Champa Devi Shukla is an Indian activist from

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It ...

. She was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2004, together with

Rashida Bee Rashida Bee is an Indian activist from Bhopal. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2004, together with Champa Devi Shukla. The two have struggled for justice for the surviving victims of the 1984 Bhopal disaster, when 20,00 ...

. Shukla and Bee have struggled for justice for those who survived the 1984

Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's ...

, when 20,000 people were killed, and organized campaigns and trials against the responsible company and its owners.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Champa Devi Shukla, along with

, led an international campaign seeking justice for the survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide Gas Tragedy in

. Starting with protests and rallies in India, Shukla took her fight against Union Carbide Company (UCC) and its partner, Dow Chemicals, to the streets of New York and other American cities.

Dow Chemicals The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

is today fighting a series of cases filed by Champa and other protesters. In 2002, they organised a 19-day hunger strike in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

, demanding that the former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson face a criminal trial in

Awards

Shukla, along with

Bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

, was awarded the 2004 Goldman Environmental Prize for bringing the Bhopal disaster to the international center stage.

Personal life

Shukla works at the Central Government Press, where she is a junior binder. She was married to a government employee who was killed by cancer in 1997. Two of Shukla's sons also died due to health problems as a result of the methyl isocyanate gas leak. Three other children are still alive, but none lead a normal life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukla, Champa Devi Activists from Madhya Pradesh People from Bhopal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian women activists Bhopal disaster Indian environmentalists Indian human rights activists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees