In December 1984, a toxic gas leak from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killed thousands and injured many more. The disaster left long-term health, legal, and environmental consequences. It exposed the risks of industrial chemistry imposed on densely populated urban communities.

Bhopal generated Hindi, Urdu, English, and activist poetry of breath, blindness, corporate power, and survival. Its legacy also shaped Indian environmental writing more broadly, making poisoned air and damaged bodies central images of late twentieth-century protest.