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Articles by Radhika RamaseshanSubscribe to Radhika Ramaseshan

The BJP and the RSS

Vol. 48, Issue No. 06, 09 Feb, 2013
Radhika Ramaseshan

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has always sought to exercise an ironclad control over its political offspring, the Bharatiya Janata Party. The machinations of the former have directed the fortunes of the latter, including determining who the party president should be. Over the last two decades, however, there have been many changes in the relationship between the two. Most recently, while the current Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat favoured "regional" leadership of the party over Delhi-centric leaders, his choice, Nitin Gadkari, had to step aside and make way for Rajnath Singh. The run-up to the 2014 general elections will tell if the BJP will assert its identity or if the Sangh will try to regain complete control.

Uttar Pradesh Elections and Samajwadi Party's Victory

Vol. 47, Issue No. 14, 07 Apr, 2012
Radhika Ramaseshan

The Samajwadi Party's victory in Uttar Pradesh was possible due to a combination of factors: the loss in support for the incumbent Bahujan Samaj Party from the upper castes who had hitherto supported that party, the grass-roots mobilisation made possible by SP's Akhilesh Yadav, amongst others. A report based on a tracking of the trends over months.

The Press on Ayodhya

Vol. 25, Issue No. 50, 15 Dec, 1990
Radhika Ramaseshan

The Press on Ayodhya Radhika Ramaseshan The Hindi Press in Uttar Pradesh played a highly partisan role during and after the October 30 events, which undoubtedly exacerbated communal tensions in the already vitiated atmosohere.

BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY- Callousness Abounding

Vol. 20, Issue No. 2, 12 Jan, 1985
Radhika Ramaseshan

BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY Callousness Abounding Radhika Ramaseshan THE Union Carbide management's response to the line of medical treatment of the victims of MIC poisoning alternated between indifference and prevaricative statements. The management's reaction led to two levels of speculation in Bhopal among doctors and others alike

BHOPAL TRAGEDY-Profit against Safety

Vol. 19, Issue No. 51-52, 22 Dec, 1984
Radhika Ramaseshan

BHOPAL TRAGEDY Profit against Safety Radhika Ramaseshan SIX months ago, the Town Planning Department of the Madhya Pradesh government had categorised 18 industries as 'obnoxious', and had, therefore, stipulated that such industries must be subject to "continuous assessment for their impact on the environment". The list, which included the gelatin industry, made no mention of the pesticides industry, A spokesman from the MP Environmental Pollution Control Board said that atmospheric tests conducted by the Board within Union Carbide's BhopaJ plant indicated the biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels to be 10 to 100 times higher than the ISI permissible limit of 30 milligrammes per litre. "The Air Pollution Act clearly mentions that if the ISI limit is crossed by a factory, the government has the authority to revoke its licence, but unfortunately no action was taken against Carbide", he said.

Government Responsibility for Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Vol. 19, Issue No. 50, 15 Dec, 1984
Radhika Ramaseshan

Government Responsibility for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Radhika Ramaseshan THE mass of technical detail thrown up by all the speculation, explanations and theories emanating from official and private quarters in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy has established the culpability of Union Carbide for the mass killing. It is important, however, not to overlook the role of the government. The issue boils down to something as simple and basic as this: the plant would not have come up in the first place had the government not granted the licence. The government cannot calim that it did not have the sort of data which would have required it to enforce stringent checks on the plant. At every stage since the inceptionof the plant the government has been fully aware of the noxious character of the materials the plant was using for the manufacture of pesticides. What it lacked was the will and the intent to come down strongly on Union Carbide.

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