Just after midnight on December 3, 1984, a gas leak occurred at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. A vigorous chemical reaction inside a methyl isocyanate (MIC) storage tank, nicknamed the "Black Box", caused most of the material to vaporize and escape. Within days, over two thousand nearby residents were confirmed dead and tens of thousands exposed to toxic gases, which would cause them untold pain and health problems for years to come.

The Black Box of Bhopal is a highly researched work that will challenge many of the public's assumptions about the disaster. It reveals new documents related to the construction and operations of the MIC plant and the internal workings of Union Carbide Corporation and its Indian subsidiary. It also critically analyzes the Indian government investigation report about the postulated cause of the gas leak. Through extensive explanation of the plant's history, scientific studies of the residue from the tank, and several flaws in the subsequent government controlled investigation, a clearer understanding of the events will be revealed that may surprise many readers.

" This insightful book stretches from an explanation of how economic and political development in India contributed to the accident through the detailed chemistry involved.... The strength of D'Silva's book is the integration of original documentation...that demostrates just how complex the relationships were between Union Carbide; Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL), the subsidiary that operated the Bhopal plant; the Indian federal government and the local government.... D'Silva's book is an excellent Bhopal resource."

Book review by Ronald J. Willey, professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern University. Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society.

See the full review here

Democracy on Trial is just a food for thought for all those Indian people who think that for one way or the other, the country could not be built as per dreams of our leaders of pre-partition era. It is a fact that many of our stalwart leaders made a number of commitments for bringing those dreams into reality but unfortunately many of their dreams remained as dreams even up to this day. One of the dreams was that India would become a real democratic and secular country in the world in which every person would fully enjoy the individual, social, economic, cultural and religious freedom rights. But the long experience of more than half a century speaks other wise. Because many a times our leaders have taken stands which were absolutely undemocratic.

Democracy on Trialis therefore just a food for thought. It is neither exhaustive nor perfect in the real sense to contain all the experiences but I believe that even a small hint on a particular topic would invite many more questions for serious and detailed deliberations with a view to find a satisfactory answer and this is what democracy on trail is meant for.

It is for the readers to evaluate all those problems which our leadership has failed to respond. In a democracy it is the will of the people that should prevail and not the whims and fancies of a few leaders. The problems accumulated so far have become so unwieldy that unless the whole nation is prepared to meet the challenges the desired results can not be achieved.