Not like it’s in our backyard

I get annoyed when people use words interchangeably, as if there was no difference of meaning. Like ‘nice’ and ‘good’, ‘respected’ and ‘venerated’, ‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’. They are not the same thing.

Take Japan and the way we have been reacting to the nuclear disaster. We declare ourselves heartbroken at photos of babies being tested for radiation exposure. We are amazed at people’s dignity, at their being able to thank providence that this cruel tragedy happened to Japan and not to other nations.

Truth is, we feel sympathy but we can’t really empathise. We would never have said such brave things because we are all thanking our stars that the nuclear threat is not in our backyard. And what are the chances it ever will be? The state will never set up nuclear facilities near metro cities, will it?

The cruelest thing about India is the way we refuse to debate ‘development’ projects before they are approved. It’s taken thousands of lives lost in Japan before concerns about nuclear power seem real to us. Real enough to make headlines and to make a few officials squirm. But once Japan fades from the headlines, everyone will relax. Once again, the police will be sent in to quell protests. Once again, locals will be told to shut up and allow ‘development’ to take place on their land. What’s a little cancer, eh?

Oh, I am angry alright. Not about nuclear disasters as much as our subversion of democracy. Every ten-year-old kid is taught the basics — ‘Of the people, by the people, for the people’. Then why don’t we listen to the people of Jaitapur?

At least Jaitapur is talked about because there were violent clashes between protestors and police. You probably haven’t heard of Chutka, also the site of a proposed nuclear project, also protested by the local population.

There was massive displacement when Bargi dam was built near Chutka in the 1970s. So when they heard of yet another government project, people were alarmed. Their immediate concern was displacement. They didn’t understand nuclear radiation or health risks. But the more they find out, the angrier they are.

What angers me is the fact that Madhya Pradesh has been considering a nuclear plant in Chutka for over two decades but not with the blessings of the gram panchayat. The Bhopal gas tragedy dampened official ardour somewhat, but only for a while. In 2009, villagers found out through newspapers that a nuclear facility was headed for their backyards.

They sent letters again and again to district and state administrations, asking: Would they be displaced again? How will nuclear waste be disposed? Will the water still be fit for drinking? What will happen to the fish in the river?

It is 2011 now and the state still hasn’t bothered to reassure the people. The Chutka project is on hold only because the Ministry of Environment and Forests hasn’t cleared it yet. As soon as permissions come through, officials are likely to try and beat back protests quite literally.

Whenever there is any violent conflict in the interiors of India, state representatives use fancy words about attacks on the democratic fabric of the nation. But democracy means using resources given by the people and investing in infrastructure that benefits them. So, if nuclear power is the only solution to our infrastructure needs, then let the state find people who welcome a nuclear facility in their own backyard.

The people of Jaitapur and Chutka do not want any of it. If we benefit from nuclear power, then let it be us, not them.