ravi@crystal.UUCP (03/20/85)
This bulletin came over IITNET. I. The Indian government announced the release of nine Akali leaders on March 11. These leaders, including Akali Dal president Harchand Singh Longowal, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, S.S. Barnala, Atma Singh, and others, had been in jail ever since Indian army's attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the first week of June allegedly to cleanse religious places of Sikh extremists. According to Union Home Minister SB Chavan, detention orders against these leaders had been withdrawn with immediate effect. The Press Trust of India released the names of those to be freed; the list did not include Siromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee President G.S. Tohra and former Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal. Subsequently it was also announced that Arjun Singh, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, would replace Satarwala as the new governor of Punjab. Satarwala was brought in after the army action in Punjab last year when the former governor Pandey was asked to leave after his administration was allegedly blamed for mismanaging the Punjab situation prior to the army attack by not keeping an eye on extremist activities. The government's move came apparently after five Sikh high priests had called for a mass rally to Delhi if Akali leaders under detention were not released. Their release has been demanded for quite sometime now by Sikh high priests, Akali leaders, opposition parties as well as newspapers and other intellectuals in an attempt to deal with the Punjab crisis. Earlier, the Akali Dal threatened to launch a protest campaign beginning April 13, Baisakhi Day, if the government did not concede their demands; one of their demands is an investigation into nationwide anti-Sikh rioting last November after Mrs. Gandhi's assasination. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has however ruled out any inquiry recently. According to government accounts, over 2700 people died in riots against Sikhs in 4 days with over 2000 people killed in New Delhi. II. The details of the latest assembly election results are available now. Rajiv Gandhi's Congress(I) party won majority in eight states - Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the union territory of Pondicherry. However, Congress(I) won just over 50% of total assembly seats; this is in contrast to Congress(I) winning over 80% seats during the Lok Sabha elections. Telugu Desam party of NT Rama Rao won 202 out of 292 seats, more than the two-third majority; Congress(I) could win only 49 seats in Andhra. NTR was thus able to reconsolidate his base which is why he had called for an early election. The most surprising result was in Karnataka, where Ramkrishana Hegde of Janta party increased his party's strength by almost 50%. Janata party got 139 out of 224 seats with Congress(I) getting only 66. Congress(I) had routed Janata party in the Lok Sabha following which Hegde had resigned and requested fresh elections in the state. In Sikkim, N. Bhandari's Sikkim Sangram Prashid won 30 of the 32 seats, thus giving a stunning defeat to Congress(I). Bhandari had been ousted by Indira Gandhi after he had announced to reserve seats for Nepalis and grant other concessions to them. In Bihar, Congress(I) got 189 seats out of 308 with Dalit Mazdoor Kisan party emerging as the largest opposition party with 45 seats. In Gujarat, Congress(I) had a sweep with 149 seats out of 182; in Himachal also Congress won big with 55 out of 65 seats. In Madhya Pradsh, Congress obtained 250 out of 320 seats and BJP was the largest opposition group with 58 seats. In Maharashtra, Congress(I)'s majority is reduced to 162 out of 288 with coalition led by Sharad Pawar gaining a foothold with over 100 seats. In Orissa, Congress captured 117 out of 145 seats. In Rajasthan, Congress(I)'s margin was also reduced; it won 113 out of 198 seats. In UP, Congress got 266 out of 422 seats with Charan Singh's Dalit Mazdoor Kisan party getting 85 seats. In Pondicherry, Congress(I) and AIDMK coalition won a majority. New governments were sworn in all the states. Except for Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim and Pondicherry, new chief ministers were selected. In Rajasthan, Harideo Joshi, who was the chief minister during 1973 to 1977, was sworn in as the chief minister. He replaced Harilal Deopura who took charge following the resignation of SC Mathur few days before the poll because of the alleged murder of Raja Man Singh and two others by the police. In Bihar, Bindehswari Dubey, state Congress unit president, succeeded Chandrasekhar Singh. In Pondicherry, MO Farook was sworn as the Chief Minister. In other states, the incumbent chief ministers were sworn in: ND Tiwari in UP, Arjun Singh in MP, Virbhadra Singh in Himachal Pradesh, Madhavsinh Solanki in Gujarat, Vasantrao Patil in Maharashtra, and JB Patnaik in Orissa. According to news reports, there were talks in Delhi circles prior to the elections that most of the incumbent chief ministers might be asked to step down after the election in an attempt to give a clean image of Rajiv Gandhi's administration; however, the reduced margins of Congress victories and setbacks in Karnataka and Andhra impelled the Rajiv Gandhi forces to retain the satus quo. According to a preliminary analysis, it appears that the Janata party was the biggest vote gainer in this election. It gained 80 seats, with the maximum gain in Karnataka. BJP gained 29 seats, DMKP gaining 28 seats. CPI lost 6 seats whereas CPI(M) gained 2. Rajiv Gandhi's Congress(I) lost 70 seats with the biggest loss being in UP where it lost 29 seats. III. Indian government announced on March 11 that it planned to introduced a bill in the next parliament session that would give powers to the government to confiscate properties in India of Indian dissidents living abroad. According to the Press Trust of India, those covered by the government decision are "nonresident persons of Indian origin indulging in various seditious, terrorist, and antinational activities which threatened or disrupted the sovreignty, territorial integrity and unity of India." There were no immediate reports on what activities the government would put under these categories. However, it is generally believed that the bill is primarily directed against Sikh dissidents abroad including supporters of Khalistan. Other possible targets include those from the North Eastern Region including Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam. Some newspapers have commented that there is a possibility that any kind of criticism of the government and news reports could be covered under these provisions. Indian government had, for instance, impounded the passports of many Indian nationals in US and Canada during the emergency because of their vocal opposition to the emergency. Another example given in the newspapers was of Braham Chellaney, an Indian reporter based in New Delhi for the Associated Press, who reported on the Indian army action on the Golden Temple last June. Chellaney is being charged with sedition for his reports which were later coroborrated by Indian newspapers including Indian Express and India Today. Exisiting laws already empower the government to seize property under certain conditions such as when a person evades a warrant. IV. The Indian Consulate in New York announced that a Minnesota law firm, Robins, Zelle, Larson, and Kaplan, has been appointed by the Indian government to represent India in its law suit against Union Carbide, USA in connection with the Bhopal tragedy in which over 2500 people were killed by a leak of lethal gas Methyl Isocyanate. There were reports from New Delhi that Indian government was planning to file a case in the US seeking damages for the victims of the gas leak. A spokesperson of the law firm refused to comment on what specific type of action the firm was planning; it was acknowledged that one course of action would be a parens patria-type action, a sort of collection action. The firm reportedly has over 25 years of experience in dealing with industrial catastrophe litigation. Reuter quoted the Minister of State for Law HR Bhardwaj as saying that Indian government would file a law suit on behalf of all the victims. According to the minister, "American Lawyers have unnecessarily complicated the situation. They will now have to operate under the instructions of the main counsel of the Indian counsel." It is reported that the Indian government could use its FERA act to force Indian citizens to instruct their American lawyers to take orders from the attroneys hired by the Indian government. It is widely expected that Indian government is likely to agree for an out-of-court settlement as Union Carbide has been asking for thus undercutting the American lawyers who have filed suits on behalf of many victims. Reuter also quoted the Union Law minister Asoke Sen as saying "We have not ruled out an out-of-court settlement. If there is a good compensation, we are prepared to go in for an out-of-court settlement." In another development, the Indian Council of Medical Research reported that over 10 to 15% of the Bhopal gas leakage victims who come for checkups at medical centers are showing symptoms of psychiatric problems. According to the Council, "Symptoms of anxiety and depression are foremost among the patients." Sources: India Now, India Abroad, the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor.
ravi@crystal.UUCP (03/25/85)
This is from IITNET. I. The Union Carbide USA admitted on March 20 that the leak of the lethal gas Methyl Isocyanate at its subsidiary in Bhopal on December 3 stemmed from a variety of operating errors and procedural violations that would never be tolerated at the company's Institute plant in West Virginia. The company officials put the blame for the violations on the local Indian management of the subsidiary and even suggested that the accident might have been deliberately caused. In announcing the long-awaited results of its investigation of the leak which killed at least 2500 people and injured moer than a hundred thousand people in Bhopal, the Union Carbide management said that it appeared that the deadly reaction occurred when a large amount of water entered a tank storing Methyl Isocyanate. According to company officials, without six or more errors and violations, which essentially coincided with the violations reported in detailed articles in the New York Times two months ago, the entry of water would not by itself have had so drastic a result. The company officials also added that the Institute plant had more safeguards and proper operations. The company report said that water entered the storage tank "inadvertantly or deliberately " causing off the reaction. Union Carbide USA's president Warren Anderson suggested that one may have wanted to cause a small problem at the plant not realizing that a tragedy could result. According to other Carbide officials, they did not have any evidence of a plausible sabotage. Anderson also said that "compliance with safety procedures is a local issue. That plant should not have been operating without procedurs being followed." Anderson asserted that the Indian subsidiary bears legal responsibility for the accident. Union Carbide's chief investigator Ronald Van Mynen said that members of his team were shocked at the conditions of the Bhopal plant, including key equipment that was not functional. Its Vice President for health, safety, and environment, Jackson Browning said that a Bhopal-like situation is inconceivable at the Institute plant in Virginia. Indian government rejected Union Carbide's suggestion that the accident might have been deliberately caused. It called such a suggestion highly irresponsible. According to the press attache of the Indian government in Washington, "Our Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, is on record that we feel that this accident is the fault of the Union Carbide Corporation. We will give the reasons in court, if necessary." Chief Indian scientist and the director of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Dr. S. Vardarajan who led the investigation on behalf ot the Indian government, stuck by his team's conclusion that a very small amount of water triggered the reaction. II. Akali Dal President Harchand Singh Longowal said in a news conference in Amritsar that the government must begin an inquiry into the riots and release those detained under the National Security Act or without charges. Longowal who was recently released by the central government, returned to Amritsar after staying in jail for over 9 months. Longowal accused the central government of trying to "finish" the Sikhs. He spoke bitterly of the November riots in which over 2500 people were killed in 3 days. Longowal also demanded the abolition of special coursts for alleged terrorists. III. In another development, Retired Army General and Bangladesh war hero Jagjit Singh Aurora along with other prominent Sikhs have announced the formation of a Sikh forum to preserve Sikh interests. In a letter to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the forum has asked an inquiry into the riots against Sikhs and to release Sikh youths arrested in the wake of the June attack on the Golden Temeple as a prelude to any negotiations on Punjab. The letter said, "It is absolutely essential that the growing sense of alienation of the Sikhs be effectively removed and a healing touch be provided by the government. Commenting on Rajiv Gandhi's statement that an inquiry into the Delhi riots would hurt the Sikhs more than anybody else, General Aurora said, "The government of the day must not shy away from doing justice. The Sikh community is not concerned about getting hurt but would like to know the exact reasons why it took place, what was the involvement, why was that involvement, the role of the politicians, police and the administration in the entire episode." He added, "to produce this excuse that it will hurt the Sikhs more is totally unconvincing." General Aurora criticized the government for not releasing other leaders including Siromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee G.S. Tohra and former chief minister Prakash Singh Badal. He called the government's moves splittist and mysterious. According to Aurora, Talwandi who espouses extremist views has been released whereas Tohra who is less of an extremist than Talwandi, has been kept in prison. IV. Those interested in seeing a judicial inquiry into the riots against Sikhs last November suffered a set back when the Delhi High Court ruled on March 21 that it would not order the government to institute such an inquiry because, the government had the prerogative to decide whether to appoint a commission of inquiry and the courts could neither advise nor interfere with its decisions in such matters. Dismissing a petition filed by a civil liberties organization People's Union for Democratic Rights, the judges also said in their decision, "it is not merely the duty of the majority to look after the minority but it is equally the duty of the minority to join the national mainstream and not isolate itself. It is equally the duty of the minority not to hurt the feelings of the majority in any place, in any part of the country." V. Union Finance Minister VP Singh presented the first budget of Rajiv Gandhi government to the parliament on March 16. The new budget introduces a series of measures to promote industrial growth by giving more concessions to big companies as well as by relaxing import restrictions. According to the finance minister, a list of industries would be notified for delicensing so that procedural delays can be reduced. The asset limit for companies under the Indian Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, which seeks to prevent excessive concentration of ownership of economic resources, has been hiked from Rs 200 million to Rs 1 billion. It was also announced that the corporate sector would be allowed to mobilize resources through the stock market to reduce its dependence on public financial institutions. Import duties on many items and components, especially in the electronics industry, will be reduced. A number of concessions for foreign multinationals were also announced. Corporate tax has also be reduced by 5%. The budget also announced individual tax concessions, including raising the exemption ceiling for personal taxation from Rs 15,000 to Rs 18000. The ceiling on wealth tax exemption has also been raised. The estate duty has been abolished. The budget proposed an increase in excise duty on a number of items for consumption including cement, and petrol. The budget has been welcome as imaginative, bold, as well as a departure from the past by businessmen and industrialists. Opposition parties have however criticised the government. A Janata leader commented that the multinationals can now enter through the front door in India. According to P. Upendra of the Telugu Desam party, the huge deficits resulting from concessions to corporations and rich would add to inflationary pressures and the basic problems of the economy in the spheres of employment generation and price reduction have not been touched. Earlier, Railways Minister Bansi Lal presented the railways budget in which a steep rise of 12.5% surcharge on all classes of passenger tickets has been proposed. The budget was presented 16 days late because according to Rajiv Gandhi, the new finance minister needed more time to prepare the budget. VII. According to the CBS, a Soviet diplomat was killed by two assasins on motorbikes in New Delhi last week. His wife and driver survived the attack. Delhi police is looking for assasins who could not be identified. Earlier, another Soviet diplomat was kidnapped from New Delhi. It is not clear whether the two incidents are related. Sources: India Now, India Abroad, the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor.
ravi@crystal.UUCP (04/08/85)
This came over IITNET. Special segment on the Bhopal tragedy: I. The Albany Times-Union quoted a report in the Daily Telegraph saying that the Union Carbide offered to the Indian government 200 million dollars as an out-of-court settlement for compensation to the victims of the gas leak in Bhopal in December in which 2500 people were killed and tens of thousands were injured. The Indian government reportedly did not accept the offer. Before the report was released, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had reported that the Indian government had rejected a Union Carbide's offer for an out-of-court settlement. The offer was made on behalf of the Union Carbide by its Vice -President Rowe who was in New Delhi recently. Meanwhile the Parliament has passed a law that would give the Indian government the sole right to represent the gas leak victims in any court. II. A number of speakers from India and the US addressed a two day conference entitled "After Bhopal" which was held in Newark, N.J., on March 20-21 sponsored by a number of groups including the Workers Policy Project, New York City, Academy of Medicine of New Jersey, and American Public Health Association. According to Dr. Ramana Dhara, a physician working with an Indian medical group assisting Bhopal victims, Union Carbide and the Indian administration have grossly underestimated the number of deaths and the nature of health problems caused by the gas leak in Bhopal. According to the New York Times, this was also the opinion of many volunatry organizations involved in aid work to the victims of the gas leak in Bhopal. According to Dr. Dhara, number of dead vary somewhere between 5,000-25,000. In the first week inself, 10,000 coffins covers were sold. Four to five muslims were put in one grave but only one receipt was issued. According to another speaker from India, Sagar Dhara, chemical industries in general have emerged as the biggest killer in India; Dhara asserted that almost 100,000 people die every year as a result. Arun Subramanian, an investigative reporter who covered the Bhopal disaster for Business India, pointed out that the basic design of the plant was defective. Even if all the safety devices were working, the gas could not have been controlled. Two main saferty devices, the scrubber and flare tower were to work on the speed different than the speed on which the gas really escapes. According to Barry Castleman, an specialist on the export of hazardous substances to the third world, multinational companies take their hazardous operations to the third world precisely because they want to avoid tough safety regulations and standards set at home so that profit could be maximized. Dr. Nicholas Ashford of MIT was critical of the general American view that by using the same standards to conduct business in the third world, American would be imposing their value system on the third world. He argued that it is hypotrical to say that American industries go to the third world to raise the living standards but not to impose security system to the safety of the community and environment. III. A report in the New York Times said that thousands of people exposed to the poison gas Methyl Isocyanate during the gas leak in December from Union Carbide's plant in Bhopal are suffering from incurable problems with breathing, sleeping, digesting food and performing even light physical labor. The report cited government officials as saying that 5000 to 10000 people will probably never be able to earn a living because of their injuries. According to independent health groups and voluntary organizations involved in relief work, the number of such people could be as high as 50,000. Dr. Ishwar Das, who supervises the medical relief effort for the government, acknowledged that victims of the gas leak appeared to be going from one to another of the 20 dispensaries in the city in a deseprate search for cures that he said did not exist. Commenting on the government's lax attitude about providing medical relief to victims, Suhasini Mulay of the Citizens' Committee for Relief and Rehabilitation, said, "I think it is a medical cover up." Mulay who made an award-winning documentary on Bhagalpur Blindings has made a documentary on Bhopal victims. IV. Raaj Kumar Keswani who wrote articles more than two years ago, warning of safety hazards at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal has been chosen as a receipient of BD Goenka Award for 1984 for preseverence and protecting the public interests. Keswani is to share the award of Rs 100,000 with another jouralist who wrote about the political situation in Punjab. Keswani's initial articles appeared in a small weekly Hindi-language newspaper. They later appeared in Jansatta, a Hindi publication of the Indian Express chain. He started writing in 1982 following a small accident in 1981 in which one worker died. In his articles, Keswani had particularly warned of danger from storage tanks containing toxic methyl isocyanate. Keswani recently assisted reporters from the New York Times in December and January investigating the causes and locating documents and officials relating to the Bhopal disaster. V. There were reports of a leak of Chlorine gas from the Bhopal Union Carbide plant in the last week of March. At least 3 people were reportedly hospitalized as a result of the leak. Now to other news: VI. Janata party has demanded the immediate appointment of an inquiry commission into the Delhi riots against the Sikhs following Mrs. Gandhi's assasination, the expedition of release of all political detained people in Punjab and resumption of a dialogue with the leaders of the Akali Party with preconditions, and the immediate dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. This was stated in a political resolution adopted by its national executive on March 30. In regards to Jammu and Kashmir, the resolution said that the dissolution of the assembly and holding fresh elections would provide the first test of the Congress's sincerity in passing the anti-defection law and Rajiv Gandhi's pronouncements for providing a clean administration. The democratically elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr. Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference party was dismissed by Governor Jag Mohan following defections from the National Conference. G.M. Shah, Abdullah's brother-in-law, who led the defectors formed government there with the support of Congress. Rajiv Gandhi however ruled out the possibility of holding early elections in Jammu and Kashmir. VII. Over 130 people were killed in violence in the recent Lok Sabha and assembly elections. This was reported by Union Home Minister SB Chavan. 83 people reportedly were killed during the assembly elections and 48 were killed in the Lok Sabha elections. Bihar saw the maximum violence; security forces seized 281 firearms and 174 bombs. VIII. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said on March 21 that the government was aware of organizations set up by certain sections of people of Indian origin living mostly in North America and Western Europe and indulging in extremist and secessionist activities. He listed 27 such groups which include groups advocating Khalistan, as well as the North America Akali Dal, the Federation of Sikh Societies, the Sikh Council of North America, the International Akali Dal, the Sikh Cultural Center. In an apparent reference to Sikhs and others of Indian origin who have become citizens of US, Canada, and Britain, Gandhi added that a visa system has been introduced for foreigners who were hitherto exempt from this requirement and Indian missions have been asked to scrutinize visa applications with greater strictness. IX. According to several senior ministers in the Sri Lanka government, the United States, Britain and other western countries have been trying to persuade to mend its fences with the Indian government and evolve a political settlement to solve the Tamil problem. These suggestions are reportedly constantly voiced in direct appeals when representatives of Sri Lankan government visit western countries. X. Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde has urged Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to convene a meeting of the Chief Ministers of southern states to discuss the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. Hegde added that the problems of the refugees was serious and every state had to help in their rehabilitation. There are reported to be at least 50,000 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka in Tamil Nadu. XI. Protests by students against the reservation policy for scheduled castes and tribes have continued in Gujarat. At least 13 people have reported to be killed in the month-long rioting in which many buses were burnt and property looted and damaged. Lawyers boycotted courts and doctors boycotted hospitals in support of the protest. Over 10 students were arrested in connection with setting fire to a high school building. Sources: India Now, India Abroad, the New York Times, and the Albany Times-Union.