I worked with a law researcher from the University of London as both an assistant and translator. He was interested in the legal aspects of the Coca-Cola issue. Having lived in India for over a year, he knew some Hindi, but not well enough to conduct interviews on his own. He is the president of an NGO called Glocality International, which has offices in London and New Delhi. I worked with him for three days in Varanasi.

Tyler was also involved in some high-profile international law cases. For instance, he and a colleague had sued seven Chinese ministers, including the President and Prime Minister, for the deaths of over a million people in Tibet. He explained that the case was registered in Spain because no other country was willing to accept a case against the Chinese government in their courts.

During our time together, we interviewed numerous villagers, Nandlal Master, and several government officials, including the Regional Pollution Control Officer, Ground Water Authority officials, and District Village Committee officers. Tyler was particularly impressed with how Nandlal and his team were leading their movement. Given that Tyler had only three days and wanted to maximize his interviews, we spent one night at Lok Samiti’s office to speak with Nandlal and his colleagues.

We encountered difficulties with the Regional Pollution Control Officer, who believed his English was sufficient to communicate with Tyler, despite Tyler’s advance notice that I would be assisting. The officer often misunderstood Tyler’s questions but remained overly confident in his responses, attempting to obscure the issues. Tyler was determined to gather as much information as possible.

The situation escalated when Tyler used a voice recorder without informing the officer, leading to a heated exchange. The officer, upon discovering the recording, became hostile and threatened us with police intervention. Tyler responded by stating that he would sue the Pollution Control Department in the Supreme Court of India for corruption related to the Coca-Cola issue. He warned that if the Supreme Court confirmed the corruption, the officers could face jail time, which only intensified the officer’s anger.

Eventually, we left the office, laughing about the tense encounter with the irate officer. It was quite amusing to see a PCS officer so angry but unable to act against us. In contrast, the District Village Committee Officer was very engaged and eager to discuss the Coca-Cola issue. He shared extensive information about the situation and the role of Village Committees, and he promised to provide all necessary documents and support. He was the first government official I had met who seemed genuinely interested in talking to people, possibly due to his interest in conversing with a foreigner.