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Ameer Shahul

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Ameer Shahul
Born
Pangode, Kerala, India
EducationSteinbeis-Hochschule Berlin (MBA), Cochin University of Science and Technology (MSc), St John's College, Anchal, University of Kerala (BSc)
Alma materGreenpeace. Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Nissan Motors, IBM[1]
Occupation(s)Author, environmentalist, public policy leader, startup investor
Notable work
Websitewww.ameershahul.com

Ameer Shahul is an author and environmentalist who is known for his work against Unilever in Kodaikanal mercury poisoning. His first non-fiction book titled Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal was published by Pan Macmillan in 2023.[2] The book was longlisted for the prestigious Tata Literature Live! Literary Awards 2023 under the Best Non-Fiction First Book category. [3][4] He has been involved with green movements in India since 2002 ranging from ship-breaking to industrial pollution and campaigns against pesticides and climate change.

Environmentalist

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Shahul worked with Greenpeace since 2002 on a campaign against mercury pollution by Unilever in Kodaikanal, industrial pollution committed by the FMCG company in the hill station of Tamil Nadu, known as Kodaikanal mercury poisoning.[5] He led the public affairs groups and ex-workers to force the company collect 290 tonnes of mercury waste disposed off in and around the factory site and send back to the United States for permanent retirement in 2003.[6][7] This action of sending waste from a developing country to a developed country was widely hailed by the media as ‘reverse dumping'.[8] Shahul along with campaigners like Navroz Mody led environmental and local community groups in lobbying for remediation of the site,[9] and initiated an investigation by the Department of Atomic Energy of Government of India, which found that the mercury levels in the atmosphere of Kodaikanal was up to 2640 times more than what is found in normal conditions.[10][11][12] Shahul also led a team of activists and volunteers to spook the annual general body meeting of Hindustan Unilever in Mumbai in 2003 and 2004.[13]

He also campaigned against the practices of ship breaking in Indian shores for hazardous waste disposal,[14][15] and against ground water exploitation and waste dumping by Coca-Cola in Kerala known as Plachimada Coca-Cola struggle.[16][17] He also brought to notice the worst incident of a state owned company continuing to manufacturing the globally banned DDT.[18]

Author

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In 2023, Pan Macmillan published his book titled, Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal.[19][20] Deccan Herald described the book as 'a blunt and bold account of a tragedy',[21] while Malayala Manorama termed it as the gripping take on an industrial tragedy, and of green resistance.[22] Business Line described the book as 'a good pointer to be on our guard and save the environment.'[23]

The Financial Express (India) called it a case study on corporate and regulatory failures,[24] while The New Indian Express described it as an exceptional book that offers a comprehensive and compelling account of not just the disaster, but also its aftermath.[25] The Indian Express described the book as a ‘crisp cinematic account of corporate greed and the struggle for justice in India.’[26] Describing the book as an ‘essential read', Open (Indian magazine) said ‘that it took Unilever more than 15 years to compensate affected workers is a reminder of the humongous costs of such mistakes’.[27]

Hindustan Times said “This terrifying cautionary tale of corporate negligence is essential reading”. In its review, the paper said Heavy Metal, which recounts the struggle for environmental justice in India, also shows how elusive it is despite decades of social activism. “With activism having been throttled in recent times, corporate negligence of environmental regulations may remain lax. By telling the story of this disaster in a compelling way, Shahul clearly hopes to make readers vigilant about capturing future corporate manipulations of the system when it comes to environmental obligations,” it said.[28]

In his interview with The Hindu Sunday Magazine Ameer Shahul is quoted as saying 'industrial corporations, such as Unilever, can be held truly accountable only with the help of science and data.'[29]

In an interview to The Wire (India) he said 'both goodness and malice are inherent in humans. People prefer one over the other based on their culture, upbringing, and circumstances'.[30]

In his interview to Down to Earth (magazine) Shahul said, "Factories dealing with hazardous raw materials or generating hazardous bye-products require close monitoring by the regulators, assisted by the local voluntary groups. Periodic audit of raw materials and hazardous waste should be made fool proof and should be done with the participation of the local community to ensure erring officials are not taken for a ride by factory management. Countries that are selling raw materials to other countries have a responsibility to take back the waste generated out of the raw materials."[31]

In another interview to Article-14 he said, "In our quest for ‘economic progress’, we compromise many things, and the easiest of them are the environment and natural resources. That is a pattern we keep seeing. Our country is dotted with similar examples, whether industrial pollution cases or pollution caused by pesticides and chemicals, and so on and so forth. As long as people chase what we call ‘economic progress’, we all become very insular, and self-centric."[32]

In an interview to BooksFirst, he is quoted as saying "Not all solutions can be balanced. What is fair to one may not be fair to the other. In cases like this (Kodaikanal mercury poisoning) where an atrocity has been committed, whether wittingly or unwittingly, the resolution can side with the victims. Therefore, the resolution is to support and recompense up to the last victim. As far as the larger crime against the ecosystem is concerned, there should be remediation of the land, soil and air as well as work to rejuvenate the last flora and fauna in the ecosystem that faces threat to its existence due to the toxic heavy metal."[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Personal Website of Ameer Shahul". Ameer Shahul. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  2. ^ Macmillan India, Pan (2023-02-09). "Heavy Metal". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  3. ^ LiteratureLive, Tata (2023-10-09). "TATA LITERATURE LIVE! LITERARY AWARDS LONGLISTS FOR 2023 ANNOUNCED". Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  4. ^ In, Scroll (2023-10-09). "Tata Literature Live announces longlists for its fiction, nonfiction, and business books awards". Scroll.in. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ^ Lawrence M, Salinger. "Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime, Volume 1". Sage Publications. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  6. ^ Saritha Rai (May 7, 2003). "Hazardous Waste Is Shipped From India to U.S. Recycling Plant". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  7. ^ Saritha Rai (May 8, 2003). "Activists hail 'reverse dumping' as India sends waste to U.S." International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014.
  8. ^ "India sends hazardous waste back to US". Times of India. Apr 16, 2003. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  9. ^ Fernando, A.C. (2010). Business Ethics And Corporate Governance. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. p. 9.14. ISBN 9788131734629.
  10. ^ D. Karunasagar; M.V. Balarama Krishna; Y. Anjaneyulu; J. Arunachalam (September 2006). "Studies of mercury pollution in a lake due to a thermometer factory situated in Kodaikkanal" (PDF). Environmental Pollution. 143 (1): 153–158. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2005.10.032. PMID 16412540. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  11. ^ "Closed Unilver factory source of Mercury Pollution". Deccan Herald. January 17, 2004. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  12. ^ "Hindustan Lever Limited Found Guilty again". Greenpeace. February 4, 2004. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  13. ^ "Greenpeace spooks HLL AGM; Demand Public Apology for Kodaikanal Mercury disaster". Greenpeace. August 4, 2004. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  14. ^ TNN, Times of India (2003-11-24). "Asbestos to be cleaned up before UK ship is broken". Times of India. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  15. ^ "Ban Kannur ship-breaking yard: Greenpeace". www.rediff.com. 2003-11-24. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  16. ^ Venugopal, P (Aug 7, 2003). "Tests Confirm Toxicity In Sludge From Coke Plant". The Hindu. Kochi.
  17. ^ "Red wrath for Coke in green Kerala". Domain.b. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  18. ^ Iype, George (Oct 10, 2003). "Eloor is one of the world's most toxic spots". Rediff.com. Kochi.
  19. ^ Times, of India (2023-03-26). "Mercury poisoning can affect generations to come, says Eric Solhiem". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  20. ^ Hindu, The (2023-03-26). "'Mercury may be present in Kodaikanal forest soil for centuries'". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  21. ^ Shahul, Ameer. "With Lichen and Moss as Allies". Deccanherald.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  22. ^ "Heavy Metal: A gripping take on an industrial tragedy, and of green resistance". Malayala Manorama. February 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  23. ^ Somasekar, M (2017-06-18). "Book review: Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  24. ^ "Kodaikanal's tragedy: From the lens of one incident, a case study on corporate and regulatory failures". The Financial Express. June 18, 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  25. ^ Parichcha, Mayank (2023-05-21). "Following the Toxic Trail". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  26. ^ Neelakantan, Murali (2023-06-18). "Heavy Metal is a crisp cinematic account of corporate greed and the struggle for justice in India". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  27. ^ NP, Ullekh (2017-06-18). "Toxic Truths: An investigation into the mercury poisoning of Kodaikanal". Open Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  28. ^ Sharma, Sudhirendar (October 7, 2023). "Review: Heavy Metal by Ameer Shahul". The Hindustan Times. New Delhii. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  29. ^ Gandhi, Divya (2023-03-26). "Kodaikanal one of Asia's mercury hotspots: Ameer Shahul". The Hindu. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  30. ^ Joseph, Joel (2023-02-24). "'Kodaikanal Mercury Poisoning Episode Has Lessons for Current, Future Generations'". The Wire. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  31. ^ Banerji, Nandita (2023-03-07). "'The regulator should monitor mercury in the air in Kodaikanal'". Down To Earth. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  32. ^ Iyer, Kavita (2023-04-07). "'We Sent 300 Tonnes Of Mercury Waste Back To The US. It Was A Milestone For Anti-Dumping Campaigns'". Article 14. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  33. ^ Kumar, Sameer (2023-03-06). "Heavy Metal: In Conversation with Ameer Shahul". Books First. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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