My Vote Counts

"Here's one for kids who find Indian democracy a little trying, especially to understand ... So, what you kids have here is a very reader-friendly book with very easy-on-the-eye illustrations. The information and the style are very easy to understand, just perfect if you're trying to get the hang of democracy."
– November 1999, The New Indian Express

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

"Bhopal Gas Tragedy is a lucid but relentless narrative of possibly the worst disaster in human history. It is also an exhaustive and updated compendium of information on the complex causes and the continuing aftermath of the tragic events of December 1984. This volume, part of the In Focus series, targets young people who are the threshold of their careers. This compelling and user-friendly book ... will leave both young and adult readers with a horrified, yet clear-headed
and critical sense of how 'large companies, social systems and government agencies operate' together to cause a human tragedy which can be understood in rational and political terms. At a time when civil society seems to be particularly endangered in India, this book reminds its readers that information is power and obliviousness can be inhuman."
– January 2003, The Telegraph

"The pictures by Raghu Rai powerfully evoke the unbearable magnitude of suffering for posterity. Written as a blow-by-blow account and dovetailed with explanations about DDT, as well as maps of other Asian toxic hot zones, this well-researched and lucidly written book is a must buy to remind us never to forget and to familiarise our young with this horror."
– December 2002, Outlook

"By retelling the story, Bhopal Gas Tragedy aims at disturbing the young among us in their sleep. This is not just an essay on the suffering of the victims; it talks about their dignity, which has been denied to them. The book captures the mood ...
   The book is a ready reference of what was happening in Bhopal: before, during and after that deadly night ...The photographs by Raghu Rai add depth to the book. If you thought you could escape reading the grisly story, sorry, the photographs will haunt you." 
– December 2002, The Week

"Suroopa Mukherjee and her editors have done a fine job in bringing out the book. Wading through all that information on the disaster and attempting to arrive on what is suitable to be presented
to the young, must have been a tremendous effort. But the end result is simple and informative,
even for the adult reader... This book is a must-read for teachers and students, and can be recommended as additional reading material for the student of the recommended age group." 
– December 2002, Madrasplus

"Bhopal Gas Tragedy deals with the issue in a factual by humane way, neither over-dramatising nor over-simplifying. The language would appeal to both children and older readers ... It's a short book, but the message stays with you long after you've put it down." 
– December 2002, The Hindu

Mukherjee's book tries to make sense in 50 pages of this mountain of documentation and present it in a starkly simple manner." 
– December 2002, timesofindia.com

"The retelling starts from the stark cover, with its searching set of 11 questions, to make out, across 48 pages, a strong case for preventing 'a Bhopal' from happening again ... Adding value to the publication are the illustrations, black and white photographs, box items on 'toxic hotspots' and charts."
– January 2003, The Hindu Young World

"Written in lucid language, this book is arranged in an interesting manner ... Suroopa has nicely captured the complexity of events in an easy (not simplified) language to convince her young readers. 
– January 2003, Frontier

"Suroopa's book could prove useful in this (criminal liability) area by enhancing the learning curve of activists in the non-governmental sector. That's an area where a lot of learning needs to take place, given the fact that emotion cannot be a substitute for logic and reason based on on hard data . . .
          In conclusion, a word about production values. The book is pleasing to the eye, its look enhanced by Raghu Rai's inimitable photographs and a simple layout. More important, though, is Tulika's role in focusing on issues like the Bhopal gas tragedy. The space for 'other' or 'alternative' media in a sea of 'infotainment' that tends to institutionalise the consumerist values of globalisation needs to be assiduously protected, nurtured and widened to put across the message that alternatives are possible, especially the alternative of placing people before profits, of treating humans as individuals who think and bleed, not as pawns or cogs in a production system.
          Tulika's 'In Focus' series is an attempt in this direction and the group is doing it in style. And style is necessary, because most activist literature is shoddy in appearance, usually because of a lack of resources, but also because of a lack of expertise and professionalism in this area. Tulika is one among a handful of publishers that is professionalising and widening the space for alternative media.
– December 2003, EPW Book Reviews