perfectly OK. However, the UK government and IOC should not allow Dow to sponsor the Olympics.
• At the time of the Bhopal Gas tragedy, if my memory serves me right, the Madhya Pradesh Government had around half the stake in the local joint venture of Union Carbide's Bhopal factory. Now, people claim that Dow Chemicals should be made to bear the "liability" of Union Carbide (even though it was settled in accordance with the law of the land with the Indian government of the day well before Dow Chemicals took over Union Carbide worldwide.) By the same yardstick, the Madhya Pradesh Government should continue to bear its share of the liability. Further, if Dow Chemicals should not be allowed to sponsor the London Olympics, Madhya Pradesh Government should not be allowed to sponsor any sporting or cultural events, and all Indian public sector undertakings should boycott the state of Madhya Pradesh completely till all Union Carbide victims are totally satisfied with the compensation received by them.
• The Safety of the Union Carbide plant must have been the direct responsibility of specific individuals from the Government ranging from the Factories Inspector to the various licensing authorities at different levels, leading all the way to the Industries Minister, Chief Minister, etc. They ought to be held as liable as people like M/s Anderson & Keshub Mahindra. I'm not aware of any such cases that have been filed against such individuals.
• Several MIG-21 fighter jets keep "failing" resulting in multiple valuable pilots' lives being lost. A Google search will indicate the exact numbers involved. We should immediately take steps to boycott the Russion Company which manufactures all those jets
• Every year, thousands of people die in India due to road accidents. While some of these are due to reasons such as faulty vehicles and drivers folly, we're all fully aware of the condition of the roads. A large chunk of the roads are in such pathetic condition that a significant chunk of those unfortunate accidents could very well have been avoided if the quality of roads had been OK enough. I would like to know the number of cases that have been filed against road contractors who have built those roads, the civic authorities who declared the quality of such roads to be satisfactory, etc. Have any of such individuals actually been convicted?
• "Right to life" is supposed to be guaranteed by the Constitution of India. Yet we're aware of the number of farmer suicides every year. Has a single judgement been passed holding a single State or Central government as "Guilty"?

I could go on and on about the lacunae of our judicial system. The speed our judicial process leaves a lot to be desired. You can't go around holding all and sundry responsible for eternity to cover up your own follies of a slow judicial process. 

I'm no fan of Dow Chemicals. Nor am I unsympathetic towards Bhopal Gas tragedy victims. I just fail to appreciate the degree of such obvious double standards.

Reminds me of the general attitude that prevails in our cities:

• If there's an accident involving a cyclist and a bike rider, the bike rider is at fault, but ... ... ...
• If there's an accident involving a bike rider and a car driver, the car driver is at fault.

Have a heart!

Regards,

N

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