AAP’s Bhopal candidate Rachna Dhingra finds support at MIT

By TCN News,

Boston, USA. Supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) from the Greater Boston area gathered to screen award winning documentary (on the Bhopal disaster) Bhopali on Sunday April 6th at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The event was organized by the Boston chapter of University Students for Aam Admi Party (us4AAP), an organization with chapters in more than 100 campuses, and AAP – New England who have been actively working on supporting AAP candidates in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in India.

The screening was part of the 30th anniversary commemorations of the Bhopal Gas Disaster – known as the world’s worst industrial disaster. On December 2nd, 1984 a deadly gas explosion at a Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) factory claimed 8,000 lives in its immediate aftermath and over 25,000 to date. Thousands of survivors continue to suffer from exposure related diseases from the toxic chemicals which still lie in the yet to be cleaned Union Carbide site.

Boston University PhD student Suma Jaini introduces Rachna Dhingra to audience membersBoston University PhD student Suma Jaini introduces Rachna Dhingra to audience members

The documentary which chronicles the events surrounding the Bhopal Gas disaster, also prominently features the work of activist Rachna Dhingra, who is currently an AAP Lok Sabha candidate from the Bhopal constituency. Originally from Delhi, Ms. Dhingra moved to the US to attend the University of Michigan. She developed an interest in Justice for Bhopal activism and other women’s issues and also keenly followed the Narmada struggle. After graduating with a business degree in 2000, Ms. Dhingra joined Accenture where her first client was Dow Chemical. She decided to quit her job when she “realized that she was working for the bottom line of the wrong people” and joined the peoples’ struggle in Bhopal in 2002. Her Lok Sabha manifesto focuses on strengthening education for the poor, justice for Bhopal Gas Victims, making government hospitals functional, and creating a national policy to stop India from being a dumping ground for hazardous products from different countries.

Suma Jaini, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at Boston University and an alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur introduced Rachna Dhingra as someone who had left a lucrative career in the US to participate in the struggle of survivors. Ms. Dhingra’s campaign was being supported by a group of about 10 US volunteers who have made more than 3,000 phone calls to people on the ground so far, she said.

Ms. Jaini played a 3 – minute video message from Ms. Rachna Dhingra, specifically recorded for this event. In the video Ms. Dhingra thanked the US based volunteers for their hard work and dedication to AAP and for supporting her campaign.

Video: http://youtu.be/6rz6VD0n6Yc

Earlier, the audience was welcomed by Mr. Navnit Shukla, coordinator of AAP- New England, who helped organize the event and was one of the first people in India to join the AAP. Mr. Shukla was active in the movement right from the time of the Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement and gave a rousing speech about the significance of this political moment and led the audience in call-and-response slogans of ‘Vande Mataram‘ and ‘Ladenge, Jeetenge

In the spirited discussion that followed the documentary screening, audience members expressed frustration with the current political system especially the deep nexus between corporations and the government but held out hope that this would be a turning point for the country. Ms. Hardeep Mann, a resident of Cambridge, shared a sentiment that was felt throughout the room. ‘AAP has for the first time in this country given common people a powerful voice on the national stage”, she said. Other participants expressed the view that for the first time in their life they felt connected to politics and that they were being involved in shaping the future of their society.

Dr. Aman Karla addresses the audience. Seated in the first row is Mr. Navnit Shukla, coordinator of AAP-New England.

Dr. Aman Karla, a physician in the Boston area who had just returned from traveling extensively in India visiting several AAP candidates said he viewed this moment as a historic ‘inflection point’ in Indian politics. He said that everyone involved in supporting AAP were laying a foundation for a qualitatively different ‘people’s politics’ in the country.
Boston University PhD student Suma Jaini introduces Rachna Dhingra to audience members

The meeting concluded with a recruitment and donation drive with over a dozen students and professionals signing up to support Ms. Dhingra’s campaign by pledging to join the calling and online fundraising campaigns.

Bhopal goes to the polls on April 17th, 2014. A victory for the AAP here would elevate the cause of Bhopal Gas Victims and the issue of industrial toxicity in national public discourse – no doubt a historic turning point for a burning issue that has suffered years of neglect.

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