“We have spent a lot of money on my medical treatment…Sometimes we don’t even have 5 or 10 rupees for tea or medicines. I was very healthy before the gas…After the gas, it has been cough and breathlessness, cough and breathlessness. Sometimes it would go away and I would think that I would get better…Every three months, every three months, I come to this hospital…I have injections here, and pills and I take oxygen. Oxygen has the most effect.” – Raes Mohammad, victim of Bhopal gas tragedy, 1984 (Clouds of Injustice, Bhopal Disaster 20 Years On, Amnesty International Publications 2004)

However, to this day, the company has never faced the charges against it, despite various court summons being issued. In August, a Bhopal court issued another summon to the Dow Chemical Company, which bought over UCC in 2001, asking it to appear in court on 12 Nov 2014.

But Dow has consistently denied responsibility for ensuring that UCC faces the outstanding criminal charges, and repeatedly ignored calls by survivors and human rights groups to address the ongoing environmental contamination and health impacts of the disaster.

When will Dow and UCC be held accountable? When will they show up in court?

On his present visit to the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting US President Barack Obama for official talks today. Send him a message to call on the US Government to ensure that DOW and UCC respect the Indian criminal process and show up in court.