IIT and Union Carbide

The Indian Institutes of Technology, some of the most advanced schools in the world, known and respected worldwide for their commitment to excellence.

But why are they considering a partnership with Dow Chemical? Dow Chemical is the mother company of Union Carbide. Union Carbide being the fully owned subsidiary of Dow.

To jog our memory Union Carbide, the culprit in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, also called the Hiroshima of the Chemical Industry was responsible for the leak of the poisonous gas, Metyl Isocynade. On Monday, the 3rd of December, 1984, in a densely populated region in the city of Bhopal, Central India, a poisonous vapor burst from the tall stacks of the Union Carbide pesticide plant. This vapor was a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate. Of the 800,000 people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 died immediately, and as many as 300,000 were injured. In addition, about 7,000 animals were injured, of which about one thousand were killed. “A series of studies made five years later showed that many of the survivors were still suffering from one or several of the following ailments: partial or complete blindness, gastrointestinal disorders, impaired immune systems, post traumatic stress disorders, and menstrual problems in women. A rise in spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and offspring with genetic defects was also noted.” (The Bhopal Disaster) This incident we now refer to as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which has also been called “Hiroshima of the Chemical Industry” one of the worst commercial industrial disasters in history.(Cohen)


The issue is settled, those involved say - " $500 is plenty good for an Indian."

However, the culprit, Union Carbide remains a fugitive from Indian law. Dow says it will not allow Carbide to appear for trial in India because India has "no jurisdiction."

In 2005, the Global IIT Conference tried to honor Dow's Chairman by inviting him to keynote the event. 1300 IIT alumni called for his invitation to be recinded, and he quietly withdrew.

Now Dow is trying to buy their way into the IITs. All IIT aluminus whoever know about his are signing a petition asking the IITs not to deal with a company that scorns India's laws and perpetrates the suffering of its citizens.

To help in dissuading IIT from involving with Dow and ensuring they do the right thing, these people can be contacted:

Priya Ranjan, IIT alum: priya@aidindia.org
Sudarshan Suresh: sudarshan.suresh@gmail.com