America’s Union Carbide Corporation and Bhopal Disaster: Study in the Light of Public Relations Before and After the Incidence

Abstract

This study tries to understand the Bhopal disaster (aka Bhopal Gas Tragedy) in the light of public relation and the role played by Union Carbide Corporation in the Bhopal disaster which resulted in the death of over 3 000 people and 15 000 were injured during the disaster. This case shocked the entire nation and nobody had ever imagined that an industrial accident could be that deadly and venomous. The researcher is trying to understand the incidence from the perspective of public relations and how Union Carbide played its role in the light of public relations. This study is trying to understand that how Union Carbide would have made a difference to its image if they would have responsibly used public relations for its better international image and social responsibility in India. Bhopal Gas Tragedy was an important case for understanding crisis and this case also highlighted that how PR could have been used for handling the situation and for managing relations with people. This case was the talk of the town as thousands were affected and it was a national casualty. This case raised many issues pertaining to Management and people and it also underlined that improved management could have led to better treatment of the case.

Keywords

• public relations
• social responsibility
• crisis communication
• bhopal disaster
• union carbide corporation