Japan's Tragedy A Wake Up Call to India??

My mailbox has been flooded by emails from various activist groups urging my support to sign petitions to the Indian government to avoid another tragedy like Japan's in India.

"The Indian government is close to approving the world's biggest nuclear power development -- in an earthquake zone. Let's tell PM Singh to learn from Japan's nuclear crisis and stop the plan! Sign the petition."


The letter continues, "Our voices can tip the balance. This is the crucial moment: if enough of us call on Singh to stop the project now, we can make the project too controversial to continue.When the petition reaches 50,000 we'll deliver it to media and the Prime Minister’s office -- sign now and then send this to family and friends." 


If this wasn't  convincing enough it continued to stress the point further,

"There are several factors that make the proposed Jaitapur energy park particularly dangerous. The gigantic nuclear development, planned for the tsunami-prone coast of Jaitapur, will rely on a brand new type of mega-reactor that has not been approved for use anywhere in the world. Scientists classify the proposed site of the Jaitapur complex as Zone 3, susceptible to "very strong" seismic activity. In 1993, Jaitapur experienced a powerful 6.5-rated quake that left nearly 9,000 people dead. If the plants are built, the next quake could be far deadlier. Already this week, Germany announced it will decommission 40% of its nuclear plants and halt planned extensions, reversing a controversial decision to expand its nuclear programme. Here in India, it's time to make the same decision." 


In my mind, I had already made my decision...


"Moreover, the plant would also be an environmental and social travesty. Jaitapur is home to amazingly diverse wildlife. The massive energy campus would displace over 40,000 people and destroy one of India's greatest natural landscapes -- eating away at the habitat of tigers, elephants and thousands of other species, even if no earthquake occurs. In the event of a Japan-like quake, the devastation would be mind-boggling. Now, when these dangers are most vivid, let’s join our voices to oppose these plants"


The foreign intervention, the destruction of environment in the name of  progress, and finally the will to make a difference to save the world all motivated me into signing the petition, strongly protesting against the Indian government. Protesting against the government was not just motivated by the proposed Jaitapur energy park, but some of us like me, just need an excuse to protest against the Indian government, so in order to vent out frustrations over all things gone wrong in the country I needed an excuse, and this my friend, was a perfect one. This had all the makings of me looking good, doing good for the all-blinded-by-greed, lured-by-foreign-investment-Indian-government. Hence, I had a peaceful night's sleep after signing the petition, with the complacence of doing some good.



My wake up call came in the form of another email that followed the previous one in my mailbox,


"Sent: Wed, 16 March, 2011 10:56:34 PM
Subject: Re: Nuclear disaster: Japan now, India next?

I strongly think that these people are PUSHING INDIA BACKWARDS !!!

No country develops until its attains critical technologies. Chernobyl episode did not stop Russia to use nuclear plants and Bhopal episode did not shut down all gas plants in the country. The Japan episode should be taken as a lesson to make stricter safely measures by scientists and govt and should be placed much away from human/animal habitation. 

Every human/animal life is precious but think how many people are killed/suffers from diseases  by pollution caused by thermal power plants in India everyday. Our problem is we now a days forgot to use our own brain ....we just flow with the market...whatever we hear, we start believing and propagate that shit thing !!! 

Dont support such a cause and harm India producing clean energy when our energy budget is growing every moment. Rather ask for more and more safety measure to stop such accidents. A early college goer type comment: "I think these people are getting money from Pakis or Chinis to push back India's development......LOL" !!!"

An Assistant Professor from Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dept of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, provided a thoughtful insight  in the chain of letters. 

"nuclear radiation and nuclear disasters have generational and life-threatening impact. A mega dam breaks and we can manage it somehow but if a Nagasaki or a Hiroshima or Chernobyl happens then we will have to deal with that for 'centuries'....clean-up operations and costs of that kind are avoidable. We do have more healthy 'energy-producing' options??? As a Sociologist, Beck conceptualized of contemporary society as the Risk society - Japan exposes the gaping fault lines of our existence as a risk socio-economy and our threatened social future! Our premises for a COMMON SOCIAL FUTURE therefore have to be re framed and reconceptualized with the new Japan data.

More people do die of malaria and contaminated water related disease how many die of AIDS ??? how many due to nuclear radiation??? how many die in riots and ethnic conflicts? die in road accidents ??? how many got killed due to a 'random' earthquake ???? how many die because they don't earn enough to be able to eat ???"

All the arguments and the counter-arguments had my head reeling with doubt, and I finally asked myself, did I do the right thing in signing the petition, or was it a hasty decision motivated by the general idea that the government is evil and it can do nothing right? If the government's decision was motivated by greed, wasn't my decision motivated by prejudice. It's a complicated scenario and in the unpredictable and random factor in our design and production mechanisms and implementation and governance of these productive strategies. Simply because the nuclear reactor burst in Japan costing hundreds of lives does not mean it will spell the same fate for India. To look at a problem and learn from it is wise, but shrinking away from progress in fear of disaster is being pessimistic. And we all know that attitude doesn't go well with progress of any nation.

Foremost, let's work out or think of solutions and not just dwell on problems (this is not to belittle the problem of realizing or conceptualizing the problem and the problematic) but to ensure by taking preventive measures and practicing caution, not just on paper but in practice. Shouldn't the petition be urging the government for taking more precautionary measures and ensuring safety of the people whose lives depend on the Jaitapur energy park, than to put a stop on it? Shouldn't we be looking for solutions rather than dwelling on the problem? What has happened is a lesson that should be treated as an eye opener, where we have seen that the result could be totally unexpected despite the best intentions, but that should never be the reason to get regressive. Taking precaution and calculating risk before beginning is smart but not implementing a project for the fear of an uncertain, unknown, probable disaster in future is like using a rubber balloon in place of a latex condom for the fear of procreation. The impact and the utility of one cannot replace the other, simply signing petitions might not be the solution but being careful with proper precautions could be. Like my concerned friend sent me this thoughtful message as an offline chat,

"There was a nuclear blast at 4:30pm on Sunday in Fukushima, Japan. If it rains today or in the next few days, DO NOT GO UNDER THE RAIN. If you get caughtout, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it's only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.. pls pass on to all u care."

Who knows how much truth there is in this assertion, but I would take precaution and wear my raincoat/ umbrella to avoid the rainfall.