Understanding the lives and sufferings of the survivors of then Bhopal gas tragedy, a book, ‘The let Down’, written by Swati Tiwari, describes the plights of women who are most neglected section of gas-affected people.
The book describes the anguish, pain, agony and sufferings caused by the world’s largest industrial disaster that struck Bhopal 30 years back. The book was out in the market in 2012.
The book is an important contribution to the understanding the lives of survivors of the 1984 Bhopal disaster. This book is important for three reasons. Firstly, it is based on interviews and interactions with dozens of ‘gas-affected persons’ who shared their experiences with the author. Secondly, it describes the situation as it was in 2010-2011, after 27 years of the disaster. Thirdly, the author is a well known writer and Associate Editor of ‘Madhya Pradesh Sandesh’ a publication of the Madhya Pradesh Government.
The book covers three aspects of the disaster, namely, the details of the disaster and the disaster experiences of women, the impact of disaster on women and the leaders who have shown caring approaches to the affected children and adults.
It is a story that raises the question that across the world jails detain criminals after committing a single murder, but not a single person responsible for killing thousands of people in disaster was sent to jail for even a single day.
Moreover, the book should find a place in all school and college libraries to sensitize the younger generation about the events that they may not know of. It should be read by the politicians, administrators, medical professionals, voluntary organisations and the youth, to rethink the current approach to providing support to the population. The Government can take better steps and redesign the facilities provided now.