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◊ I visited a small textile mill, in operation to spin yarn,
owned by a Jain. He had about fifty workers in his factory making yarn. As a result of the yarn spinning process, the atmosphere in the factory was extremely clouded with lint fibers, dust, and many other particles floating in the air. For me, the air inside was so bad that I had difficulty breathing. I again thought that all of these workers are breathing this dirty air and acquiring all kinds of lung diseases, including TB, and thus significantly cutting short their lives. I talked to the owner and suggested that the proper solution was to buy air masks/filters fitted for wearing over the nose, which do not cost lot of money, and to also install exhaust fans. He ignored my advice completely saying that this is done in the US, but not here. He had no concern for the lives of his workers who make lots of money for him.
The above three examples are just simple example of a pure lack of understanding on this issue. I am sure, readers know or can find hundreds of such examples.
The whole world is familiar with the leak of toxic gases in Bhopal at a factory owned by Union Carbide. Many thousand workers got injured and died, and in terms of compensation, even after nearly thirty years, the affected people are still suffering without any meaningful compensation. The Indian laws in this respect are very weak, enforcement is another story, and the people who got rich at the expense of the affected workers are the attorneys and politicians. Hardly any justice has been meted out to these poor people.
I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of Bhopal type accidents (though perhaps not necessarily of that magnitude) that happen or are waiting to happen in India. The question that I ask is, does anyone's conscience bother him and if yes, what are we doing about it? Another question that I ask is "How many Jain lawyers, attorneys, leaders, sadhus, activists, and physicians came to help the people affected by the Bhopal Gas Leak, then or now?
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An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
