Beyond Bhopal - The Inquiry

Immediately and for the next quarter of a century at least justice has been defined by the  movement  of the Bhopal violated people themselves and we should look at it.  What are they saying?  They are saying:
 
Firstly:   Justice equals sustained healthcare
What we call ‘healthcare justice ‘.
 
Secondly:   Justice equals livelihood justice 
They have lost all kinds of means of livelihood.
 

Thirdly:   Justice equals environmental justice.  
Clean up of the toxicity, water and soil
 

Fourthly:   Justice equals economic justice. 
In the wider sense of providing for the next generation and the survivors of the first generation of Bhopal victims a long term plan and medium term plan plus self reliant economic  development.  Not for people in big businesses or industries but  people doing small jobs which some of them cannot do anymore.
 
And finally it means to them  political justice
 
Bring to book all the managers of Indian state including the state of Madhra Pradesh and Union Carbide.  Bring to book under criminal law.
 
There is an element of retributive justice.  As the good Lord says ‘Vengeance is mine and I shall repay’.  This is what they are saying,  ‘those who have done this to us ought to be criminally punished’.
Criminal justice but what I really mean is retributive justice.
 
I am not saying on my part what justice for Bhopal may mean because it would be arrogant but these are the five senses in which they teach me the meaning of justice, I have learned this from them.
 
For me the more open we are to people’s suffering, the greater is our capacity to do something about it and to change it..
 
There are no receipt solutions from text books, no quick fix policy measures, we did that we had the Public Insurance Liability Act, which gave interim compensation we had the Factories Act amended. A large number of laws were changed some new ones were introduced,  but at the cost of Bhopal violated.
 
Normative changes are OK, but anyone can suggest normative changes its not meaningful. I think one has to stop speaking for Bhopal violated and to start speaking with them and that’s a big distinction.