The ghost of Bhopal

Sir,

I thank you for the informative and principled editorial in the July 1-15, 2010 issue of PV entitled 'Ghost of Bhopal and the deepening credibility crisis'.

Sir,

I thank you for the informative and principled editorial in the July 1-15, 2010 issue of PV entitled 'Ghost of Bhopal and the deepening credibility crisis'.

The editorial captures the essence of the situation over twenty years after the `worst civilian disaster' in history.  It points out the role of the Rajiv Gandhi Government and various personalities associated with that period including several top officials, ministers.  It also points out, more significantly, that the ruling circles, independent of which political party they belonged to, and all the state organs, were involved in ensuring the guilty went unpunished. To quote from the article “The problem lies in the traitorous and narrow-minded nature of the bourgeois class and its state power..''

The editorial also correctly points out that the dust will not be allowed to settle by the Indian people on this issue. Tributes must be paid to the hundreds of brave women and men who refuse to be discouraged and continue to fight on for justice.  In response, the Manmohan Singh Government has set up a group of `empowered ministers' to look into the matter, to throw more dust into the eyes of the Indian people.

Our people are thoroughly disgusted with the ruling circles. We know what the rulers are upto. It seems, on appearance, that there is no way we can actually have a solution to the problem. This issue is the most important issue which our party must keep addressing, as it has done always.

I firmly believe there is a solution, and it emerges from the historical experience of our people. We, the people, must engage in the debate for the future of the country in the most enlightened terms. There is a vast tradition of statecraft, where the role of the Raja and Praja has been debated as long ago as Vedic and post-Vedic times. We must make this experience a cornerstone. We must reject Eurocentrism which advocates the role of the state as being only so much as to ensure the smooth functioning of private enterprise and the striving for greater profit. The role of security and the state as its guarantor must come into the centrestage.

It is only the working people who can make this a reality, and in turn it is only the most enlightened Communists who can lead society towards this goal.  It is my belief that the time has come for this debate to become an inevitability.

Sincerely, A. Narayan
Bangalore

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