The Railway Men - The Untold Story of Bhopal 1984

Do you know the punishment for taking a life in this country?

Mahatma Gandhi once said,

He was right.

But the man who killed him got the death penalty.

Well, that was Gandhi's life.

The truth is that, in this country,

if there's something cheaper than sea salt and homespun cloth,

it's the life of the common man.

"Non-violence is the supreme religion."

Isn't that what Gandhi said?

But what happens when someone violates that religion in this country?

What happens when someone takes 15,000 lives?

As punishment, he gets a government-issued plane,

with VIP service.

Champagne, caviar,

and a grand ride back home.

And the rest of us?

We have always been here. We are still here,

and we will be here forever.

Striving to find the meaning of Gandhi's teachings,

in a country that neither punishes those who take lives,

nor rewards the ones who save them.

Sir!

…innings and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan took six wickets.

With his spin bowling…

-Munisa, a cup of tea please. -What?

I haven't prepared breakfast yet.

No, I'm not hungry. Tea is enough.

What happened? Aren't you on the night shift today?

Yes, but the Ijtema pilgrims will be coming tonight.

I have to prepare the station.

Nonsense.

When a big tree falls,

the ground below it trembles.

The Sikhs are going through hell…

…and look at him.

His mother was killed, son.

After such a tragedy, it's difficult to tell right from wrong.

Ammi, you don't know how the world works, so forget it.

What about the job, Nawaz? Did you go to the bureau?

I told you there's a posting in the Railways.

It's a decent job.

They pay well too. What else do you want?

Abbu, I've told you a thousand times,

I won't spend my life in a black suit, bowing down to the government.

I have an interview tomorrow at Union Carbide.

Union Car--

You want to work there?

They have no morals, no ethics.

They'll go to any length to make profits. And you want to work there?

Do you want to earn respect or just money?

The MIC has gone up to 100 degrees! Check the pressure!

Pressure is shooting up! 25 PSI!

The MIC tank can't handle such pressure!

The temperature and pressure are out of control!

Do something before the gas starts leaking!

Someone call Mr. Kamruddin!

Inform the control room!

-Take him to the medical wing! -Go!

Shit!

How did this happen?

Should we burn the gas with the flare, sir?

The flare tower hasn't been working for 3 months.

-Were you washing the pipes? -I don't know anything about that, sir.

-Did you fix the slip blinds? -Slip blinds? What are those?

Where are you going, sir?

To check the tanks.

The MIC tank can blow up if it gets hot.

It's ice cold. Fucking hell.

The meter at the plant is faulty!

-Everything is fine! -Okay, sir.

Pressure 2 PSI.

Temperature 10 degrees.

Everything is fine.

Your gauge is faulty. Get rid of it.

Get to work.

-Sir. -We can work without panicking, you know?

Don't hit the alarm without checking

Keep panicking! Well done.

You know everything, Kumawat bhai. Why do you want to hear it again?

Well, I told you, the lawyer from Delhi wants to hear it.

He wants to see if our case will hold water.

It's your first day at work.

It's not easy to get a job with the Railways.

You're responsible for three more people now.

I'm doing this for them, Ammi.

And I won't lie. To some extent, for myself too.

-I'm recording, Imad. -Okay.

My name is Imad Riaz.

Tehsil Berasia, District Bhopal.

Do you work at Union Carbide?

No. I used to.

What did you do there?

I used to drive their trucks.

Carbide makes chemicals for crops.

To kill the bugs. Pesticides.

And to make that pesticide, Carbide uses a chemical called MIC.

Methyl isocyanate.

Where does this MIC come from? Is it made at the factory or imported?

Now it's made here.

It wasn't before.

It would come in big ships from America.

My job was to drive it from Trombay port to Bhopal.

What type of a chemical is this?

Could you tell me more about it?

The engineer used to call it liquid dynamite.

It was the factory's most dangerous and unstable chemical.

It's kept buried under cement.

They have three 40-ton tanks.

Three tanks full of MIC.

They fear it, and rightfully so.

Why?

I used to transport the barrels in my truck.

It'd be raining.

And the barrels weren't even sealed properly at times.

If even a single drop of water mixes with MIC,

it can wreak havoc.

It turns into poison gas and spreads in the air.

One breath of it, and it's all over.

What do you mean? Didn't you wear masks?

They never gave us any.

You didn't ask?

Ask? I…

I asked, complained, made a ruckus.

And? Didn't they take action?

They did. They kicked me out.

Excuse me.

It's ready.

Hand it to him.

-How much? -20 paise.

Who fired you? And who runs the factory now?

One Mr. Madsen. A white man from America.

Imad, do you recognize them?

Yes.

They had visited the factory.

In 1982.

They checked the machines, the safety measures.

They inspected the trucks too.

They were from America.

Imad, did anything change after his visit?

Did they improve safety measures?

Carbide didn't lift a finger.

Things went on like before.

And… And then…

And then there was a leak,

and an innocent worker lost his life.

Mohammed Ansari.

Yes.

He was like a brother to me.

I persuaded him to move to Bhopal.

I'm sorry, Imad. I know this is difficult for you.

But can you recount what happened that day?

The whole factory reeked of the boiled cabbage-like smell of MIC.

They sent him in there.

Those assholes wanted to save their factory.

So, they found a scapegoat.

He saved the factory,

but he couldn't save himself.

The gas filled his lungs.

And he was done for.

-Go! -Get lost!

I already paid you! What more do you want?

Run!

Chickpeas! Roasted chickpeas!

Spicy roasted chickpeas!

-Good morning. -Sir.

Good morning, sir.

SM sir, weren't you on the night shift today?

-Good morning, Prasad. -Good morning, sir.

Were the communication wires repaired?

-Yes, sir, the thieves-- -You checked them?

See, the thieves from the slum stole it. They won't bother us now.

Seventy meters of copper wire will last them a while.

I know the wires are copper.

-Have they been repaired? -Repaired?

Sir, actually, I sent the repair team last night.

And they must've replaced at least 50 meters of the wiring by now.

Don't worry, sir. It'll be done.

-It will be done or it's done? -It's done.

I mean…

-Sir, I just… -It's done, right?

Arrange a push trolley. We'll check the connection from there.

Pardon?

Fantastic cards.

-It's your turn, come on! -Two jacks! Ha!

Mileage?

Mileage?

-We don't need you anymore. Go home. -What do you mean?

-Our money? -We want our money.

-Don't act tough. -I'll show you how tough I am…

You'll rot in jail for hitting a government employee, you fuckers!

I'll beat you till you eat dirt!

-Get back! -Prasad.

-Get them paid. -Okay, sir.

And arrange a new repair crew. Three shifts of eight hours each,

working around the clock until the comms are repaired.

Okay.

It's a safety issue, Prasad.

I got distracted, sir.

Keep my advice in mind, Prasad.