Articles by Arjun Makhijani

Low Level Radiation and Cancer Arjun Makhijani S D SOMAN'S reply (EPW, January 16,1988 to my criticisms (EPW October 31,1987) is, if anything, worse than the original article which purports to present evidence from cancer data in five Indian cities that radiation exposure might reduce cancer incidence and mortality. Let me take up the points that Soman makes in his reply.

this statement of a textile worker during the recent textile strike; "We are fighting for money, hut much more important than that, we are fighting to get the RMMS arid the BIR Act out. If it comes to that, let the money go too, but RMMS and BIR must go at any cost. We are fighting for our future, and if we lose 6 months wages for it, it is quite alright''. Quted in "The Tenth Month: Bombay's Historic Textile Strike", (Factsheet-1), Centre for Education and Developfnent, Bombav, 9 The case of the textile strike in

August 1, 1981 MULTINATIONALS Managing Political Risks Arjun Makhijani offered by the US government's Overseas Private investment Corporation, a representative or which was at hand. Once the investment is made, the gov- ernment's power increases automatically because it can confront the corporation with new rules of many kinds besides the risks of nationalisation or expropriation. Franklin Root of the Whanton School advised the participants on these post-entry political risks'. Besides well known devices Such as increasing local liabilities and decreasing local credits, siphoning off capital. etc, in times ,of uncertainty, he urged the executives to make their companies 'indispensable' to the government and to remain so. This indispensability allows a corporation to maintain its 'bargaining leverage' through its "capacity to impose net social costs on the host country in the event of adverse government act lens to the venture", In plain English, the corporation should try to hold the government and the country hostage to its 'bottom-line'.