Padyatra daily blog

Day 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 & 73 - June 4-9, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Since 29th May when Prithviraj Chauhan came and read out the statement on behalf of Prime Minister the mood at the dharna sthal has been as unpredictable as Delhi 's weather. Not knowing what Government really intends doing (if at all!!) Bhopalis spent much of their time discussing what should be their next action to drive home the message. A day later they write a detailed letter to Prime Minister explaining why they can't accept his assurance.

On the 2nd, the protesters wrote another letter to the PM, asking him to be clearer about officiating the commission and about the steps he would take to bring DOW to justice. The esteemed PM was given till the 6th to respond to this plea for only what has always been due else a global hunger strike would begin. It was no surprise to anyone that the PM's representative thought that the Bhopalis had actually left and gone back, satisfied with the piecemeal offerings that had been made!

The next few days saw a bit of a lull, with the weather becoming unbearably hot. Many at the dharna sthal thought that it would be only a few days before the PM would respond again, following which they could all return home. However, in retrospect, it seems like we still credit the leaders of our nation with empathy that is obviously beyond them. While others in the campaign spent their time contacting MP's and gathering support, the protesters at the dharna sthal busied themselves with everyday work and diversion, waiting optimistically for the Prime Minister's response.

The 6th came and went, and it became clear once again that the suffering of the gas victims is not important enough for frequent official discussion. The PM chose to ignore the protester's letter completely. How can we not feel angry at this complete disregard for 23 years of pain, suffering and protest? It was perhaps some of this disappointment that resulted in Sathyu's beautiful song. After lunch, while the mid-day sun beat down, he picked up the microphone and sang 'kaun azad hua'. (who got freedom?/ who is free?) While the song registered a sense of betrayal in the workings of the government, at the same it lifted spirits and poetically reinstated faith and hope in long years of struggle. The Bhopalis heard the song in silence, soaking up its message. One could almost hear a silent pledge to battle on until every success was achieved.

Meanwhile, on 9th June the protesters mostly women and children arranged a die-in in front of the PM's office.

The action attracted significant media attention but, the police managed to bundle them up and arrest those staging the protest.

The events that followed that night under lock-up are so shameful and heartless that they are difficult to describe in words.

To push the government to at least sit up and listen, the Bhopalis now began to prepare themselves for a new round of actions. An international hunger-strike was declared, scheduled to begin from the 10th and the hunger strikers began preparing themselves for their fasts.

Day 67 - June 3, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

The dharna sthal was quiet today, as a meeting happens behind closed doors (as always) to decide the fate of our quest for justice. The mighty politicians are weighing the question: should we risk the frowning disapproval of the mighty businessmen in order to fulfill our constitutional duty to the (much more) mighty public? The latter of which entrusted us with our (fleeting, I might add) might in the first place?

The kids, being kids, are always upto something. Last night, there was a frenzied antakshari game, and after some energies were exhausted, a house of cards (like our PMO?) was built. They love to go to Central Park , in Rajiv Chowk, to play and chat amongst the fountains and are always badgering Vikas to take them. It seems he's the only adult who will, though there are times when he is too busy (or lazy) to go. But these are no ordinary kids (what have we created?) and they will sit and chant “ Hamaari maange poori karo, Hamein kahaan jaana hai – Central Park, Central Park , Pradhaan Mantri ke jaise waadaa mat todo (Fulfill our demands! Where do we want to go? – Central Park, Central Park ! Don't break your promise like the PM!). At this point, Rachna will usually growl – Just take them! And they get their way.

Not that there isn't plenty to do otherwise. The older kids resolutely nap in between running errands while the elders at the dharna roll their eyes – they don't remember being that lazy at that age; as in a decade or two, these kids will surely not remember either. Vikas cut Pappoo's hair, mehendi is applied and reapplied. Remarkably calm and pragmatic. No sense of urgency about the meeting – they have waited for plenty of outcomes of such meetings before – and they know exactly what they have to do in either case.

Day 63, 64, 65 & 66 - May 30-June 2, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

The last few days were spent in an upbeat mood – singing, dancing, celebrating our recent victory and speculating on the next one ahead.

a valiant Suresh agrees to receive a haircut from Vikas...

much to the delight of our cook

luckily for Vikas, Suresh's humour survives the ordeal

Shweta (our self-christened rohnak-of-the-dharna) and Dharmesh came back from Bokaro and Bhopal respectively. The days were whiled away in the rhythm that we have settled into – a few visited the Nizamuddin dargah, another contingent went to India Gate. More rallies took place at Jantar Mantar including a big one by the Gujjars, right across the street from the dharna, where they broke police barricades and ended up getting pushed back with high-pressure water cannons while about a dozen were arrested and taken away. It's interesting how victims of historical crimes of enormous proportions get thrown into jail, beaten, gassed, wetted and worse without consequence, while the rich perpetrators of these crimes get, if anything, richer. Having a vote matters so much less than having a large amount of money when it come to access to our government, which I have come to realize is not so much a democracy than a 'dollarcracy'.

I asked Meera what she thought of the Gujjar struggle; she shrugged, "Unki jaaiz maange hogi – showk se to koi ladta nahi (their demands must be valid – nobody struggles for the pleasure of it)". Seeing the weary homesick faces around the dharna sthal, that is all too clear.

Another piece of good news at the dharna – Tinkoo, our friend and fellow dharna-ite for a while, who currently resides at the Prerna Niketan, had finally called his parents. They had been searching for him, putting up missing person posters, and were glad to know he was being looked after. They came to Delhi to visit and he brought them first to the dharna sthal where he was welcomed with cheers and hugs. He sat there, surrounded by his old friends, introduced each one to his parents and explained everything about the Bhopal struggle – showing them pictures of the deformed children there, talking about the achievements of the campaign. It was a touching reunion. At the Prerna Niketan, where Tinkoo will continue living, he was given two options, the academic track or learning a trade. He has chosen the former, very appropriate as we all agree – he's exceptionally smart – and it's so great that he's found the venue to explore this option.

There has also been some consternation over the last few weeks over the growing number of robberies – three cellphones and other small things kept getting stolen in the night. This past week, Sathyu's kurta with some money in it was gone, so the boys went looking for it. Now, we have known for a while that a gang of boys living behind the dharna sthal are upto no good – taking drugs, without a clear source of income to buy those drugs. So a few guys from our group went to their quarters, found Sathyu's kurta (without the money of course) and turned them over to the police. Now this is the interesting part – we had turned a few boys over to the police, but a couple of them were not around. While the police seem to know everything about these boys (our friendly neighborhood police have been coexisting peacefully right next to the gang for months), they told us that they couldn't find these two boys. We had to catch these two as well (they were roaming freely around Jantar Mantar) and turn them over to the police. They are now in jail. Rachna shudders at the thought that they had entered the dharna sthal right next to the sleeping padyatris to take these items – yet another liability of sleeping on a footpath.

Meanwhile in Salem , Tamil Nadu, Piyush (founder and key campaigns manager of a number of organizations, including Suitcase Party, Donate-a-Spine-to-the-PM Campaign, SpeakOut Salem) reported on a photo exhibit held in the south Indian steel town. The exhibition covered photographs from Mettur -- an industrial pollution hotspot considered to be another slow-motion Bhopal -- Cuddalore, Bhopal , in addition to pix of other human rights violations such as the year-old arrest of Dr. Binayak Sen, and the Indian police's passion for fake "encounters."

Piyush writes:

On 1.6.2008 pained by the reluctance of the Government to address the grievances of Bhopalis, a number of us -- Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, CPCL, Speak Out Salem, West Gonur Agriculturist Development Union) -- organised a photo exhibition on "our future & our children's future" on the lines of the No More Bhopals exhibition.

The photo exhibition bereft of any opening or inauguration ceremony was held across the Old Salem Bus stand.

Lots of people attended. We have a count of more 1500 people passing by and looking at the pictures. Many expressed shock and dismay at the state of affairs.

We had also displayed samples of toxic effluent collected from the point where Chemplast discharges its liquid wastes into the River Kaveri. People were invited to smell it, and we also had a special offer for suicide aspirants -- they were invited to use this water to attain their objective.

People were told about the Bhopal struggle and expressed their solidarity with the Bhopalis on dharna, with most of them claiming to have seen the news about it.

This was also an opportunity where we used the attraction presented by Bhopal to highlight other issues of pollution and human rights violations. Other panels in the exhibition displayed pollution and its effects in Mettur (where there are several chemical industries including Chemplast and Malco's aluminum smelter), about the pollution in Salem due to garbage dumping and Magnesite mines, about the Thirumanimuthar river, which is now a sewer.

Day 62 - May 29, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This morning, we got half of what we came here for.

Prithviraj Chavan, representing the Prime Minister's Office, came to the dharna sthal and read a statement conveying the Government's in-principle agreement to our demand for the Empowered Commission. This is a huge first step. The Commission would ensure the execution of rehabilitation schemes for gas survivors and victims of water contamination. But the devil is in the details, and the PM's statement was starkly devoid of detail. Chavan did specifically mention that medical research into long-term effects of Carbide's poisons will resume forthwith, and that water would be delivered by November. (They can drink poisoned water till then.)

Coming from a Government without a heart, even this announcement gave cause for celebration to Bhopalis. The meeting of all these demands is important, it allows the survivors to continue to... well... survive.

It has been a long road, a tough stay. A lot of people have died waiting for some of these demands to be fulfilled; a lot of people have seen their health, and that of their children, irreversibly damaged; and a lot of people have suffered severe symptoms of the exposure for 24+ years. 600,000 people in all. Going by figures estimated by the Centre for Rehabilitation Studies, Government of Madhya Pradesh, just in the last three months that the Bhopalis have been on padayatra and dharna about 90 gas-affected persons are likely to have succumbed to the long-term effects of the poisons.

These sobering realities notwithstanding, for the living and the fighting, we're glad to receive some acknowledgement that the Prime Minister is listening to us. As Rashida Bi said, " Unki aakh to khuli, kaan tak aawaaz toh aayi (he has finally opened his eyes, our voices have reached his ears)." Our friend Piyush -- who was arrested for juxtaposing the PM's face on to the bodies of the three see-no-evil, hear-no-evil monkeys -- would be glad to know that his appeal has had some effect. The Prime Minister is now able to see and hear. His feelings for fellow-humans -- particularly, those that are poor -- are still lacking. How else would you explain an offer by the PM that does not even guarantee that the mothers can give clean drinking water to their babies when they return to Bhopal ? The Prime Minister has said the Bhopalis would have to wait until November 2008 to get clean water.

Reflecting on the PM's statement later in the day, the euphoria wore off and some of the old cynicism crept back in. What exactly have we won? An assurance from a PM (who has once broken his word) that we have the right to live? Elation followed by an empty sense of betrayal is now a familiar pattern for Bhopal . That is not to say we haven't learned from this cycle – each time we win an agreement with more teeth, more guarantees. Cynicism, for people like the Bhopalis who refuse to give up, only means better preparation, better follow-up and a realisation that every assurance squeezed out of a spineless politician only signals the beginning of another long struggle to help the politician live up to his word. And this time too, follow up is critical – going by our experiences, every little detail has to be examined, every deadline has to be enforced. In a way, the padyatra and dharna, were simply prologue to the struggle ahead.

And as for the other thing - the giant elephant weighing us all down – namely, legal action against Dow and Union Carbide. Our Hon'ble Prime Minister -- God bless his lost spine -- and the entire cabinet have been unable to muster the courage to take action against Dow Chemical. They are afraid of the Americans. Will Georgie bomb us for daring to pursue legal action against an American company? Not a word has been said about deregistering the three pesticides that Dow registered illegally by bribing officials. Nothing on revoking the approval given to Reliance to purchase Union Carbide's Unipol technology. And nothing said on whether the Government will -- even half-heartedly -- pursue the extradition of Warren Anderson and Union Carbide's representative. Strangely, all three things are not merely being required by the Bhopalis. They are also required by law.

Since 1992, when the Chief Judicial Magistrate proclaimed Carbide and Anderson absconders, the Government of India has specific instructions from the Court to produce Carbide's representative and ol' man Anderson in court to face trial. But successive Governments have decided that it is safer to ignore the Court than it is to piss off the United States of America . In the case of the bribery scandal involving the illegal registration of three pesticides, Dow has gotten away with murder, literally. Barring a little negative publicity, nothing concrete has materialised. Every time the Bhopalis shout for deregistering the pesticides, the Government will issue a well-heeled statement that investigations are on, or that the next painful, deliberate step is being conceived, and then will be considered, and then, perhaps, acted upon. Meanwhile, thanks to Dr. Singh's spinal difficulties, Dow Chemical continues to profit from the sales of these three pesticides, including one (Dursban) that robs the childhood of our children.

The Bhopalis are unwavering in their commitment to see all their demands met. Our health, our bodies need to be looked after, but the outrage that has been the callousness of Union Carbide, and now Dow, has to be righted. Mr. Prime Minister, we have 600,000 Bhopalis and countless supporters, here and worldwide, demanding that one company, just one company, be pulled up for its wrongdoings. We don't understand the hesitation at punishing Dow for poisoning our communities, we cannot begin to comprehend why they are being allowed to introduce even more poisons into the country, and we shudder at the only possible reason for it: that you value its dollars more than our lives, more than righting the wrongs that were done to us. And it's not just about us: it's about No More Bhopals, its about sending a strong message to the world, to polluting industries everywhere, that India is open for business, but no business that compromises the environment or human rights will be tolerated.

PHOTO GALLERY OF THE DAY THE PM FINALLY RESPONDED

It was a day won by sheer single-minded, undaunted, persistence; a day that was the motivation for every painful step over 38 gruelling days; a day that has sustained the tedium, discomfort, personal risk and self sacrifice borne over 62 days of roadside life; a day that vindicated the Bhopalis faith in their own unflagging strength: the day the Prime Minister of India could no longer ignore the tide of approbation heaped upon him these last 100 days.

the dharna awaits the arrival of Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan

the Minister reads out the PM's statement...

...to a very expectant audience

relief and joy

one heroine of the padyatra is held aloft

the Minister is quizzed over the missing details of the statement

Sarita is still asking after the second demands as his car leaves

Sathyu, Rashida and Irfan address the press

before the singing begins

Day 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 & 61 - May 22-28, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

The group is still euphoric about the fantastic coverage of the action at the PM's residence.

There are more and more Delhi supporters visiting the dharna sthal and word is spreading faster than ever that the Bhopalis are still at Jantar Mantar and that they are yet to hear from Prime Minister whom seems to have no time for the people he represents.

More RTI applications were filed by Delhi supporters. Many also took copies for circulation amongst their friends and family. Just mention that you have come to file an RTI for Bhopal and officials at the RTI office in PMO show an efficiency that is rare. Within minutes you get a receipt, and that with numbers of people filing RTI applications. They promptly tell us - "We can't sign each application when you bring hundreds at one time. Just tell us the number and we will put it."

The weekend saw a return of the kind of weather Delhi is accustomed to in the month of May. The Bhopalis dealt with the hot sun in much the same way as they had dealt with the problems that had come with the downpours - in high spirits. While stories of the week's action and its aftermath continue to circulate, the day to day life at the Dharna goes on in its own way.

About fifty people at the dharna expressed a desire for a special egg-curry for Saturday lunch. This was somewhat of a problem for vegetarians, who solved the issue by arranging for some special raita for themselves. In the same day, some of the younger girls - Rajkumari and Puja - got together with some of the older women and arranged a two hour long Bhajan singing session. Not surprisingly, this did wonders for everyone's spirits!

The heat carried on into Sunday, with dust blowing into the tents finally warded off by tying sheets to the front. The afternoon was filled by an unexpected surprise: a huge rally from Mumbai and an invitation to lunch at the Gurudwara.

A Sikh rally moves right past our pavement home

Lunch at the dharna sthal was cancelled in expectation of the meal. Thanks to the Gurudwara and the rally, snacks were distributed before lunch: laddoos , cream rolls, mangoes, toffees, namkeen , puris , kheer and biscuits were some of the things on the menu. No wonder much festivity ensued in the afternoon; even the heat was beaten by a big water truck plying cold water for everyone!

the blessed water truck

In all this excitement, however, the main lunch finished before the Bhopalis reached the Gurudwara, but this didn't dampen anyone's spirits: evening dinner was announced early at the dharna sthal.

On Tuesday, Nishant Natya Manch presented a play on Bhopal.

The group has been associated with the Bhopal movement since 1984 itself.

They wore masks of Bush, Dow Chemical, Union Carbide and Manmohan Singh and marched down Jantar Mantar along with the Bhopalis.

Soon the street at Jantar Mantar was vibrating with slogans- 'Who are PM and CM? They are middlemen for Dow! ' and 'Justice for Bhopal Now! ' Later the group sang revolutionary songs. Bhopalis joined them in the chorus.

It was amazing to see so many young Bhopalis taking the lead everywhere - be it the songs or the march or the protests!

Abhay, a class tenth student, came along with his father and played saxophone for all of us. The music kept us all glued and before he could finish one song more demands followed. Abhay later came back to say that he will never forget the smiles from the Bhopali audience, and that in his own way he is part of the movement now. His father nodded in agreement.

Abhay plays the sax

In the night we heard that there has been a chlorine gas leak from Tata Motors in their Township at Jamshedpur. Approx. 200 are reported hospitalized. Just few days back Mr. Tata was furiously backing Dow Chemicals' offer of investment over legal liability. One can only find more value in the Bhopalis' demands now. Legal action against the irresponsible companies is a must else - just like at Jamshedpur - more and more Bhopals will follow.

Thinking, reflecting, discussing, we call it a night in hope of new lights and new beginnings...

Day 55 - May 22, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Against all odds, despite all experiences to the contrary, Bhopalis continue to believe in the Indian justice system. An unfounded, naïve, incredible hope. In return, the justice system weeps at her shameful disgrace, her utter failure to be worthy of this compliment.

The twenty-two that had been detained last night at the Chanakyapuri police station laughed at their experience. They had summarily ordered the police to clean their bathroom before any would deign to use it, they peeped through a window to the police station's canteen (meant for its employees) and ordered food from there (the food they had been served was deemed wholly inadequate) and cheekily charged it to the SHO. When they were first taken into detention, one of the policewomen asked Nafeesa Bi to take off her mangalsutra -- a gold ornament worn at the time of marriage. Nafeesa Bi looked at her, astonished at her gall, "Has someone died in my family that I should take this off?!?!"

When the police asked Rachna for her cell phone she retorted that this was her mangalsutra.

At the hearing today, the magistrate was gracious, saying that he sympathized with them completely, coming all this way and enduring so much suffering in Delhi , with kids in tow. He said that he wished he could do more, but since the only thing in his hands was the ability to release them, he would of course do that immediately. Meanwhile, sixty or so of their comrades from the dharna sthal showed up to protest outside the courtroom, and were promptly detained themselves, only to be released an hour, and lots of naarebaazi, later.

If the spirit of the Mahatma is around, I imagine that it is grinning happily.

This evening, we had a meeting of all our Delhi supporters who showed up en masse to condemn the continued inaction of the government. Kuldip Nayyar led the meeting with a speech and a poem, mentioned before on this blog – Nafas Nafas Kadam Kadam. The now-popular slogan -- Inquilab Zindabad; or Long Live the Revolution -- was used by Bhagat Singh against the oppressive British Raj. Nayyar said it is ironical that the Bhopalis were using the slogan against the Company Raj sponsored by the UPA Government.

Both D. Raja of CPI, and Abani Roy -- a senior politician from the Revolutionary Socialist Party -- condemned the PM's inaction and said the UPA Government had lost its moral authority to remain in power.

Day 54 - May 21, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Twenty Bhopalis are being detained overnight at the Chanakyapuri police station near the Prime Minister's Residence.

It was quite a congenial affair. One gets the feeling that we have won over the establishment – they actually sympathize. As we chained ourselves to the fence, no one protested.

a dash through the rain to the PM's outer wall

now try and ignore us

A few guys talked on a walkie-talkie and eventually the police arrived.

As a delaying tactic, Meera and Rachna insisted we wanted water, and the policewoman scrambled for a few minutes to find water. We were dragged to the police buses, but no excessive violence, perfectly polite as they hauled the bunch of us to the station.

jolly policewomen: a pleasantly odd departure from previous campaigns...

The PMO security representative assured us in a most civil manner that no charges would be pressed, we'd just have to stay in the police station for a bit. At the police station, the SHO puffed and fumed for a bit, but the ACP was very sympathetic. She had studied the Bhopal disaster in college in a Corporate Accountability class! As they released most of us, young Vijay cried that he wanted to stay. Stay! We told him that it was not a good idea and his big weepy eyes followed Rachna around, until she relented and took him along. They fed all of us roti and dal and brought big thermoses of water.

We did succeed in making our point. There were plenty of media present, some great photographs and one particularly powerful interview by young Ajay on NDTV. As one policewoman was carrying Meera off to the bus, she was besieged with journalists taking pictures, and had to put her head down and plow through the group.

Meera is carried off

Otherwise, quite a crowd had gathered to watch the vociferous demands.

Even as they cut the chains, everyone insisted on laying on the ground, continuing the loud naarebaazi. Hameeda Bi and a few others got there later and this time they weren't even allowed to commence their action, but were hauled off quickly with her yelling, "Why are you taking us? What crime have WE committed?"

Later, as we recalled the events of the day, Hazira Bi recounted less friendly encounters with the authorities. "I fought off three policemen on my own at the Chief Minister's office", she said proudly, and I believe that.

video film of today's action

part two of the video film of today's action

So what is going on here? If it's such a no-brainer that our cause is right, if all in the PMO and police department are sympathetic, then why are we forced to sit in this dharna for 54 days? Why the secrecy? Why don't they talk to us? Here, on the footpath, why do we constantly get the feeling that it's us against the Sarkaar+Dow, instead of us+Sarkaar against the bad guys? Shouldn't they be on our side? Or is this kid-glove treatment masking something more sinister?

Yes, we are cynical. The actions of the government are not in keeping with what are obviously their sympathies, and what is obviously the right – morally and legally – thing to do.

The footpath has been increasingly unbearable with the freak showers that have been hitting Delhi these last couple weeks. Last night things came to a head; at 3 a.m. the makeshift roof blew off, drenching all the people and possessions resting underneath.

storms hit the dharna shtal

No other shelter in sight, everyone scrambled to look after the papers – the pamphlets and other documents – and get the tent back up.

The ones who stayed at the dharna during this morning's actions spent the entire night and the next morning in wet clothes, sleeping on wet sheets.

rebuilding the tent

Even in the evening, there is still an overpowering musty smell and a thick cloud of mosquitoes, swatting of whom is an exercise in futility. If the weather takes a similar turn tonight, the detainees may be better off where they are.

Day 53 - May 20, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This morning a large rally (around 90 people) arrived from Bhopal led by Hazira Bi and Meera, who had spent the last few days tirelessly roaming the bastis, drumming up their energy and support for the action tomorrow. Volunteers from Delhi University, IIT, IP University and NYU came by and painted the cut-outs that the protesters will wear tomorrow; they had our demands and slogans like 'Justice for Bhopal NOW'.

The other group went to the dharna sthal. Hazira Bi was one of them – she wistfully mentioned that she would have loved to participate in the action tomorrow but she is exhausted from all the organizing and the long train ride and needs a decent night's rest. I asked about her adorable little grand-daughter, Nagma, and she laughed – Nagma now misses the dharna sthal and is crying that she wants to come back!

Day 48 to 52 - May 15-19, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

I had written on April 17 (Day 20) about hearing good news regarding the GOM meeting and how we all held our breath – something was about to happen. Well, we're still holding our breath, and let me tell you, we're blue in the face. It has been 52 days in Delhi and 90 days since we left Bhopal. How long is 90 days? Well, to use a metaphor from Obama's campaign, a child born on the day we left Bhopal is currently beginning to eat solid food now. But we take solace in our deep well of patience. We can wait. After all, a child born on December 3, 1984 is.. well.. quite a bit older.

And so we grind in our feet and wait.

Mail is arriving for members of our party with the address Jantar Mantar pavement, Delhi-1. Honest. The Indian postal service now acknowledges this as our address. Perhaps a property deed would follow?

Creative energies are flowing as we come up with ways to pass the time.

Shanti from Jansandesh came back a couple of times for a repeat of the “ Kabaad se Jugaad (best from the waste)” craft sessions.

the dharna gets crafting

We played antakshari – girls versus boys – some of the boys think they won, but all the girls are adamant that it ended in a draw. More dust storms and rain showers.

And oh yes, for the home ministry officials eagerly hitting the Refresh button to know what's going on at the dharna: a bunch of people left Bhopal and will be arriving for a rally. We may let you know where and when. But don't hold your breath.

Day 47 - May 14, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Late this morning we had twilight in Delhi. Really, it was quite dramatic, there was a dust storm with winds blowing 100 km/hour, big tree branches falling, garbage getting carried up and lodging in the branches left behind. What this means when you're living on a footpath under pieces of cloth tied to sticks is that you hold on to your possessions, any stray little children or light people, and your shelter, for dear life. After the dust came the rain and, after that, something Delhi hasn't seen in months – pleasant weather (22 deg C!).

the dharna shtal during the rain

the dharna receives a sodden visitor...

who in turn receives customary Bhopali hospitality from Jabbar bhia

In the evening the group hopped on a bus to Mandi House to attend an event in solidarity with Dr. Binayak Sen. It has been exactly one year since his arrest. There were poetry readings, speeches and inspiring songs – Prof. Ilina Sen, fellow activist and wife of Dr. Sen, spoke movingly – one phrase stuck out as a motive for his work and for this struggle, and I'm paraphrasing: “.. taaki khuli hawaa mein saas le sakein (.. so we can take a breath of fresh air)”. For too many, the simplest, the most basic things in life are rendered unavailable.

Meera, usually an irrepressible fountain of energy, decided to take a pass on this event. This afternoon, as things were being rearranged at the dharna, a helmet fell on her head, and she briefly passed out. Sathyu and Rachna nursed her, pressed the spot firmly, but there's still a bump and it hurts. I worry that it may be a concussion, but she refuses to discuss it further, and will never take pills.

the indefatigable Meera encouraging Haliman bee during the padyatra

I had written briefly about Meera's achievements at the age of 13, when she stopped child marriages in her basti. There is a lot more, and so the rest of today's blog is dedicated to her. It's a bit long – but fascinating – so bear with me.

Meera went on to teach herself to read and write and worked on childbirth, pre- and post-natal care, educating women (especially mothers-in-law) and dispelling harmful myths (feeding a pregnant woman too much will squash the baby). After this, she realized that a lot of people in her basti don't have pension and ration cards, so she convinced a large group to get on a bus to Indore where they sat in a dharna in front of the collector's office. At one point, the police tried to take her to the station, and all the other women insisted that they would also come along. The police said that they just wanted to explain a few things to her, she's so young and causes all this trouble. Meera said OK, she'd go, but this explaining would have to be done in front of the collector. Finally, the police backed down, the dharna prevailed, and they got their cards.

Now most people would have patted themselves on their back and retired to a happy late teen life, but Meera was just getting warmed up. Coming back, she decided to look for work. She formed a group of 20 girls, organized transport and attended a diploma course in stitching and pickle-making. Their mothers were skeptical, but finally agreed to let the girls go on her responsibly. At this point of the story, Meera exploded in giggles – “as if I was old enough to take on responsibility for them!” Then, for a couple years, Meera drifted, taking jobs in the construction industry “breaking stones”, until she hurt her hand and quit her job. At this point, her brother said that it would be better if she didn't continue any work as it doesn't look good for a young girl to work outside the house. For once, she listened, but restless as ever, started a savings group in her village, with ten women putting in Rs. 50/month. She kept all accounts and got the group enrolled into a large government scheme in a state bank. She relates with disgust how this scheme fell apart, the women suddenly got cold feet and insisted on withdrawing their money, and this was right before the government announced an award of Rs. 25000 to all such groups. The women wanted to restart the group but it was time for Meera to move on to bigger things. It was around this time, 2003, when she began to hear about the Anti-Dow protests. A group was going to Bombay for the Jhadoo Maro campaign, and she hopped on. She talked to her parents, who had been sick for a long time, and realized the magnitude of the injustice done to her family. And so here she is.

During the past week, she had returned to Bhopal for a few days and I asked her what she did there, expecting that she relaxed a bit, spent time with family, friends. No – she was going from basti to basti, talking about all the work that was going on in Delhi, all the schoolchildren who are in support, all the momentum, events that are building up.

When Bhopal is made whole again, when justice has been obtained for its injured, when they finally get their breath of fresh air (and gulp of clean water), then it would be very interesting to see what Meera moves on to. Solving global warming perhaps?

Meanwhile, in Salem, Tamil Nadu...

Today, a friend of ours and a staunch Bhopal supporter Piyush Sethia was picked up by the Salem police at about 4.15 p.m. His crime: to have put up a cartoon of the Prime Minister on his jeep.

the offending item adorns the rear of Piyush's jeep

Piyush strongly feels that the Prime Minister needs help to cure him of his recent ailment. He believes that the PM is sick, that Mr. Singh has lost his ability to see, hear or feel. "What else would explain the resounding silence from the PMO to the demands and constant reminders by the Bhopalis?" he asks.

The cartoon is actually quite funny. It has Manmohan's face stuck to the bodies of the three monkeys -- the see no evil, hear no evil monkeys -- that Gandhi was gifted. Except, here Manmohan is not seeing no evil. He is not seeing anything, hearing anything, doing anything.

Piyush called me to alert me that two sub-inspectors and one inspector had picked him up for enquiry because of the cartoon. The police felt that the cartoon could instigate some to create a ruckus and disturb the peace of the town. My first thought was that animal rights groups or the local Friends of Simians club were irate at the juxtaposition of Dr. Singh's face on the body of the noble monkey. It turns out that the Animal Rights group were not going to create a law and order problem. But there were some other riff-raff, no-gooders from the local office of the Congress Party (Dr. Singh's party), that had gathered outside Piyush's house crying themselves hoarse, and calling from Piyush's scalp, and threatening to set his jeep on fire (see the film at the end of this entry that captured the entire events).

Congress apparatchiks work themselves up into a huff

The rogue Congressmen bashed up the jeep, and tore down the offending banner containing the cariacature of their Hon'ble Prime Minister.

the three Dr.Singh's are ripped apart by his own acolytes

The Police did what they do best. Stand aside and wring their hands. The Inspector I spoke to sounded like he had never heard the phrase "Free Speech." He said, "But you cannot make fun of the Hon'ble PM. It will cause law and order problem."

the damaged jeep and the dithering police

Anyway, within half an hour, student supporters of the Bhopal campaign from the local Law college arrived.

law college students arrive and intervene with the police

Law college students in Tamilnadu are well known for their understanding of law and order, and hence are particularly well-versed with techniques to cause law and order issues. Their arrival told the police that the party was over.

activists from cpcl - centre for protection of civil liberties, hrpc - human rights
protection committee, tnhro - tamilnadu human rights organisation & periyar dravidar kazhagam also arrive

The brave congresswallahs moved away from Piyush's house to a respectful distance. Piyush and the students have demanded that the police initiate action against the Congress goons.

congress party workers assault Piyush, smash his jeep then demand the police press charges against him !!

Day 46 - May 13, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Around mid-day today, central Delhi was in for (another) educational treat: Capitalism 102 – How unfettered capitalism can be (and has been – and how!) detrimental to the health. Case study: 400 Bhopalis, representing a few hundred thousand, who were forced to learn this lesson all too reluctantly, marching through the streets in protest.

Yes, today was our second rally from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar.

Peacefully shouting slogans, accompanied by a now generally empathetic police force, we made our point.

There appeared to be several members of the media present – photographers from key dailies, both English and Hindi, recorded our progress through the bustling centre of the capital.

Towards sundown, the large group got ready to leave. Friends parted (Nagma left too, she looked excited to go back to her parents, but we will miss her immensely), with promises to come back if they have to, and hopes that they don't have to.

some of our marchers enjoy a well-earned chai before the long journey home

After they left, I caught up with Aapa (Rashida Bi), who sank down tired after helping prepare final snacks for the road for the returning group. She sighed that she had lost her chappals (sandals) a couple of days ago, and her already-far-too-taxed feet were aching. I looked guiltily at my sneakers-clad feet. She was preparing a drink for herself called Sattu (fabulous for beating the heat – a village recipe predating Coke by oh, a few centuries – mix of powdered gram and barley, with water, sugar, ice, elaichi, jeera - last three being optional, depending on taste and availability). She gave me some to taste – I pronounce it delicious and, yes, felt notably cooler afterwards.

Romesh and Rose pulled up again this evening to give us bags full of some fabulous fruit. Aapa, revived with her concoction, took charge of them and began meting out instructions on how to serve them.

Meanwhile, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu...

Today was the concluding day of our Bhopal Thanneer Pandhal (Free drinking water kiosk). Chennai is a great place for water. I mean if you are handing out water, you are bound to find a lot of takers. Youth volunteers of the Bhopal campaign in Chennai number in the tens. They had been planning a simple, but effective solidarity event for the Bhopal protestors. Water kiosks are common features in Indian towns. Charitable organisations and other public minded persons usually set up kiosks during summer. Passers by stop for a glass or two of water. We set up our clay pot on the Besant Nagar beach.

The well-dressed, upmarket types didn't stop by for the water. They were suspicious, we suppose, of any water that doesn't come contained in plastic. Our banner said "Water Kiosk Demanding Water for Bhopal ." Our pamphlets went like hot cakes.

By 6.30 p.m., two legislators -- S. Ve. Shekher from AIADMK and Ravikumar from Dalit Panthers -- joined us for the candle-light vigil. Shekher is a well-known playwright, and theatre and film artiste and comedy actor. Jeny Dolly, one of the youth leaders and a Bhopal supporter, explained to the by-standers about the Bhopal padayatra and the fact that the Bhopalis were still awaiting an appointment with the PM 45 days after their arrival in Delhi.

S.Ve.Shekher (left) and Ravikumar (right) at the vigil

Shekher and Ravikumar spoke too. Ravikumar is from Cuddalore, a district 2 hours south of Chennai, that is home to 20 odd highly polluting industries. Ravikumar reminded people that Bhopal is not a distant place or an event that happened in the distant future. Rather, he said, we all live with Bhopals in our backyard. He referred to his hometown and said that the air pollution in the industrial area has pushed up cancer risks by a factor of 1000. Where normally accepted cancer rates are 1 in a million, Cuddalore's industrial area residents have a 1 in a 1000 cancer risk, he said.

He and Shekher said it was unfortunate that the Prime Minister has his priorities so mixed up. "I don't see what is more important than meeting the Bhopalis," said Ravikumar of the PM.

The media turned out in good form. The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle and Times of India -- all covered the event, with photos and great captions.

Day 45 - May 12, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

In the few days running up to the Dow Shareholder meeting we are watching with glee as the media confirms what we knew for a long time: Dow is responsible for Union Carbide's liabilities. A no-brainer to anyone who has ever been involved in buying property, business, whatever - you buy the liabilities as well – but somehow, it took years of agitation (not to mention having to overcome Dow's expensive PR machine) for the message to get across to our leaders.

So today we had two press conferences, at the Foreign Correspondent's Club and the Indian Women Correspondents. More than 40 media outlets attended.

press conference today

At the dharna, preparations were in full swing for the reception of more than 400 people from Bhopal for the march tomorrow.

dinner preparation for the feeding of the 400

Living on a small area of the footpath in a strange distant city, organizing what amounts to large-scale wedding preparation (food, water, tea, sleep, and yes, entertainment) is incredibly exhausting. The group arrived in high spirits, ate, and whiled away the night in music and songs; while the small core that had prepared for their arrival sank into a thankful sleep.

and dinner is served

resourcefully created music

Not all though, Vikas and a few others got word that one of the group, an 11-year old boy – Faheem- who had come with his neighbours, was lost. They panicked, considered contacting the police, reconsidered, and waited. Thankfully, at 2 a.m. Faheem showed up – he had apparently decided to check out Jama Masjid, gone there, gotten lost trying to get back to the dharna (since he didn't know we were in Jantar Mantar, he walked (!) all the way, asking where he would find his “rally” that had come from Bhopal). Somehow, miraculously, he made it back.

Day 43 - May 10, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Today we had a health camp sponsored by the Free Binayak Sen movement.

For those of you who may not know of this gentle, but radical doctor, Binayak Sen is an activist of long-standing who has made the tribal-dominated central Indian state of Chattisgarh his home for several decades. His holistic understanding of health encompasses all determinants to a person or community's well-being. As a doctor, his treatment was not merely to heal the patient, but to heal society as a whole. On May 14, 2007, almost a year ago, the police picked him up from his home and locked him up. They charged him with having links with Maoist groups, and said he was planning to overthrow the state. Check out (www.binayaksen.net). Having a medical camp -- which is what Sen did in hard to reach tribal areas -- is a fitting solidarity activity to drive home the point that they got the wrong person in jail.

Around 40 people were treated by doctors from the Shantigiri Ashram headquartered in Trivandrum.

the dharna shtal hosts a health camp for the poor of Delhi

This was the fifth such camp in Delhi, along with camps in Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai, and the aim is to continue to spread Dr. Sen's message on healthcare among the urban poor.

I played a bit with Nagma today. She is Hazira bi's grand-daughter and has all of her attitude packed into her tiny 11-year old body. She was one of the mehendi applyers (she did mine, and very well too), and gives regular head massages to all who request it. I asked her what she had been doing the past couple of days that could go on the blog. In a rare moment of shyness, she said “oh.. nothing”, then being prodded, she thought a bit and said that she had been playing.. “and oh yes, napping”. Rachna piped in that she had been crying a bit too, homesick for her family, and she nodded sagely: “Yes I had, but everyone here is my family too.”

Day 42 - May 9, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This morning 25 people returned from Bhopal . Among them was Munabbhai, who gloomily told me that his employer was not budging – he had been fired for not returning to work. He currently works for a company that puts up tents for weddings – he had been there for 7-8 years – and it paid quite well. Now when he returned, he would have to go back to some of the mazdoori (manual labor) that he had been doing before.

Sonia Gandhi's secretary, Archana Dalmia, visited the dharna sthal today. She promised to try to set up a meeting next week.

People from Home Ministry are still snooping around. Two policemen are permanently stationed nearby and they jump up every time they see a tourist bus approaching or anyone coming or going. They have respectfully requested that we give them a list of our proposed actions, or at least give them a call a couple hours before we embark on one, so they do not lose face and appear caught completely off-guard. We said (not as respectfully, I'm afraid) that we'll think about it.

In the evening, Rose and Romesh, relatives of Nity, arrived with some sweets, fruits and namkeen for the folks at the dharna. About 9 kids trooped into Romesh's Toyota Qualis for a ride to India Gate. Romesh made the mistake of giving Ajay a pom-pom horn. It was a noisy journey to India Gate, and the kids returned after good hour-long picnic with ice cream and a long walk thrown in.

Day 41 - May 8, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

I have mentioned Tinkoo in a previous blog, the person who is pretty much atrophied beneath the waist. Remember, I said he walks on his hands, with his feet dragging. Anyway, there is good news about him to follow up – Madhu and Vikas took him to an organization called Prerna Niketan in Dwarka last week. He was very keen to get off the street and learn some lifeskills so that he could work and make a living. In a conversation with Nity, he said: " Bhaiyya (brother), I want to work and stand on my own legs." Ironical, but the sentiment is clear, and the commitment deep. At Prerna Niketan, there was a counseling session, where his story brought the lady to tears, and he was admitted. He too was very distressed, but the counselor said this was a good catharsis to have. The organization is works with street children and people with disabilities, and tries to give them the skills required to become self-sufficient in society. They currently work with around 150 young men and women, and help them via physiotherapy, yoga, lifeskills like candlemaking. We got word that Tinkoo is fitting in very well, which is wonderful news. He had really grown on us here, and we miss him. When he left, Faheem carried him to the Metro Station, and then cried a bit. Tinkoo's really a brilliant young man – very well read, intelligent – he wants to study more, but his life's ambition: " agar maukaa mile, to sirf kavitaen likhugaa (if I have the opportunity, I just want to write poetry)" Good luck.

Tinkoo

Otherwise in the happenings around the dharna: Nimmy bought everyone a round of ice-cream during the peak heat of the day – much appreciated; Rachna bought some mehendi (henna), Baby and Nagma set about applying it, paralyzing all activity by womenfolk and a decent number of menfolk, as they lolled around with their hands and limbs spread-eagled waiting for the mehendi to dry.

In the evening, Sanjay blasted some Hindi film music on the laptop and set off a dance routine with Faheem, Nagmaa, Vijay, Ajay bouncing around, entertaining the others.

Day 40 - May 7, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

April Fool's Day occurred 36 days ago. And 36 days is the length of time that it took the Prime Minister's Office to respond to a special RTI application filed by Hazira Bi under the category "Life and Liberty " – duly warranted considering the toxic poisons that exist within her and her families' bodies. This duration, 36 days, is significant, because if an RTI application is filed invoking the clause of Life and Liberty , the PMO or any other public authority has to respond within 48 hours. Normal applications can be responded to in 30 days. Information can be provided or denied in the stipulated time -- in this case, 2 days. If they don't believe that the application justifies the use of the Life and Liberty clause, they still have to respond with a rejection, with reasons for the same, within 48 hours. Not only that, Hazira Bi is considered Below Poverty Line (BPL) and she presented her proof along with her application and yet was instructed to pay Rs. 96 for 48 pages of information that arrived today. And again, this overcharged-for-information was received 34 days too late.

Today Nity was allowed to sift through those files at the PMO that had special bearing on Bhopal . Scandalously, the PMO seemed to have removed the crucial files pertaining to April 2008 -- the month of the dharna -- from the file before presenting it for inspection. If this suspicion proves right, this would not only constitute a very serious offence with malafide intent in the highest office of the Government; it would also represent a gross infringement of the rights of the victims of the world's worst industrial disaster.

Another file was in complete shambles, as if a card-sharp from the Wild West had just gone through it in preparation for a high-stake gambling session. The pages were all mixed up, the pagination wrong, no chronological order. There's a strong smell of fish coming from the PMO.

Since today's blog is largely dedicated to the PMO, we decided it would only be fair to feature their gripes with us as well. They are in a bad mood every time we call them and mention Bhopal - they grumbled to one of the callers, Somu, about the number of faxes being received – at last count 90 per day. Their fax machine had been effectively "hijacked" for 30 days according to this singularly irritated employee. While we fail to commiserate with the fax machine, we do imagine that there is an employee at the PMO whose job it is to peel off fax after fax and record it somewhere. For this individual, we would like to use this space to send out a heartfelt apology:

Respected Madamji/Sirji – We (well, most of us) hate to have caused you so much distress over the last month. You see, the thing is, there is this company that went a little too far in managing its costs, and, as it turns out, managed to hijack 23 years of our lives. As our friend Somu mentioned on the phone, the last 38 days of these same lives have been spent on the footpath of Delhi , and this is after we walked across half the length of the country to get here. All in the expectation that someone in your office will help us. So we hope you will understand. We also fervently, fervently hope to return your fax machine to you soon.

In other happenings, Rachna and Madhu met with Prabhat Jha (MP from Madhya Pradesh) to request his support for the Empowered Commission Bill. Nothing useful from this meeting. So far, we have 18 signatories lined up from 6 parties. Sathyu appeared on the Lok Sabha TV talk show mentioned yesterday.

Day 39 - May 6, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This morning, Jantar Mantar, our home and the centre of the world as we now see it, hosted a protest by environmental, citizens' and farmers' groups (who had come from 15 states) against the import of GM food crops. We expressed our solidarity and received a number of visitors at the dharna who had come down for this protest. Vandana Shiva, Meera Shiva, D. Raja stopped by along with a number of our longtime allies from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Mood was upbeat today and we took some time to rest smugly on our laurels. Yesterday's action was a success – we made the front page in Jan Satta (again) and CNN IBN is doing not one, oh no, but two pieces on the issue, including a long feature. Home ministry is a bit shaken up and we are getting a lot of solicitous attention from them. Turns out that kids on a bus in front of the PM's house asking only for the basic rights that he'd want for his own grandchildren is touching somebody's nerve somewhere.

In the evening, a few of us, along with the Jawaharlal Nehru University 's Student Union, set up a photo exhibit at JNU's popular student hangout Ganga Dhaba. Special kudos to Shweta for the excellently curated exhibition. The students were great – during the two hours that we hung around we engaged several students in conversation, almost all of whom (60 total) ended up filling out a Right-To-Information application on behalf of the Bhopalis. For any of you who have spent time pamphleteering for a cause, you know how great it is to have a receptive and sensitive audience. So many thanks to JNU-SU and all the students for their solidarity. In addition to these RTI applications, Neeraj (our friend from Kabir) had already delivered 40 to the PMO today. Another RTI enthusiast and advocate Divyajyoti Jaipuriar, and AID-Maryland volunteer Kavita also helped with the canvassing.

And to top off a good day, Suresh Prabhu – MP from Maharashtra , who we met today, promised to write to the PM on our behalf and immediately organized a talk show with Sathyu for the Lok Sabha TV.

A large contingent of Bhopalis who had come down for yesterday's action returned today, leaving behind a small group. Home ministry officials get very nervous if they see too many Bhopalis or too few. I can't understand why the Home Ministry is so worried. After all, these are people who are fighting against a repeat of toxic terrorism. They wouldn't harm anybody. They may hurt the conscience of some, though.

Day 38 - May 5, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

The dust storm and freak showers from last evening left a mess in its wake. Although we did get a little respite from the 43 degrees (110 F) of heat. It was a crisp cool morning. A nice beginning to an eventful day. We were ready and rearing to go by 8.30 am. After 37 days of walking and 38 days of dharna in Jantar Mantar, people felt it was high time that our 'beloved' Prime Minister was paid a personal visit at his residence.

About 80 of us, including 52 children and babies with their mothers or fathers, piled up in a rented bus and drove straight to the swanky 7, Race Course Road residence of the PM, with the media in tow.

en route to see the PM

It was only a short drive away from Jantar Mantar. The PM's house is in high-security zone. Black cat commandos, gun-toting cops, the works. The bus stopped near the gate to the residence, and we climbed out in an orderly fashion, fighting the attempts of the surprised policemen to stuff us back into the bus.

knockin' on Manmohan's door: here we are, Dr. Singh!

We were told that PM was away, which we later learnt was untrue. The children wore banners that said - "If these were your children, would you let them sit in the sun for 38 days." He apparently would.

The action lasted about half an hour, with Rashida Bee and 11-year old padayatri Yasmin Khan leisurely giving statements to the press.

Rashida is interviewed before groups of bewildered police

Staying this long in front of the PM's house is unprecedented. The media had told us that we would not even be allowed to leave Jantar Mantar, that if we reached PM's house, we would not last a minute. Clearly, the PM and the police realise that it would be political disaster to hurt the Bhopalis any more than they already have been.

Five month old Nida waits for the PM to show

Within 30 minutes, we were roughly hauled back in the bus and taken to the nearest police station.

Nafeesa Bee is arrested by the suddenly decisive police

Mothers had to fight to prevent the police from handling the children roughly.

Faheem is dragged off

The women police were sensitive, and expressed their solidarity. One policeman told Rashida Bee that he sympathises with the Bhopal victims. He said "There is no use in protesting here. The Prime Minister is a mere rubber stamp. The real power lies with Sonia Gandhi."

At the police station, the police wanted the names of the leaders. But we refused to give names until the children were provided with milk and food. The kids were getting restless. Some of them who had seen their mothers being handled roughly were pretty distressed. No food was forthcoming even after an hour. Indeed, by 2.30 p.m. when we were released (2 hours after arrest), the police had been unsuccessful in finding milk. The Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Kashyap told one of the Bhopal supporters who called in concern about the non-availability of food that "The Bhopalis have not come here on our invitation for us to have food ready."

Isn't it amazing that the macho police with their stout sticks, and deadly guns don't have it in them to even find a few litres of milk to feed children that they have forcibly picked up. "How can we arrange food for 80 people," said the constable in the police station. How indeed? Should be easier than picking up 80 adamant Bhopalis, we think.

Rashida Bi was indignant and captured the collective mood, once we were released 2 hours later. "Woh ghar mein chuppa baithaa tha aur humse milna bhi munasib nahi samjha. Hum to sirf jeene ka haq maang rahe they. Woh companiyon ka gulaam hai aur usay is pad par rahene ka koi haq nahi hai." (The PM was skulking in his house and did not even have the decency to greet us. We are only asking for a right to live. He is just a corporate slave and has no right to be the prime minister.)

In the evening, a group of youngsters who call themselves Pratidhwani (echo) landed up at the dharna sthal to lead a singing session of struggle songs. The kids love this, and gather around whenever the Pratidhwani youth show up, and join the singing sessions with gusto.

The night was stormy. A nasty dust storm threatened to push our tent over. But Gabbar had done an excellent job. With Sathyu, Fahim, Ajay, Jabbar and Nity holding on to different parts of the tent, we managed to not just retain the tent, but to extend a portion of it so that there was more space for shelter from the rain. Bus commuters, who would have otherwise had to stand out in the open, were very thankful. The dust storm, thankfully, lasted only 30 minutes. The rain began, but was not too heavy. We heard there was heavy rainfall in West Delhi. Gradually, the camp quietened down, sound in the knowledge that we will have good media coverage tomorrow.

Day 35, 36 & 37 - May 2-4, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

The last three days have been relatively peaceful and quiet. Those of us who do desk work, spent the time to develop action alerts, notify new networks and friends, and arrange solidarity in the event that we have to stay here for a longer period. Staying here beyond the parliament closing date on 9 May is a real possibility. Till now, there is not a squeak from the PMO to indicate that he has made up his mind on the issue, and that he is ready to meet us.

The Parliament closed for a long weekend after the May 1 holiday. Around mid-day on May Day, we learnt of a horrific killing. One tribal villager from Kalinganagar -- the site of a protracted stand-off between villagers that refuse to yield their land, and Tata Steel that wants the land to build a steel plant -- was gunned down by armed goons accompanied by a Tata Steel contractor. In January 2006, Tata Steel tried to push ahead with construction by bringing in the police to quell the resistance. In an attempt to terrorise the villagers into submission, the police had opened fire killing 13 people. The villagers had responded by blocking the main highway passing through their area for more than 14 months.

Today, we got a heart-warming photograph by email from a group called the Kalinganagar Solidarity Group of a Tata Steel signboard at the company's Northern Regional Sales Office, not too far from where we are camped out at Jantar Mantar. The photo showed a doctored sign -- Instead of Tata Steel, the signboard now accurately read "TATA STEAL."

the Kalinganagar Solidarity Group perform some brand correction on Tata Steel

Tata steals land; Tata steals water; Tata would steal your grandmother's saree if you are not careful, joked some of us at the dharna sthal . The Bhopalis have had their run-in with the Tatas. Two years ago, Mr. Rotten Tata -- oops, I mean Ratan Tata -- had offered to clean up the contamination in Bhopal instead of Dow. He was roundly beaten off by the Bhopalis who made a list of all the Tata contaminated sites -- Mithapur, Gujarat ; Sukhinda, Orissa; Jugsalai, Jharkhand -- that Tata could clean up with his money.

Back to Bhopal , we managed to get another meeting with Arjun Singh, the Human Resources Development Minister, and chair of the Group of Ministers. He was surprised to hear us say that we're not going home. He seemed to have expected us to leave after the parliament session. Anyway, he has promised to "do something" in the next week and a half.

Sunday was a special day. Dominique Lapierre, the celebrated author and Indophile, visited the dharna sthal along with co-writer Javier Moro, and their respective wives/partners. Together, they had published the famous book on Bhopal -- "Five Minutes Past Midnight in Bhopal ." Dominique is in Delhi to receive one of the highest recognitions conferred by the Indian Government -- the Padma Bhushan award. Dominique will talk about his two favourite cities -- Kolkata and Bhopal -- at every opportunity that is presented to him in the lead-up and following the awards. Just in case any of you are interested, Dominique has written another book -- City of Joy -- about Kolkata. If he gets a moment with the Prime Minister after his awards ceremony at the ashtrapati Bhavan (President's House), he said he will use that moment to talk about Bhopal .

Sunday was also special because we had fish. Some friends decided to chip in and pay for a fish dinner, something that many of us were hankering for. Even the threat of an imminent sand-storm and possible thunderstorm that seemed to be building up didn't dissuade Jabbar Bhai, who volunteered to cook. Eight kilos of freshwater fish were bought and soon delicious fragrances of roasted masalas mixed with the smell of earth after the first drops of rain. A delicious meal, more than an hour of " chutkulley " -- jokes, riddles -- later, the camp quietened down. There were less than 40 people at the camp tonight. More friends, many more and a large contingent of children are arriving tomorrow.

We are hoping that something will give this week, and are quite prepared to stay on until something does. As little Ajay sincerely told Rachna yesterday, "Rachna Didi, I am prepared to give up my life for our demands." Sathyu asked him, "But Ajay, if you die, you will go to the sky, won't you?" Ajay made it clear that his demise will not make it any easier for the PM. "I'll come back as atma (spirit) and haunt him until our demands are met," he said.

Day 34 - May 1, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

It's May Day! Predictably Jantar Mantar was buzzing with activity this morning as rallies of various unions walked by, with lots of naarebaazi (slogans) all around. Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) leadership came by to show solidarity – they filed a few RTI applications and assured their support when and if needed. We had a half hour session of vigorous singing and slogan-calling ourselves.

Sathyu leads the chanting...

Today we met Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu. She assured her support and promised to drum up more enthusiasm for the Empowered Commission Bill among colleagues.

A few survivors and padyatris who had returned to Bhopal for a few days came back this morning. Meera and Tulsabai both had weddings to attend among close relations. Meera was glowing – her hands filled with lovely mehendi – she's very good at putting it too, and was bonding with a few policewomen the other day, applying it for them (talk about soft lobbying!). Tulsabai was exhausted after having organized two consecutive weddings in her family. She grumbled that there hadn't been any water arriving in the bastis for the previous 15 days, a considerable added complication (and cost) for the already onerous task of organizing the weddings.

Meanwhile, on the all-important issue of nutritional support for the sthal-ites; a new development. There was a visitor from ISKCON, a nearby temple, who spent time at the dharna and renewed the provision of meals. This evening they provided delicious khichdi and subzi (rice cooked with lentils and vegetables respectively).

Day 33 - April 30, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This morning found a bunch of newspapers spread around the dharna sthal from which articles on Bhopal were being clipped out. There were a lot. Aaj Samaaj (a popular Hindi-language daily) splashed a large photo from the press conference yesterday across its front page. This is a big deal. Mail Today, Guardian, Tribune, NDTV, Business Standard published the story in print and/or their websites with more in-depth articles in the works in other media outlets. As the day progressed, more journalists came by to interview the five families before they returned to Bhopal in the evening train.

Meanwhile, on the lobbying front, work continues to drum up support for the Empowered Commission Bill that we want passed in Parliament. Though the two houses are on recess for five days, the behind-the-scenes work – getting appointments with key figures, consultations with friendly advisors, engaging the media, and the endless, eternal ocean of paperwork is in motion. To our Indian supporters, this would be a good time to figure out who your Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP is – we hope a conversation with them will be ensuing?

On a lighter note, Munabhbhai, or as I used to call him before learning his name, He-who-has-infectious-ever-ready-grin, came up to me to relate his travails. He is being stalked by a woman, and spends a lot of time hiding in Jantar Mantar in the space behind the dharna sthal . It is an elderly lady, he knows her only as Dooli, who lives on the footpath opposite the dharna. He had bought her a cup of chai a week ago, followed by a couple of gutkas (chewing tobacco) on her request. Now she doesn't leave him alone – following him around asking for more – showing up unexpectedly catching him off guard. He's quite scared – the rest of us are thoroughly amused.

Dooli was not available for comments or rebuttals.

Day 32 - April 29, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Five kids with serious deformities arrived today from Bhopal along with their families.

Aakash, Nawab and Sooraj arrive with their parents

A press conference was held this afternoon – there was very good attendance from several prominent newspapers.

Aakash's father is interviewed

Some journalists expressed dismay and disbelief – they simply did not know that things continue to be so bad in Bhopal.

You hear about the fatigue, the delayed periods, the eye and breathing problems of Bhopalis, first and second generation, who were exposed to the poisons of the plant; yet these particular kids, though just the tip of the iceberg, are impossible to ignore.

Rachna and her mother - Rachna suffers mental retardation

You can't deny that their deformities exist; and that there is a link, beyond all reasonable doubt, between birth defects and exposure of parents to gas and polluted water. That the link has been denied, that studies have been mysteriously discontinued, that the poisonmonger is not paying for health care for these children - all of that is, for the lack of a better word, cruel.

Wait – here's a better word –criminal.

I played with one of the children, six month old Nida, for some time– cute kid - she was whining a bit, irritated by the flies and the heat. Her mother, herself a gas victim, has spent a lifetime looking after her in-laws who were bedridden for almost a decade as a result of the exposure to MIC that night.

Nida and her mother

I didn't know what to say to her or what I expected her to say – but she is very pragmatic about it all – pleased that the media is paying attention, she said that she understands that it is necessary that the world sees what is happening in Bhopal. More than anything, she looks tired.

Day 31 - April 28, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Jantar Mantar is abuzz with activity. A large Tibetan contingent has come back for a prayer meeting, and several organizations and peoples' movements from across the country have come together under 'Sangharsh' to oppose displacement, Land acquisition Amendment Act 2007 and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. They also brought a rally to Bhopal dharna sthal expressing their solidarity. The interaction was quite touching and it was inspiring to see people from across the struggles connect beautifully. The Tibetans had a large amount of food and drinks available, which they shared freely with us, much to our delight – almost everyone was munching on free apples and snacks and biscuits.

A delegation went to the PMO to submit the RTI applications filled out so far on behalf of the campaign. There was some grumbling – why don't you submit these in Bhopal itself – but otherwise they were accepted without incident.

This evening, we had a second consecutive music program. Sarwar Hussain Khan, from Bhopal, who is one of the most celebrated Sarangi players in the nation, came and performed. He is in town to accept the Bismillah Khan award. It was simply amazing. Sitting there under the stars, the bizarre shapes of Jantar Mantar silhouetted in the background, listening to the sublime music – one forgets, for a little bit, the ill goings-on of the world.

Day 30 - April 27, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

A young lad has made the dharna sthal his home. His name is Tinkoo, about 16 years old, and has run away from his home in Haryana. Seeing him, one can't help but remember Jaanvar from Animal's People by Indra Sinha - the spirit of survival is so strong in him. No one knows exactly what he's gone through in his life, but he has several scars on his wrist. He's quite happy here for now, eating and drinking and hanging out with the youngsters, but the Bhopalis are worried about what will happen to him when they leave.

our new friend Tinkoo

Later in the day, a group of about eight people, including a contingent from Kabir – a New Delhi-based RTI advocacy organization, went to India Gate to get more local people to fill out RTIs in support of the Bhopalis.

RTI's are gathered at India Gate

In the evening there was a lovely music program. Sushmit Bose, a renowned folk artist, Umesh and Ramesh on flute and tabla, Hemant from the group Manzil, and our own Shalini took turns performing.

In the evening there was a lovely music program. Sushmit Bose, a renowned folk artist, Umesh and Ramesh on flute and tabla, Hemant from the group Manzil, and our own Shalini took turns performing. A lot of our Delhi supporters also came and it was a charming evening. Tinkoo sang the song Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna surprisingly well. Other revolutionary songs – Hillele Jag Jor by Bihari poet Gorakh Pande, Sau me Sattar Aadmi reverberated around the entire Jantar Mantar area.

Sathyu recited a poem –

Ghire hein hum sawaal se, (We're surrounded by questions,)

humein jawaab chahiye; (we want answers to them.)

Jawaab agar Sawaal hai, (Instead of answers, if we only get more questions)

to inqalaab chahiy! (then we want a revolution!)

Towards the end, when Sushmit Bose beautifully sang Blowing in the Wind, some passing tourists did double takes, not sure they really heard what they thought they did. They were, of course, educated appropriately on the Bhopal issue.

Sushmit Bose performs 'blowin' in the wind'

A neat little statistic – our website has had 70,000 unique visits this month – a record. The presentation to the Group of Ministers has been downloaded 2000 times. Word is getting out.

bhopal.net editor Tim writes:

"just checked the statistics again and there's been a big surge in the last few months. . .

I think it's legitimate for us to claim to the PMO here on that the world is watching."

- 78,000 visits so far in April (compared to 60,000 in Sep when Animal was in the news and 70,000 in Jan, the other biggest month)
- 30,000 visits to the dharna blog alone.
- nearly 2000 people have read the presentation to the group of ministers already."

Day 29 - April 26, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Last night was quite eventful – there were so many people that the sleeping arrangements had to extend out on both sides of our dharna sthal and a lot of people spread out on the middle berm as well. At 3 am a fight broke out between two guys (not Bhopalis) who had come out of nowhere, one chasing the other, calling names and waking everyone up. When the two were finally separated, and things settled down again, another loud crash jolted everyone awake – a driver crashed his car onto the pavement of the adjacent road breaking two street lights. Members of our group rushed to help them and sent the driver off to a hospital – his wife luckily wasn't hurt. Ahh... life on the pavement… even the wee hours of the night are not boring.

This morning witnessed the kick off of our Right to Information campaign.

85 right to information applications on Bhopal are gathered

Sameer highlights the questions for the PM

85 RTI forms were filled out by the Bhopalis, including the 125 or so that came the previous evening.

Arvind Kejriwal and Rajya Sabha MP Abani Roy spoke to the media at the ensuing press conference.

Abani Roy, MP

Rashida Bee interviewed

This evening, a few ladies – Nafisa bi, Hazira bi and others - vented to me about their experiences in trying to get around the capital. The consensus was that people were not only uninterested, but could be very rude. They agreed that bus drivers kept trying to cheat them – Hazira bi recounted with indignation an incident where she was sitting in front of a shop and the person told her " Uth Uth, kahaa baithee hai (Get up!)". She put him in his place alright – anyone who is acquainted with her will know just how effective she can be at that. This wouldn't happen in Bhopal , they said, where people were always open to hearing about another's problems, or at the very least, would treat elders with respect. I suggested gently (being from the not-altogether friendly city of Mumbai) that this was really just a big-city thing, but only succeeded in getting put in my place myself – I was told quite sternly that Bhopal was NOT a small town!

At the Jantar Mantar Film Festival, we viewed Salaam Bombay.

Day 28 - April 25, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

A few individuals have camped out in Jantar Mantar in protest against CSE (Centre for Science and Environment – the force behind the Coke pesticides and Delhi pollution campaigns). The protestors are under the banner of Center for Environment and AgroChemicals, (CENTEGRO) an NGO from Mumbai.

And here, let me veer off into an introduction of Rajju Shroff, chairman of BEIL – the company that was supposed to incinerate Bhopal wastes – as well as pesticide manufacture UPL. He is the founder of CENTEGRO, and also Director of CropCare Federation of India, a lobby group representing major pesticide companies in India. Shroff, through CropCare and other entities, has filed several defamation suits/legal notices against activists, including against Sunita Narain (CSE) and Madhumita Dutta of the Bhopal campaign. Here are some of his quotes mined from online sources:

"[…] But the biggest problem is environmentalists".

"Perhaps some of these experts are wrongly brainwashed by environmentalists who are getting their financial support from abroad" and "Another more serious problem faced by the industry is some environmental NGOs and some activists who are only interested in attacking the pesticide industry" – from a presentation by Mr. Shroff at FICCI's conference on Agrochemicals.

Asides from that, we staged a die-in today at the Ministry of Agriculture. Of the 35 people that went, 25 lay down at the entrance, covered with shrouds.

film of the earlier Delhi rally, followed by the die-in at the Ministry of Agriculture

The shrouds had full size pictures of the unknown child of Bhopal, and children sat with placards next to the shrouds.

The purpose of the action was to tell Sharad Pawar (Minister of Agriculture) to ban Dursban, Nurelle and Pride.

youngest padyatri Sameer poses a reasonable question to the Minister

The entrance to the building was blocked for 25 minutes, there were a lot of onlookers and good media presence, but the unusual thing was the behavior of the police.

No rough handling, no hostility – they were actually very polite and at the end of the event, even escorted us back to the dharna sthal in their truck! We were a bit taken aback to be honest; what's going on here?

Bhopalis ride freely in the police truck! Note the friendly cop!

To put today's actions in perspective, another little nugget – the above mentioned presentation at FICCI had another interesting quote from Mr. Shroff. Enjoy:

"Industry has had several meetings at the highest level in the Agriculture Ministry & Chemical Ministry and with the Hon'ble Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar himself, who has assured the industry of his full support. To solve this problem and come to a fair conclusion, industry had proposed that Ministry of Agriculture should appoint a consulting firm which would study the problems of the pesticide industry in the states, study the functioning of the testing laboratories and system of drawing of samples, etc."

We also met with a young MP (BJP) – Manavendra Singh. His introduction to Bhopal was as a student at the London School of Economics where he had translated for Bhopal survivor Bilkis Bi during her talk on Bhopal. He assured his support for the bill.

A group also met with the Ministry of Chemicals secretary, Mr. Sampath – he asserted that they're trying their best and waiting on the PMO's responses to the Group of Ministers' recommendations.

125 people arrived from Bhopal today to support the actions of the next few days.

Day 27 - April 24, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

This afternoon found the floor of the dharna sthal littered with newly minted posters and Shweta worrying over the spelling of scot (as in scot-free). Does it have two Ts? Her aesthetic sense was offended by the state of the old posters and so there she was, churning out new posters by the dozen.

Shweta gets crafting

My favorite was the clever Ban Durs Ban Durs Ban… poster. The name lends itself excellently to the action we are planning to take against it.

Speaking of the Dursban-ban, a delegation has kicked off the campaign in Delhi with a series of strategy meetings. Today they visited the Tehelka Foundation.

Meera narrated the story of her childhood this evening. What started off as a pathetic attempt by me to get blog-food on a slow day turned out to be an inspiring story. Various other dharnis joined us during the narration to listen in as my pen furiously recorded the story. Meera had gotten involved in the improving-the-world business at the age of 13. Unschooled, she had heard enough about the wrongs of child marriage to know that something had to be done about the upcoming marriages in her basti. It was located on the outskirts of Bhopal and had a population made up of mostly migrant adivasi (tribal) labour. As she saw minor girls being married, she approached the teacher at the local primary school who said that she would be glad to hire her to help prevent these marriages. So Meera got involved – working in this area for 2 years and stopping a total of 5 marriages. There was a lot of anger from the families who insisted that it was their custom to get girls married as early as the age of 12. Meera pointed out the risks to the girl in terms of her health and that of her child, and in some cases had to threaten to bring the police.

the indefatigable Meera hands out morning chai during the padyatra

In one case, involving a particularly stubborn family, she even offered to help them file a petition with the government to get back some of the money they had already spent. Still unsatisfied, the family decided to go ahead and start preparing their daughter with the ritual application of turmeric. Meera came back with policewomen and threatened them with jail. Now the same girl is more than twenty, recently married, and thanks Meera for that intervention. And all this when Meera was in her early teens. There's a lot more and it will be written about another day.

This evening at the JM Talkies, we saw Mirch Masala.

Smita Patel shows her shadow side in Mirch Masala

Day 26 - April 23, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

Today a few of us (Meera, Gabbar, Zakirbhai, Saeed, Hazirabi, Iqbalbhai and Shafeeqbhai) pamphleteered outside a Central Delhi market. The action was mildly successful – most people walked by refusing to take the pamphlets – and the rule of thumb was that the more education a person appeared to have, the smaller the likelihood that they would be interested.

After that, Meera, Yasmin, Rafat, Shalini and Shweta went to St. Columbus school where they talked to 250 students. In the words of Shalini: It was Absolutely Fantastic! They showed the Al Jazeera film – It happened in Bhopal – and then had a long Q&A session. The kids got really involved and some of the conversations were revealing to both sides: they asserted that they were educated, wouldn't it be more important to educate the bastis about the pollution? If children were being born with defects, why are people in Bhopal still reproducing? Questions that may seem jarring, but their unaffectedness sparked a remarkable conversation that brought both sides together. Meera explained in detail how the bastis were already aware of the pollution, what was missing were alternatives to the dirty water they were receiving. At the end, the delegation shared a delicious naashta (patties and fresh lime juice) with the group and the teachers promised to visit with the students if there was no decision made by the 3rd of May – presumably the end of their term.

Meanwhile another batch of postcards arrived from our steadfast supporters in the US . The faxes, phone calls, postcards, letters – numbering in the hundreds, coming from around the world – are great; all indications are that this is a particularly critical time in the political world on this issue and a big decision is imminent. Mixed signals are being received as to how favorable this is – but something is happening – and this is the time when the worldwide support of our fight needs to make its biggest impression.

at the dharna shtal, Gabbar is busy mending the one source of breeze around

getting relief from the heat...

Tonight, Tu Zindaa Hai was screened for the film festival. The message of the movie was appreciated but some of the youngsters found it a bit too documentary-ish. There were cheers when the next day's movie was announced: Mirch Masala with Smita Patil acting in it.

Day 25 - April 22, 2008

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

A lovely thing happened on the Rajya Sabha floor today. D. Raja, much written about on this blog, made a special mention of Bhopal during the zero hour in the Rajya Sabha and read out a statement making a case for action against Dow Chemical. Following this, three other members of the Rajya Sabha rose and declared their support. These were Brinda Karat, Amar Singh and Aboni Roy, all very significant political personalities - their endorsement means a lot to us.

Meanwhile, planning continues for the next few days with excitement building up over a collaboration with Parivartan ( Delhi based organisation working on Right to Information) on an RTI campaign that will help us reach out to a larger Delhi crowd. We are also starting a film festival (‘Life amidst struggle...') at the dharna sthal from tomorrow onwards. Kriti, another Delhi based organization, very graciously provided the films and is also taking a lead in publicizing the event amongst a wider audience. But for tonight the screening was especially for Bhopalis. HariBhari by veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal was screened in the night.

While we are talking about entertainment, it must be mentioned that a couple of members of our group, Rachna and Sathyu, are making quite a splash on the silver screen. Rachna appeared on "We the People" – an extremely popular NDTV talk show led by Barkha Dutt, where she talked about the campaign not only specifically targeting Dow, but also expressing support for other peoples' movements involving corporate crime. During the show, Barkha Dutt did talk about the padyatra, even saying at one point that here are people who have walked fo