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{{Infobox person
| name = Abdul Jabbar Khan
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1957|06|01}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2019|11|14|1957|06|01}}
| death_place = [[Bhopal]], Madhya Pradesh
| known_for = Activism for [[Bhopal disaster|Bhopal Gas Disaster]] victims
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]
}}
'''Abdul Jabbar Khan''' (1 June 1957 – 14 November 2019)<ref name=":7" /> was an activist who fought for the victims of [[Bhopal disaster|Bhopal Gas Disaster]]. Himself a victim of the gas leak, he devoted decades of his life, up until his death, towards seeking justice for the victims by fighting for their fair treatment and rehabilitation.

A [[The Guardian|Guardian]] editorial called him "The most effective campaigner for the victims of the worst industrial accident in world history".<ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=2011-07-18|title=In praise of… Abdul Jabbar|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/jul/18/in-praise-of-abdul-jabbar-bhopal|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref> [[Siddhartha Deb]] described his activism as being slow and stubborn. Owing to Jabbar's charisma, approachability and ability to interact with common people, he enjoyed popular support and deep local roots.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Deb|first=Siddhartha|title=The Beautiful and the Damned: Life in the New India|publisher=Penguin Books India|year=2011|isbn=9780670085965|location=India|chapter=Introduction}}</ref>

The Indian government awarded him the fourth-highest civilian award, [[Padma Shri]], posthumously in 2020.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2020-01-25|title=Bhopal Gas tragedy activist Abdul Jabbar awarded Padma Shri posthumously|url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/bhopal-gas-tragedy-activist-abdul-jabbar-awarded-padma-shri-posthumously20200125225542/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=ANI News|language=en}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Jabbar came from a poor Muslim family which moved to Bhopal when he was one year old.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Basu|first=Amrita|date=1994-06-01|title=Bhopal revisited: The view from below|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.1994.10416147|journal=Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars|volume=26|issue=1-2|pages=3–20|doi=10.1080/14672715.1994.10416147|issn=0007-4810|doi-access=free}}</ref> He worked in the construction business, responsible for digging borewells.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Krishnan|first=Vidya|date=2009-11-29|title=Bhopal,25 years on|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/print/bhopal-25-years-on/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Mehta|first=Nikita|date=2014-12-02|title=From gas tragedy survivor to activist|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/3qEedUPB4iIvbOP0O7ud8O/From-gas-tragedy-survivor-to-activist.html|access-date=2021-06-16|website=mint|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Rehman Alavi|first=Shams Ur|title=Crusader for Victims: The Truth of Bhopal Gas Tragedy and its Aftermath-Part III|url=http://www.anindianmuslim.com/2009/12/crusader-for-victims-truth-of-bhopal.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Dixit|first=Rakesh|date=2019-11-17|title=Abdul Jabbar's Struggle for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims Has Lessons for Us All|url=https://thewire.in/rights/abdul-jabbar-obituary|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=The Wire}}</ref>

== Activism ==
On the intervening night of 2–3 December 1984, Jabbar was awakened by the odour of lethal [[methyl isocyanate]] gas emanating from the [[Union Carbide India Limited|Union Carbide]] plant around 2 kilometers from his parents' home in Rajendra Nagar, Bhopal. He rushed his mother to a safe place 40 kilometers away. Upon returning to the city, he saw dead bodies lined up on the roadside. He started voluntarily working among the victims, helping people get treatment at the state hospital and taking bodies for postmortem.<ref name=":3" /> He shifted his complete attention toward activism and his business shut down.<ref name=":4" /> As a result of the gas leak, he suffered from lung fibrosis and his vision got diminished. Many of his family members were killed by the gas leak and its after-effects.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Anees|first=Javed|date=2019-12-01|title=अब्दुल जब्बार: भोपाल गैस पीड़ितों के संघर्ष को समर्पित जीवन|url=http://thewirehindi.com/102826/remembering-bhopal-s-social-activist-abdul-jabbar/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=The Wire - Hindi|language=Hindi}}</ref>

In 1987, Jabbar set up the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan (BGPMUS) or ''Bhopal Gas-Affected Women’s Enterprise Organization'', also referred to as ''Sangathana'', a grassroots organization composed mostly of women, which has been at the forefront of struggles against the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which owned the pesticide plant resulting in the infamous gas leak. The advocacy group consists of gas survivors and widowed women rendered destitute by the tragedy. They have been involved in every legal initiative seeking justice for the victims and have consistently sought fair compensation, medical rehabilitation, prosecution of UCC officials. Jabbar, the convener of the group, was responsible for delivering public statements, negotiating with the governments and making decisions about the group's strategies. Dismayed by the meagre amount of food compensation being provided to the victims, Jabbar started his first campaign seeking employment for them with the slogan “''Khairat nahi, rozgar chahiye'' (We don’t require charity, we want jobs)”.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> They were successful in setting up an economic rehabilitation centre called Swabhimaan Kendra (self-respect centre) which provides training in sewing, making stuffed toys, zardozi strips and bags.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" />

In 1988, Jabbar filed a petition in the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] seeking interim relief for the victims until they receive their final compensation.<ref name=":5" /> In 1989, the Supreme Court announced a final settlement proposal in which the UCC will pay the government $470 million, as opposed to the initial demand of $3 billion, and be discharged of all civil and criminal liability. Dissatisfied by the meagre amount, 3500 BGPMUS members traveled to Delhi where they organized widespread protests for months. There were also reports of police violence against the women. The protests elicited widespread public support and the newly elected central government initiated a rehearing of the settlement based on the review filed by BGPMUS. The Supreme Court ordered the Madhya Pradesh government to pay a monthly sum of 200 rupees to 5,00,000 survivors for three years. Over the years, the organization organized several large scale demonstrations against faulty distribution of relief and inadequate medical care, attracting thousands of supporters.<ref name=":2" /> After a decade long struggle, the Supreme Court ordered the government to disburse a sum of 1,503 crore among the 5,70,000 victims.<ref name=":5" />

The organization formed the major organized opposition to BJP's 1990 anti-encroachment drive in Bhopal emphasizing that the slum demolitions affected many victims of the gas leak.<ref name=":2" /> According to Jabbar, BGPMUS' legal intervention allowed 10,000 gas-affected families to stay where they were.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1994-06-01|title=Interview with Jabbar Khan|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.1994.10416148|url-status=live|journal=Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars|volume=26|issue=1-2|pages=14–17|doi=10.1080/14672715.1994.10416148|issn=0007-4810|archive-url=https://archive.today/SBHjV|archive-date=2021-06-15|via=Taylor & Francis|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Jabbar is described as an old-school activist. His organization has little to zero online presence and Jabbar refused to give interviews in English, which limited their press coverage. He didn't take any foreign donations and used to rely solely on volunteer contributions.<ref name="Nitasha Kaul">{{cite journal|author=Munsi|first=Pallabi|date=August 2011|title=Abdul Jabbar: That Unblinking Eye|url=http://site.nitashakaul.com/uploads/kindle_magazine_august_2011_book_1.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Kindle|location=India|publisher=Ink Publications|volume=2|issue=5|pages=26–27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042310/http://site.nitashakaul.com/uploads/kindle_magazine_august_2011_book_1.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04|access-date=2021-06-16}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|author-link=Hartosh Singh Bal|date=2009-11-29|title=Bhopal: The Other Story|url=https://openthemagazine.com/voices/bhopal-the-other-story/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Open Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Khan|first=Mohd Ismail|date=2014-11-30|title=Bhopal – Three decades of struggle: Abdul Jabbar: an underrated champion|url=http://twocircles.net/2014nov30/1417363807.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=TwoCircles|language=en-US}}</ref> Jabbar had a paucity of funds and oftentimes his expenses were paid by his friends.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /> He convened weekly meetings at the Yadgar-e-Shahjahani Park to keep the victims organized and memory of the tragedy alive. The organization was primarily funded by the monthly 5 rupee contributions of its members and the sale of embroidered clothes and stuffed toys made by the women.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Nitasha Kaul" />

== Awards and Honours ==
The Government of India awarded him with [[Padma Shri]] in Social Work, posthumously in 2020.<ref name=":1" /> The [[Madhya Pradesh]] government conferred him with the state's highest award, Indira Gandhi Award for Social Service in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sharma|first=N D|date=2019-12-22|title=MP's State Award presented to Abdul Jabbar posthumously with little grace|url=https://enewsroom.in/bhopal-gas-tragedy-award-abdul-jabbar/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|website=eNewsroom India|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabbar Khan, Abdul}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Activists from Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Indian human rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian women's rights activists]]
[[Category:Bhopal disaster]]

Abdul Jabbar Khan activist - Revision history

->Rlink2 Bot at 23:15, 5 January 2022