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Powerful Photos of the Generation Born After the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

December 04, 2019 | VICE News
By
Pallavi Pundir; photos by Rohit Jain
Vikas Yadav, 19, and Aman Yadav, 17, brothers, have muscular dystrophy and are being cared for by their mother at their home. Affected by toxic waste which seeped into the groundwater, they will live short, painful lives. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2018. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Vikas Yadav, 19, and Aman Yadav, 17, brothers, have muscular dystrophy and are being cared for by their mother at their home. Affected by toxic waste which seeped into the groundwater, they will live short, painful lives. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2018. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

Akash, 16, who is sightless in one eye and partially sighted in other, does colouring at a special school of Chingrari Trust. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Akash, 16, who is sightless in one eye and partially sighted in other, does colouring at a special school of Chingrari Trust. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

Umar Khan, 24, with his parents, shows photos of his younger brother Azhar who died last year. Azhar was suffering from muscular dystrophy, as is Umar. Umar watched his younger brother dying just last year and he knows that it's coming to him in a few short years. Umar's parents are very caring towards him. They feed him, wash him and help him in the toilet. He needs 24-hour care. That's what they were doing for both children until last year. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Umar Khan, 24, with his parents, shows photos of his younger brother Azhar who died last year. Azhar was suffering from muscular dystrophy, as is Umar. Umar watched his younger brother dying just last year and he knows that it's coming to him in a few short years. Umar's parents are very caring towards him. They feed him, wash him and help him in the toilet. He needs 24-hour care. That's what they were doing for both children until last year.  Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

Aaliya, 14, struggling with intellectual disability and muscular dystrophy, with her father in their single-room house; Aaliya's mother, who was affected by the gas, passed away eight years ago. Now Aaliya is looked after by her father, Asad. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Aaliya, 14, struggling with intellectual disability and muscular dystrophy, with her father in their single-room house; Aaliya's mother, who was affected by the gas, passed away eight years ago. Now Aaliya is looked after by her father, Asad. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

"Why don't you keep her in a special institution?" Asad is often asked this question about his daughter, Aaliya. His reply is that "no one else takes care of her as I can. She can't live without me." Asad has left all his work and he can't leave Aaliya alone since she needs 24-hour care. He is supported by Chingari Rehabilitation Trust for Aaliya's medicines and special therapies where he takes her every day. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2018.

"Why don't you keep her in a special institution?" Asad is often asked this question about his daughter, Aaliya. His reply is that "no one else takes care of her as I can. She can't live without me." Asad has left all his work and he can't leave Aaliya alone since she needs 24-hour care. He is supported by Chingari Rehabilitation Trust for Aaliya's medicines and special therapies where he takes her every day.  Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2018. 

Suraj Malam, 21, suffers from cerebral palsy. Here, he is seen standing on his own and losing his sister's grip as she runs off. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Suraj Malam, 21, suffers from cerebral palsy. Here, he is seen standing on his own and losing his sister's grip as she runs off.  Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

Siddhesh, 17, suffers severely from cerebral palsy and is looked after here by his maternal grandmother, at his home. Siddhesh's mother is also gas affected. He, along with his mother, lives with his maternal grandparents. Their family of four survives on a pension received by his grandfather who is 78 years old. What is the future for Siddhesh who is completely reliant on his family for 24-hour care? Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Siddhesh, 17, suffers severely from cerebral palsy and is looked after here by his maternal grandmother, at his home. Siddhesh's mother is also gas affected. He, along with his mother, lives with his maternal grandparents. Their family of four survives on a pension received by his grandfather who is 78 years old. What is the future for Siddhesh who is completely reliant on his family for 24-hour care? Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

Kartik, 16, at his home. Kartik is unable even to sit in an armchair and, sometimes, he falls off his bed. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019.

Kartik, 16, at his home. Kartik is unable even to sit in an armchair and, sometimes, he falls off his bed. Image by Rohit Jain. India, 2019. 

In 1984, a little after midnight on December 3, a gas leak was reported from Plant Number C at the Union Carbide’s (now Dow Chemicals) pesticide factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. As the cold twilight breeze picked up, the poisonous gas—later estimated to be about 42,000 kilograms of methyl isocyanate, a highly toxic and colourless gas that’s not just flammable and reacts with water, but is also life-threatening—wafted through the city.

Within a few hours, around 3,000 lives were wiped off from the face of the earth. Today, government records show 5,295 deaths. Amnesty International claims at least 7,000 deaths within the first three days. But activists and families of victims claim up to 8,000 to 10,000 deaths. A 2006 affidavit stated around 5,58,125 injuries, with 3,900 people left with severe and permanently disabling injuries.

Today, when you talk about Bhopal, you only think of one thing: that it was, and continues to be, the world’s deadliest industrial disaster. It’s been 35 years since half of 8.5 lakh Bhopali population coughed, wheezed and complained about their eyes and skin burning up, until they either met a quick death or lasted long enough to see their descendants suffer alongside.

Read the full story on the Vice website.