Case Study Based Questions: Law and Social Justice | Social Studies (SST) Class 8 PDF Download

Case study 1

One reason why foreign companies come to India is for cheap labour. Wages that the companies pay to workers, say in the U.S.A., are far higher than what they have to pay to workers in poorer countries like India. For lower pay, companies can get longer hours of work. Additional expenses such as for housing facilities for workers are also fewer. Thus, companies can save costs and earn higher profits. Cost cutting can also be done by other more dangerous means. Lower working conditions including lower safety measures are used as ways of cutting costs. In the UC plant, every safety device was malfunctioning or was in short supply. Between 1980 and 1984, the work crew for the MIC plant was cut in half from 12 to 6 workers. The period of safety training for workers was brought down from 6 months to 15 days! The post of night-shift worker for the MIC plant was abolished.

Q1: Why do foreign companies come to India, and how does cheap labor play a significant role in their decision?
Ans: India attracts foreign businesses looking for inexpensive labour. Companies pay workers in India much lower wages compared to wages in wealthier nations like the U.S.A.Because of which, they can work fewer hours per week and spend less on extras like housing, which boosts their profits and reduces costs.

Q2: How do companies achieve cost-cutting, and what risks are associated with these measures?
Ans: Companies achieve cost-cutting by compromising on working conditions and safety measures. Lower safety standards and inadequate safety devices are used to save costs, posing serious risks to workers’ well-being and safety.

Q3: Can you provide an example of cost-cutting measures and their impact on safety at a particular plant?
Ans: At the UC plant, cost-cutting led to malfunctioning or inadequate safety devices. The work crew for the MIC plant was halved, and the safety training period for workers was drastically reduced. Such measures compromised worker safety.

Q4: How does the availability of cheap labor in countries like India impact the global economy?
Ans: The availability of cheap labor in countries like India attracts foreign investment, allowing companies to save costs and increase profits. This creates economic opportunities but can also lead to concerns about fair wages, worker rights, and exploitation.

Q5: Apart from cheap labor, what other factors attract foreign companies to invest in India?
Ans: Besides cheap labor, foreign companies are attracted to India due to its large consumer market, skilled workforce, improving infrastructure, favorable government policies, and potential for economic growth.

Case Study 2

As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not violated. What was the government doing when there were such blatant violations of safety standards in the UC plant? First, the safety laws were lax in India. Second, even these weak safety laws were not enforced. Government officials refused to recognise the plant as hazardous and allowed it to come up in a populated locality. When some municipal officials in Bhopal objected that the installation of an MIC production unit in 1978 was a safety violation, the position of the government was that the state needs the continued investment of the Bhopal plant, which provides jobs. It was unthinkable, according to them, to ask UC to shift to cleaner technology or safer procedures. Government inspectors continued to approve the procedures in the plant, even when repeated incidents of leaks from the plant made it obvious to everybody that things were seriously wrong.

Q1: How does Article 21 of the constitution impose responsibilities upon the government?
Ans: The government is responsible for ensuring the implementation  and safeguarding the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution, this includes protecting citizens from endangering situations and ensures their well-being.

Q2: What were the major concerns with safety laws in India, and state their contribution to the Bhopal gas tragedy?
Ans: Safety laws in India were found to be inadequate, lacking strict regulations and enforcement. These weak safety laws played a significant role in allowing the Bhopal plant to operate without proper safety measures, leading to the catastrophic gas tragedy.

Q3: Why did the government allow the UC plant to be set up in a populated locality, despite potential safety hazards?
Ans: Government officials were complacent in recognizing the plant as hazardous and permitted its establishment in a populated locality. Their stance was influenced by the need for continued investment and job opportunities, leading to a lack of concern for safety implications.

Q4: What was the government’s response when municipal officials objected to safety violations during the installation of the MIC production unit?
Ans: The government prioritized the continuation of investment and job creation in the Bhopal plant over safety concerns. They disregarded suggestions to shift to cleaner technology or safer procedures, thus neglecting safety for economic gains.

Q5: How did the actions of government inspectors exacerbate the situation, despite repeated incidents of leaks from the UC plant?
Ans: Despite evident signs of serious safety issues with repeated leaks, government inspectors continued to approve the plant’s procedures, displaying negligence and overlooking potential risks, which ultimately contributed to the disaster.

Case study 3

In 1984, there were very few laws protecting the environment in India, and the there was hardly any enforcement of these laws. The environment was treated as a ‘free’ entity and any industry could pollute the air and water without any restrictions. Whether it was our rivers, air, groundwater – the environment was being polluted and the health of people disregarded. Thus, not only was UC a beneficiary of lower safety standards, it didn’t have to spend any money to clean up the pollution. In the U.S.A., this is a necessary part of the production process. The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environment to the forefront. Several thousands of persons who were not associated with the factory in any way were greatly affected because of the poisonous gases leaked from the plant. This made people realise that the existing laws, though weak, only covered the individual worker and not persons who might be injured due to industrial accidents.

Q1: State the condition of environmental protection laws in India during 1984?
Ans: In 1984, there were very few laws safeguarding the environment in India, and the Administration was poor because of which enforcement of laws was minimal.Without any restrictions, industries could freely pollute the air and water, which resulted in severe environmental degradation and a disregard for public health.

Q2: What advantages did the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal experience as a result of the absence of environmental regulations?
Ans: The UC plant was able to take advantage of lower safety requirements and save money by avoiding the need to clean up pollution, which is a necessary step in the manufacturing process in more regulated nations like the U.S.A.

Q3: How did Bhopal disaster significantly shook and impacted environmental awareness in India?
Ans:  The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environmental pollution to the forefront. The leakage of poisonous gases from the plant not only affected factory workers but also thousands of individuals unrelated to the factory. This tragedy raised public awareness about the weak existing laws that only covered individual workers and not those affected by industrial accidents.

Q4: Why were people beyond the factory workers affected by the Bhopal gas leak, and what does this indicate about the limitations of existing environmental laws?
Ans: The Bhopal gas leak affected not only the factory workers but also people who had no connection to the plant. This highlighted the inadequacy of existing environmental laws, as they did not extend protection to those harmed by industrial accidents beyond the workforce.

Q5: What changes in India’s environmental protection policies resulted from the Bhopal disaster?
Ans: The Bhopal tragedy made India realise it needed to review its approaches to environmental protection. The incident brought home how urgent it is to tighten environmental regulations and their application in order to protect both workers and the general public from the negative effects of industrial activity.