1984 gas tragedy | Padma Shri for Bhopal’s gritty crusader

Posthumous honour for Abdul Jabbar who fought relentlessly for the victims of the Union Carbide gas leak

Abdul Jabbar, a gas victim, waged a lonely and seemingly never-ending battle for the welfare of the survivors of 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. His relentless struggle for over three decades brought medical and economic rehabilitation to the scores of victims. He will be awarded the Padma Shri posthumously on Monday at the Darbar Hall at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

Jabbarbhai, as he was widely referred to in Bhopal, lived in penury. With his wife and three young children, he stayed in a one-room asbestos shed, sharing a common toilet with his younger brother’s family, . He turned down several offers of help from governments, politicians and friends from corporate houses, preferring to stay with the victims for whom he fought.

For over three decades since the deadly gas leak, agitating for medical and economic rehabilitation of the survivors, lodging complaints against corrupt officials and demanding a bed and medicine for a gas victim had become a daily routine for Jabbar.