Why crackers should be banned

Sadly, coercion in India is usually directed at soft targets, the law-abiding middle classes. We know that stubble burning is a serious cause of the pollution in North India, especially the National Capital Region, where crackers have been banned by the Supreme Court. We might, therefore, ask why they did not see it fit to ban stubble burning too. What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. Or should be.

But we are masters of double standards and doublespeak. If pollution is the reason for the banning of firecrackers, then why is the more dangerous and sustained pollution by farmers exempt? Diwali pollution lasts only for a few days, while stubble burning persists for months. Again, fireworks during Diwali are frowned upon. But why is it that just a couple of weeks after, on Guru Parv, observed as the birthday of Guru Nanak, there is little complaint over the night-long fireworks and crackers?

When it comes to secularists and do-gooders in India, we do not see a similar attack against Id-ul-Adha Bakr-Id either for the slaughter of so many animals. Even as far as pollution is concerned, vehicles are a huge contributory factor.

What does the National Green Tribunal do? Impose a blanket ban on older vehicles, regardless of how road-worthy they may be. You will not find this in any other democracy. That it runs on ethanol produced by white wine and whey waste is another matter.

The point is the coercive and interfering nature of the Indian state and its long arms. Is there any aspect of our lives that they do not wish to poke their nose into? All for our own good, of course!

Electric cars are being promoted, CNG buses are already in place, the scrapping of older cars and incentives for buying new ones in lieu of them is also being considered. But does that justify blanket bans, which are anti-democratic, if not anti-constitutional?

Coming back to the festival of lights, let us remember and acknowledge that this is or should be primarily about light. Not noise or toxins or pollution.

The entire fireworks industry needs to be reformed so that child labour is not exploited, nor fireworks full of poisonous materials that can harm children and adults alike. Personally, I dislike loud crackers. I think noise pollution is also hazardous to health and safety. Non-human species such as dogs are confused and traumatised by crackers. But does this mean that crackers should be banned? It is a blatant attempt to restrict our cultural and religious freedoms.

Selective banning or slamming only of Hindu festivals is worse. The concerted attempt to defame Hindu festivals as pagan and backward is also misplaced. Then they get sanitised and commercialised. Christmas too. The death and rebirth of nature is celebrated as the birth of Christ in the manger. LocalCircles elaborated on this by saying mMany households have lost a family member this year or have a family member still struggling with long Covid or other ailments, and hence, are not celebrating.

Thus, on aggregate, the survey said, 2-in-3 households said they would not burn crackers. Another significant question in the survey was whether households support a ban on firecrackers during Diwali.

Of the 42 per cent who expressed support for some form of ban, 28 per cent favoured a nationwide ban on burning crackers, while the rest favoured either a state or district-level ban. The survey also revealed why households were choosing not to burn crackers this Diwali, with the most commonly cited reason being air pollution — at 63 per cent.

India needs free, fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism even more as it faces multiple crises. But the news media is in a crisis of its own. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. But every year, data has shown significant deterioration of air quality post the festive season. That is because monitoring is done during the peak hours, right after bursting of crackers. It takes some time for particles to get dispersed. As I said, pollution caused due to crackers is temporary.

In places like Delhi, the real cause of air pollution is burning of rice stubble. But no concrete measures are taken to curb it. What effect will banning of firecrackers have on livelihoods?

In a city like Nagpur alone, livelihoods of at least 20, people are dependent on crackers. Our industry has been already suffering losses due to the Covid pandemic.

Banning crackers will rob many families of their livelihood. They are largely dependent on the incomes generated during this festive season. Facebook Twitter Linkedin EMail.