Monday, June 7, 2010

justice for the other india?

Admit it, how many of us in all these years have actually paused for a moment to spare a thought to those poisoned by the Bhopal gas leak? Or for that matter shed a tear for all those mothers whose milk was poisoned by the methyl isocynate, who could do little but watch their infants die in their arms or worse perhaps, live a life worse than death.
Since Monday afternoon i have heard many of my generation and some younger, talk of
'travesty of justice'...but is it just a phrase? How many of us have done our bit for these people fighting a lonely and clearly losing battle for two and a half decades? Ever visited the protests like those at Jantar Mantar in Delhi or did we cast a cursory glance, complain about the inconvenience to traffic and drive on...? What about the deaths of 20,000 people has failed to stir us except perhaps to pay lip service annually? Are we like this only?
Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Muttu, the BMW hit and run case, a few of the many occasions when public opinion made an impact. The media was accused of trying the cases but the judiciary insists while journalists brought these stories back into the headlines, there was enough merit to relook at all the cases.
So why did Bhopal fall off the front pages? Why didn't we the people do more to put it there?
Maybe because the victims are poor, nameless, faceless Indians. People who didn't even know the guilty were not being charged with culpable homicide but criminal negligence. 8 people got 2 years for the deaths of 20,000. They would get the same if they had run over a sleeping pedestrian. Before the convicton sank in, they were all out on bail!
Is this how the other India gets justice?

1 comment:

  1. Yes, Is this how the other india gets justice? Seeking justice is more painful than facing injustice in this country. Yes people do get justice but not everybody.Nobdoy cares..Big lawyers are ready to fight for the anderson.they dnt face moral crisis. our nationalism stands only for those who protect our border..we dnt question those who erose our land withing the border.

    ReplyDelete