Ameer Shahul

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)
OccupationsAuthor, Environmentalist
Notable work
Websitewww.ameershahul.com

Ameer Shahul is an Indian 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.[1] Heavy Metal won the '2024 Book of the Year' award from the Green Literature Festival, under the 'Green Business' category. [2] The book was longlisted for the prestigious Tata Literature Live! Literary Awards 2023 under the Best Non-Fiction First Book category. [3][4] His second book Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India (Macmillan), dealing with India's two centuries of vaccine research and vaccination journey, released in August 2025,[5][6] was shortlisted for the Atta Galatta best non-fiction book award of the Bangalore Literature Festival, 2025.[7]

His third book The Silent Syndicate: How Big Finance is Destroying India's Healthcare was published by Hachette India in July 2026.[8] [9]

Environmentalist

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.[10] He led the public affairs groups and ex-workers to force the company collect 290 tonnes of mercury waste disposed in and around the factory site and send back to the United States for permanent retirement in 2003.[11][12] Shahul along with campaigner Navroz Mody led environmental and local community groups in lobbying for remediation of the site,[13] 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 normal conditions.[14][15][16] 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, raising the issue.[17]

He campaigned against the practices of ship breaking in Indian shores for hazardous waste disposal by Western shipping industry,[18][19] and against ground water exploitation and heavy metal waste dumping by Coca-Cola in Kerala known as Plachimada Coca-Cola struggle.[20][21] He also brought to notice the worst incident of a state owned company continuing to manufacturing the globally banned DDT.[22]

Author

In 2023, Pan Macmillan published his book titled, Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal.[23][24] Deccan Herald described the book as 'a blunt and bold account of a tragedy',[25] while Malayala Manorama termed it as the gripping take on an industrial tragedy, and of green resistance.[26] Business Line described the book as 'a good pointer to be on our guard and save the environment.'[27]

The Financial Express (India) called it a case study on corporate and regulatory failures,[28] 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.[29] The Indian Express described the book as a ‘crisp cinematic account of corporate greed and the struggle for justice in India.’[30] 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’.[31]

In 2025, Macmillan Publishers released his second book titled, Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India. [32] The book received positive reviews from critics and public health experts. The Indian Journal of Medical Research described the book as "compelling, meticulously researched, and highly readable", praising its evidence-based and historically grounded account of vaccination in India.[33]

The Hindu described the book as a "remarkable chronicle" of India's vaccine journey, noting that it captures the scientific, political and social forces that shaped the country's immunisation programme while making a complex subject accessible to general readers.[34] The Financial Express described the book as "a salient contribution to public health literature in India", saying Shahul "painstakingly" documents more than a century of vaccine history and weaves it into a coherent narrative that could become a reference for policymakers, public health practitioners and students of healthcare.[35]

Business Standard wrote that Shahul "does an admirable job of uncovering compelling" stories behind India's vaccination programme, calling the book "a fascinating portrait of a journey that has so far remained largely untold and overlooked".[36] The book was also noted for presenting India's vaccine history through the broader themes of science, public health, ethics and nation-building.[37]Open (Indian magazine) described Vaccine Nation as a meticulously researched chronicle of India's vaccine history that brings together science, politics and public health into a compelling narrative.[38]

The Tribune said the book offers readers interested in the moral, historical and political underpinnings of vaccination "insight and perspective".[39] Scroll.in wrote that the book tells "a broader story about Indian science itself", exploring how vaccine development was shaped by the intersection of health, politics and power.[40] Indian Pediatrics described the book as a comprehensive account of India's immunisation journey in a review published in the journal.[41] Shaastra called the book "a compelling story of how India emerged as the global hub of vaccines", praising its integration of scientific, political and historical narratives.[42]

Awards

  • Heavy Metal was longlisted for the Tata Literature Live! Literary Awards 2023 in the Best Non-Fiction First Book category.[44][45]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Macmillan India, Pan (9 February 2023). "Heavy Metal". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Green, Literature Festival (8 December 2024). "Book of the Year – Award Winners". Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  3. ↑ LiteratureLive, Tata (9 October 2023). "TATA LITERATURE LIVE! LITERARY AWARDS LONGLISTS FOR 2023 ANNOUNCED". Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  4. ↑ In, Scroll (9 October 2023). "Tata Literature Live announces longlists for its fiction, nonfiction, and business books awards". Scroll.in. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Shahul, Ameer (24 August 2025). Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India. Pan Macmillan India. ISBN 9789361133060. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Press Trust of India, PTI (3 September 2025). "From colonial trials to Covaxin: New book 'Vaccine Nation' traces India's immunisation journey". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "AG-BLF Book Prize 2025". Bangalore Literature Festival. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Silent Syndicate: How Big Finance Is Destroying India's Healthcare". Hachette India. Hachette India. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ameer Shahul's 'The Silent Syndicate' investigates global capital's role in India's healthcare". Press Trust of India. Press Trust of India. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Lawrence M, Salinger. "Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime, Volume 1". Sage Publications. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Saritha Rai (7 May 2003). "Hazardous Waste Is Shipped From India to U.S. Recycling Plant". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Saritha Rai (8 May 2003). "Activists hail 'reverse dumping' as India sends waste to U.S." International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Fernando, A.C. (2010). Business Ethics And Corporate Governance. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. p. 9.14. ISBN 9788131734629.
  14. ↑ 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 6 June 2019.
  15. ↑ "Closed Unilver factory source of Mercury Pollution". Deccan Herald. 17 January 2004. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Hindustan Lever Limited Found Guilty again". Greenpeace. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "Greenpeace spooks HLL AGM; Demand Public Apology for Kodaikanal Mercury disaster". Greenpeace. 4 August 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  18. ↑ TNN, Times of India (24 November 2003). "Asbestos to be cleaned up before UK ship is broken". Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Ban Kannur ship-breaking yard: Greenpeace". www.rediff.com. 24 November 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  20. ↑ Venugopal, P (7 August 2003). "Tests Confirm Toxicity In Sludge From Coke Plant". The Hindu. Kochi.
  21. ↑ "Red wrath for Coke in green Kerala". Domain.b. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  22. ↑ Iype, George (10 October 2003). "Eloor is one of the world's most toxic spots". Rediff.com. Kochi.
  23. ↑ Times, of India (26 March 2023). "Mercury poisoning can affect generations to come, says Eric Solhiem". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  24. ↑ Hindu, The (26 March 2023). "'Mercury may be present in Kodaikanal forest soil for centuries'". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  25. ↑ Shahul, Ameer. "With Lichen and Moss as Allies". Deccanherald.com. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Heavy Metal: A gripping take on an industrial tragedy, and of green resistance". Malayala Manorama. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  27. ↑ Somasekar, M (18 June 2017). "Book review: Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  28. ↑ "Kodaikanal's tragedy: From the lens of one incident, a case study on corporate and regulatory failures". The Financial Express. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  29. ↑ Parichcha, Mayank (21 May 2023). "Following the Toxic Trail". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  30. ↑ Neelakantan, Murali (18 June 2023). "Heavy Metal is a crisp cinematic account of corporate greed and the struggle for justice in India". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  31. ↑ NP, Ullekh (18 June 2017). "Toxic Truths: An investigation into the mercury poisoning of Kodaikanal". Open Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  32. ↑ Shahul, Ameer (2025). Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India. Pan Macmillan India. ISBN 9789361133060.
  33. ↑ Verma, Sanjay (2026). "Vaccine nation: How immunisation shaped India, Macmillan (Pan Macmillan India Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi) 2025. 487 pages". Indian Journal of Medical Research. 164 (1): 156. doi:10.25259/IJMR_612_2026.
  34. ↑ Rajagopal, Krishna (7 December 2025). "Book review of 'Vaccine Nation' by Ameer Shahul". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  35. ↑ Das, Soma (13 December 2025). "The shot that saves: Time travel across a century of India's vaccine story". The Financial Express. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  36. ↑ Bhatt, Neha (16 February 2026). "Vaccine Nation: Uncovering the fascinating story behind lifesaving jabs". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  37. ↑ "The nation that took a shot". The New Indian Express. 18 January 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  38. ↑ "Book Review: Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India". Open. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  39. ↑ Malhotra, Samir (23 November 2025). "Ameer Shahul's 'Vaccine Nation' chronicles India's immunisation story". The Tribune. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  40. ↑ Joseph, Joel P. (7 December 2025). "In a new book, Ameer Shahul shows how vaccine development isn't purely scientific". Scroll.in. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  41. ↑ Singh, Aaradhana (2026). "Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India". Indian Pediatrics. doi:10.1007/s13312-025-00247-7.
  42. ↑ Dixit, Rekha (November 2025). "Shots in the arm". Shaastra. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  43. ↑ "Book of the Year – Award Winners". Green Literature Festival. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  44. ↑ "TATA LITERATURE LIVE! LITERARY AWARDS LONGLISTS FOR 2023 ANNOUNCED". Tata Literature Live!. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  45. ↑ "Tata Literature Live announces longlists for its fiction, nonfiction, and business books awards". Scroll.in. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  46. ↑ "AG-BLF Book Prize 2025". Bangalore Literature Festival. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
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