The Hindu : Students question `India Shining' campaign

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Students question `India Shining' campaign

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 25. Challenging the Union Government's ongoing "India Shining'' campaign in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, student activists of "We for Bhopal'' today pointed out incidents like the Bhopal disaster, Gujarat riots, militancy in Srinagar and destruction of manuscripts in Pune which are "blots on Shining India''. Walking through the various colleges of Delhi University's North Campus, the group went about distributing black bindis and ribbons among fellow-students to protest against the Government's apathy on the issue.

"This is an abstract notion of a shining India. The plight of the survivors of the Bhopal tragedy 20 years after the disaster is a reminder of the many blots that mar the hype built around the idea. The fact that even the most basic demands remain unaddressed and that Union Carbide is back in business in India in the form of Dow Chemicals exposes the hollowness of the NDA Government's claims,'' said Pawas Bisht of "We for Bhopal'' during a press conference held here later in the day.

The two demands placed by the students included disbursing the compensation money of over Rs. 1500 crores lying unused in the Reserve Bank of India among the victims and providing clean drinking water available to the people living near the factory premises. "The amount given to the people was Rs. 25,000 which was grossly insufficient for the kind of tragedy they faced. And this money, which is part of the compensation money, is lying unused. So why shouldn't it be distributed,'' questioned the students.

The inefficiency of the Madhya Pradesh Government in not being able to provide clean drinking water was also pointed put. "Water is a necessity. The Government knows that the ground water - the main source of drinking water in that area - is laced with chemicals. Yet nothing is being done to save the people there,'' said a student.

Praising the effort of the students for raising such pertinent questions, human rights activist, Sayeeda Hameed, said, "It is only when the youth get involved will this movement gather strength. Human memory is very short and when one generation passes, people can't be expected to remember. But it is very heartening that young people for whom this blot does not even form a part of their memory, are willing to take up the issue''.

Stating that there was little for her to "feel good'' about, Shivani of "We for Bhopal'' said that they would soon be forwarding a petition signed by over 1,000 students to the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals.

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