Slow Violence and the Gas Peedit in Neoliberal India.

This article examines the enduring social and environmental destruction resulting from the 1984 Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) gas leak in Bhopal, India, through the lens of "slow violence," a concept describing gradual, often invisible harm over time. Drawing on interviews with survivors (referred to as the Gas Peedit), activists, and various reports, it argues that the neoliberal turn in Indian governance since the 1990s—characterized by market liberalization and right-wing Hindutva politics—has exacerbated and obscured the long-term health, social, and environmental consequences of the disaster. Despite immediate deaths and injuries, ongoing contamination of soil and groundwater continues to cause chronic illnesses, congenital disabilities, and reproductive health problems among marginalized communities, while official denial and inadequate remediation efforts persist. The article highlights how neoliberal policies have prioritized foreign investment and economic growth over justice and care for affected populations, limiting effective responses to this protracted socioenvironmental crisis.