No sooner Deepawali is around the corner than crackers are made villains of rising pollution. According to available information, the Supreme Court (SC) has clarified that the ban on firecrackers containing barium is not limited to Delhi-NCR alone but is applicable to all states.

Apex court bans crackers

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday (7 November), reaffirmed its previous directives regarding the use of firecrackers during the festive season in Rajasthan and other states. The court emphasized that it is the responsibility of everyone to address the issue of pollution. A bench consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh specifically instructed Rajasthan to take measures to reduce air pollution, particularly during festivals.

During the hearing of an application concerning firecrackers in Rajasthan, an advocate requested the court to enforce compliance with its previous orders. The advocate pointed out that the court’s earlier order was originally applicable to the Delhi National Capital Region and sought a nationwide ban on crackers.

The court clarified that there is a misconception that the court alone bears the responsibility for environmental issues. It stressed that pollution management is a collective duty, and every citizen should ensure that Diwali celebrations are environmentally friendly with fewer crackers.

Furthermore, the apex court made an observation that, these days, adults tend to use more crackers than schoolchildren. It also directed the state of Rajasthan to take immediate action to control pollution in Udaipur. Meanwhile, another lawyer informed the court about another application related to stubble burning.

The court has asked the Meteorology Department to submit its response within two weeks and noted that there seems to be a blame game surrounding the issue. Previously, on September 22, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea seeking permission to manufacture, sell, and use crackers containing barium chemicals.

Additionally, the court declined to intervene in the Delhi Government’s decision to impose a complete ban on crackers in the national capital. The court’s focus was primarily on the matter of firecrackers. One of the petitions was filed by BJP leader Manoj Tiwari in 2022, challenging the comprehensive ban on firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Delhi. In 2021, the Supreme Court clarified that there is no general prohibition on the use of firecrackers, and only crackers containing barium salts are restricted.

Diwali crackers are villainized while the real cause of pollution is left untackled

Only recently, the Kerala High Court ruled that crackers were ‘not mandated’ by any holy book while ordering the seizure of ‘illegal’ crackers. On 3 November, the Kerala High Court issued a directive to the Deputy Collector of Cochin and various districts within the state to conduct inspections at all religious establishments and confiscate “illegal firecrackers.” The Court emphasized the need for cooperation with the Commissioner of Police in this endeavor.

It is an altogether different matter that bursting crackers during Deepawali is an ancient Hindu tradition. Also, it is not without reason that fireworks are used during festivals, particularly Deepawali. Advocate Sai Deepak beautifully explains the reason behind bursting crackers during Deepawali.

However, the important question to ask is – why Hindus should bear all the burden of ‘saving’ the environment. Diwali is one of the most important festivals for Hindus across the world. It must be highlighted that no blanket ban was imposed on crackers during Christmas and New Year, unlike Deepawali. Moreover, in Bharat, while political victories, celebrity weddings, or even the return from jail of a Bollywood entertainer’s son accused of drug abuse can be ‘celebrated’ by setting off crackers, Hindus celebrating their festivals are being treated like criminals.

In fact, scientific studies have proven that Deepawali crackers are not even among the top fifteen causes of pollution. Diwali firecrackers are not responsible for Delhi’s air pollution woes every winter. Studies by reputed scientific bodies such as TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), IIT Kanpur,  SAFAR (System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research) GoI have all shown that firecrackers do not contribute to air pollution in any significant way.

Year after year, stubble burning has emerged as the top reason for the decline of the Air Quality Index (AQI), and yet there is a reluctance on the part of the government to clearly call out the farmers for choking Delhi. Even the apex court has pulled up the Centre and state for pollution in Delhi but refused to look at the real cause.

ANI quotes environmental activist Vimlendu Jha as saying, “If the government was actually making an effort, the air quality would not have turned this bad. Stubble burning is an important contributor to pollution. We need to find a sustainable solution to stubble burning”.

CJI Chandrachud refused to hold an urgent hearing last year on stubble-burning, saying a ban on stubble-burning would not solve the problem of pollution. The Chief Justice remarked, “Will the ban (against stubble burning) help?” He added that in some matters, courts could look into and some it cannot since they are not ‘judicially amenable’. The council suggested that banning stubble burning can be effective in curbing air pollution, which impacts Delhi-NCR. The bench then queried, “Should we enforce it against every farmer in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh?” It added that some genuine solution should be found, but ‘this is not the way’.

Every year farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn crop stubble before the next sowing season. The stubble that farmers burn is mostly paddy (rice) stubble which is burnt because of the short (10-15 days) gap between the rice-harvesting season and the wheat-sowing time. And why do farmers grow rice in Punjab despite almost negligible local consumption? Because rice is covered under MSP (Minimum Support Price), and government procures almost 100 % cent of the rice produced in Punjab and Haryana.

Also, government subsidies on water and power in these states make it easier to grow a water-intensive crop like rice, but this has resulted in overexploitation of groundwater. Experts recommend effective and diversified cropping patterns are the need of the hour in Punjab and Haryana.

So why are Hindu festivals being targeted? Diwali is being used as a convenient beating stick as it is probably difficult to address the actual cause. All kinds of arguments, such as stubble burning contributing only 4-10% of total pollution through the year, are being used to downplay its seasonal impact. But firecrackers, whose contribution is microscopic, are demonized. It is even more appalling that Delhi’s problems with air quality are used as a basis to ban crackers across the country!

From banning crackers during Deepawali to restricting the height of Dahi Handi during Janmashtami celebrations to interfering in Sabarimala traditions, a section of the judiciary has repeatedly bared its anti-Hindu fangs.

Anti-Hindu Activism & secular Indian state

The contrast in the manner in which the court holds Hindus celebrating Deepawali guilty but gives farmers a free pass is both discriminatory and Hinduphobic. Parents also need to stop discouraging their children in the name of environmentalism. It cannot be emphasized enough that every time a Hindu festival is around, activists come to life.

We have seen the vilification of jallikattu by ‘animal rights activists’ and organizations like PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), whereas their tongues go into deep freeze when it comes to opposing the slaughter of animals during Eid or Thanksgiving.

If we were to believe the cabal, milk that can feed the poor gets wasted on Maha Shivratri, toxic fumes are released on Diwali due to bursting firecrackers harming people and animals alike, animals are endlessly troubled and traumatized due to jallikattu (bull sport) during Pongal (Sankranti), and so on and so forth. The list is endless, and the cabal has made a business out of running social awareness campaigns exclusively during Hindu festivals.

The advent of social media (SM) has exposed their hypocrisy, but the cabal continues to invent newer campaigns targeting Hindus and Hindu festivals. Holi is usually a time for the cabal to ‘explain’ to Hindus the need for conserving water, but in 2021 the template was changed to something more sinister. Since then, ‘Holi hooliganism’ has become the theme of the Hinduphobic cabal.

Even the secular state imposes unreasonable restrictions on Hindu festivals. In 2021, the Odisha government placed severe restrictions on Hindu festivals, using the pandemic as an excuse. Similarly, the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government also restricted the celebration of Hindu festivals of Janmashtami and Ganpati Chaturthi. Even the Gujarat government came up with similar guidelines for celebrating the Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals. However, they fared marginally better in that certain relaxations were announced by the Gujarat government in the celebration of both these Hindu festivals.

It must be mentioned that at the same time, ‘minority’ festivals saw relaxation and mass crowds in almost every state. Despite a raging out-of-control COVID crisis in Kerala, the state decided to remove lockdowns for three days during Bakr-Eid.

There are some Hindu festivals that are targeted by activist gangs demanding the ban of festivals despite the fact that animals have no role at all in them. Kite flying on Makar Sankranti is one such example. The activist gang is running a campaign to ban it, alleging that kite flying results in birds getting injured/ killed. Can anything be more illogical than this? Offering milk to Naagdevta on  Naagpanchami also has been attacked in recent years.

Many temples in south Bharat own elephants, and they are part of annual celebrations. They lead the festive procession and are revered by millions of devotees. This, too, is under constant attack from activists alleging ill-treatment of elephants by temple authorities. And it’s not that only animal rights gangs are after Hindu festivals. Participation of children in Dahi Handi was banned by the courts on the petition filed by child rights activists despite no direct evidence of child rights violations in Dahi Handi celebrations.

Gone are the days when Hindu festivals used to be treated as an auspicious occasion, where the entire society used to celebrate together when festivals were considered as an opportunity to spread joy, love, and festivities. Unfortunately, the liberal-secular-Islamist cabal has attacked our festivals and transformed them into days when Hindus are restricted in the name of ‘security and maintaining communal harmony’.

The situation has turned so bad that anything and everything associated with the Hindu community has become intolerable to the Hinduphobes within so-called ‘minority’ communities and their liberal-secular counterparts. They try everything, constitutional or unconstitutional, to kill the festive vibes of the Hindu community in any part of the country.

It is for us Hindus to not just stop the attack but to reverse the damage by rooting our children in Dharma. Celebrating festivals is one of several important measures in teaching future generations to be proud Hindus. Hindu dharma is naturally inclined towards saving the environment because, for Hindus environment is a living entity, and nature is divine.

We don’t need activists sitting in AC cabins and using fuel-guzzling and polluting SUVs all through the year to give us gyaan on how to save the environment. Especially when these activists have their tongues in knots when environmentally harmful acts such as slaughtering animals during Eid, Christmas, and Thanksgiving, cutting down numerous trees during Christmas, bursting firecrackers during Christmas, Western New Year, political rallies, cricket tournaments, etc., are allowed to go on unabashedly.

Everything in our Republic gets distorted due to deracinated, disconnected elite & vote-bank politics. It is only the Hindu identity that is the easiest punching bag. For too long, Hindu Samaj has borne the burden of ‘secularism’, ‘tolerance’, and ‘democracy’, among other things. It is high time we reclaim our festive and cultural spaces from the social service campaigns they have been turned into.

Teach future generations to celebrate festivals with gusto. If we don’t teach our Dharma, then others will teach them theirs. If the roots are not strong, the tree can be easily hacked. Islamists and Evangelists are always on the prowl to convert Hindus. We only need to look at America, Europe, Africa, and Australia, which have lost their native religion to the Abrahamic ones, and our own neighboring Islamic nations, which were once part of Akhand Bharat, where Hindu Dharma and other Dharmic faiths flourished.