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	{{Infobox book		{{Infobox book
	\| name = Five Past Midnight in Bhopal		\| name = Five Past Midnight in Bhopal

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Five Past Midnight in Bhopal
| image = File:Five_Past_Midnight_in_Bhopal.jpg
| caption =
| alt = Cover
| author = [[Dominique Lapierre]] and [[Javier Moro]]
| title_orig = Il était minuit cinq à Bhopal ([[French language|French]])
| working_title =
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = India, France
| language = English
| series =
| subject =
| genre = [[Non-fiction]], [[History]]
| published = 2001 ([[Hachette Book Group USA|Grand Central Publishing]])
| media_type = Print
| pages = 432pp ''(Hardcover)''
| awards =
| isbn = 9780446530880
| oclc =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
'''''Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster''''' is a book by [[Dominique Lapierre]] and [[Javier Moro]] based on the 1984 [[Bhopal disaster]].<ref name=official>{{cite web|title=Five past Midnight in Bhopal The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster|url=http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dominique-lapierre/five-past-midnight-in-bhopal/9780446530880/|publisher=[[Hachette Book Group USA]]|accessdate=21 May 2014}}</ref> It was first published in 1997<ref name=restrain>{{cite news|title=Court restrains publishing of book|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/15/stories/2009071556320500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725034026/http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/15/stories/2009071556320500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 July 2009|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=15 July 2009}}</ref> and the English edition was published in 2001.<ref name=outlookreview/>

==Overview==
The authors researched the book by living in Bhopal for three years in the late 1990s. They interviewed people from India and United States, who were witnesses and participants. The book starts by following a group of rural immigrants who traveled to Bhopal to escape the drought in their own villages and settled in the slums. The books also chronicles the invention of American firm Union Carbide's chemical pesticide, [[Carbaryl|Sevin]], which used [[methyl isocyanate]] and [[1-Naphthol|α-naphthol]].<ref name=bmj>{{cite journal|title=Five past Midnight in Bhopal|journal=[[British Medical Journal]]|date=7 Sep 2002|author=Birte Twisselmann|pmc=1124076|page=552|volume=325|issue=7363|doi=10.1136/bmj.325.7363.552}}</ref>

The book details the disaster which killed between 15000 and 30000. The narration follows characters like Padmini, an [[Oriya people|Oriya]] girl, who was to be married the night of the disaster in the slums, and Sister Felicity, a missionary from [[Scotland]].<ref name=outlookreview>{{cite news|title=City of survivors|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/book-review-it-was-five-past-midnight-in-bhopal-by-dominique-lapierre-and-javier-moro/1/231130.html|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=[[Outlook India]]|date=10 September 2001|author=Mahesh Mathai}}</ref><ref name=bmj/><ref name=onearth>{{cite news|title=Reviews: Five past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster|url=http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/02fal/reviews.asp|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=[[Natural Resources Defense Council#OnEarth Magazine|OnEarth Magazine]]|date=Fall 2002}}</ref> The book also describes other characters like a tradesman who hired tents to offer some protection against the poison cloud and the railway station warden who tried to stop a train from halting there.<ref name=bmj/>

The final chapter follows the aftermath of the disaster. It tracks the people involved in the event, notably [[Warren Anderson (American businessman)|Warren Anderson]], the chairman of Union Carbide at the time, and Warren Woomer, the supervisor of the factory in Bhopal.<ref name=bmj/>

==Film rights==
In September 2001, it was reported that director [[Oliver Stone]] was in negotiation with Dominique Lapierre for film rights to the book.<ref name=movie1>{{cite news|title=Oliver Stone tackles Indian gas leak disaster|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/sep/07/news1|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 Sep 2001}}</ref>

==Defamation lawsuit in India==
In July 2009, a [[Jabalpur]] court restrained the publication and sales of book in India, in an order directed at the authors and the local publishers of the book, Full Circle Publication. The order came after a former [[Director General of Police]] of [[Madhya Pradesh]], Swaraj Puri, filed a [[defamation]] lawsuit for allegedly carrying defamatory remarks attributed to him.<ref name=restrain/> Puri was the [[Police Commissioner]] of Bhopal on the night of the disaster. In a joint statement, authors said the portions objected to by Puri had been substantiated by Moti Singh, who then the [[District collector|Collector]] of Bhopal and to whom Puri reported during the event, in his own 2008 book called ''Unfolding The Betrayal Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy''.<ref name=courtstops>{{cite news|title=Court stops sale of book on Bhopal gas tragedy|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-court-stops-sale-of-book-on-bhopal-gas-tragedy-1280773|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=[[DNA India]]|date=9 August 2009}}</ref>

Puri's lawyer, Rajesh Pancholi, stated that a legal noticed had been sent to the authors in 2002. But added that the legal proceedings were delayed because the authors lived abroad. He said that initially a demand of {{currency|10|USD}} million had been sent to the authors via email as compensation for the damage to Puri's reputation. Later, the sum was doubled because there was no response. He also said that Puri was more interested in a public apology than any monetary compensation.<ref name=courtstops/>

Pradeep Bakshi, the lawyer for [[Delhi]]-based Full Circle Publication, said that it was primarily a monetary issue. A spokesman from publishers denied that the book got any sales boost from the lawsuit, but alleged that the lawsuit was aimed to harass as it was filed in Jabalpur and their lawyer had to travel there. Another spokesman noted that Moti Singh's book was more damaging to Puri's reputation, yet no case was filed against him.<ref name=courtstops/>

On 8 October 2009, [[Madhya Pradesh High Court]] lifted the restrain order from the lower courts, after hearing a petition from the authors and publisher which stated that there was no derogatory content about Puri in the book.<ref name=HC>{{cite news|title=MP HC stays ban on book ''Five past Midnight in Bhopal''|url=http://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?346c3ed4-4fed-467a-8c98-cc961bf49989|accessdate=21 May 2014|newspaper=IndLaw News|date=8 Oct 2009|agency=[[United News of India]] (UNI)|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130811144507/http://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?346c3ed4-4fed-467a-8c98-cc961bf49989|archivedate=11 August 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain]]'', a 2014 movie on the disaster
*''Bhopal Express, 2000 film by Mahesh Mathai''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:2001 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Bhopal disaster]]

Five past Midnight in Bhopal - Revision history

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