Can’t Diwali be celebrated without firecrackers?
By Prabha November3,2024
When the capital of India, Delhi, opened its eyes the day after Diwali, it found dangerous levels of air pollution. Some people are adamant on linking the festival of light and knowledge to religious faith and freedom by turning it into a poison of noise and smoke. It is the result of their stubbornness and insistence that the air in Delhi was found to be almost 14 times more polluted than the limit prescribed by the World Health Organization.
The association of firecrackers with Diwali dates back to at least the 16th century. However, it was the factory set up by the Nadar brothers in Sivakasi that gave impetus to the firecracker industry after India’s independence and made fireworks available to the people. The rise in purchasing power of Indians in the last few decades lit up the Diwali night sky. Firework retailers across India report that sales are high, but it is equally true that for the first time there is a generation that is staying away from firecrackers after a sustained anti-firecracker campaign.
How Fireworks Became an Integral Part of Diwali
Fireworks were an important part of medieval courts in India. From the Vijayanagara Empire to the Mughals, many emperors and court members enjoyed watching fireworks. But fireworks in medieval India were part of royal ceremonies and were not accessible to common people.
Eminent historian P.K. Gode has written that the use of fireworks on Diwali “may have come into existence only after about 1400 AD, when gunpowder began to be used in Indian warfare.” Paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries suggest that fireworks were part of Diwali celebrations.
However, the first fireworks factory in India was opened in the 19th century.
In 1923, two brothers, Shanmuga and Ayya Nadar, went to Kolkata to learn how to make safety matches. About a year later, they opened a match factory in Sivakasi.
Later, the Nadar brothers learnt how to make fireworks.
Eventually, the Indian Explosives Rules were introduced in 1940 to manufacture, store and sell fireworks.
The first organised fireworks factory in India was established soon after.
But it was only after Independence that restrictions on the import of fireworks were lifted.
Sivakasi then became India’s fireworks hub.
This small industry grew manifold by the 1980s. And by the 2000s, 450 fireworks factories had sprung up in Sivakasi alone.
This boom in the industry is a result of the opening up of India’s economy and new prosperity. Also, it has been made possible by the growing middle class in India.
Although fireworks have been associated with Diwali for centuries, it has become an integral part of Diwali rituals in the last 40 years.
But with the increasing sale of firecrackers, discussions and debates have started about air and noise pollution. Those against firecrackers argue that firecrackers harm the elderly, the sick and animals, especially dogs. Pro-firecrackers say that bursting firecrackers on Diwali does not cause much harm.
Is there a connection between firecrackers and pollution?
Delhi, which always suffers from bad air and seasonal smog, became the center of the debate on firecrackers.
Then in 2016, the Supreme Court banned firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region. The ban has been in effect since 2017 and only eco-friendly, green firecrackers are allowed to be burnt.
Winter smog in Delhi is caused by a number of strange factors and coincidences. Vehicle exhaust and stubble burning are two factors that turn Delhi into a gas chamber, especially around November.
This is the same time as the festival of Diwali.
But it would be a grave mistake to take rising air pollution as a normal phenomenon. India has to face reality and prepare to fight the biggest crisis in the world. PM Modi abolished Nehru’s Planning Commission and renamed it NITI Aayog in 2015. Since then, NITI Aayog has been established as the prime minister’s key advisory body. NITI Aayog produced the ‘Confronting Air Pollution in India’ report in 2020 and claimed that “air pollution causes over 12 lakh premature deaths every year, costing the country about 8.5% of GDP due to health costs and lost labour productivity.” The report highlighted the dual impact of air pollution on public health and economic development. Premature deaths mean that nearly 1.2 million of our own people who could have lived for a few more years have left us earlier.
The responsibility to curb air pollution lies with the government. It cannot be shifted to the citizens.
Parliament empowered governments by passing the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1981 to take timely decisions. But the governments and the Central Pollution Control Board did not do much, although they are empowered by the Water Pollution Act 1974 and the Air Pollution Act 1981. But after a while it was decided that these laws would not work, so in 2010, NGT was established through the National Green Tribunal Act. This institution was given a deeper purpose. This law was linked to the ‘right to life’ (Article 21) by the then UPA government, and its rights were adopted as fundamental rights. This was a very revolutionary decision because till now the work of healthy environment was done in the form of ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’. The Supreme Court also accepted that the right to healthy environment is a fundamental right which should be taken as the most important ‘right to life’.
Even after all this, nothing seems to be changing. What is the reason for this? Is the executive not able to enforce the laws? Yes, perhaps this is the reason, because law paves the way for justice, and the Parliament fulfills its responsibility by making laws. But the government.
10.4 crore people suffer from obstructive sleep apnea
Scientists believe that the effect of Diwali crackers can last for 10-15 days. That means, the high level of these particles (PM2.5) remains for about two weeks and in the meantime, what problems would it cause, does the government even know? Does the government even care about the people who fall ill after coming in contact with these particles? The number of such people is in crores? It should make a difference, right? According to a study by AIIMS Delhi, about 10.4 crore people in India suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This means that these people are unable to sleep due to breathing problems. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016, there were about 5.6 crore cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in India. One can imagine where this figure would have reached at present. According to a 2020 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), India had around 2.6 million cases of TB, which has now increased to 2.9 million per year. According to the Global Asthma Report 2022, around 35 million people in India have asthma. India alone accounts for 42% of all asthma deaths worldwide. A study by the Indian Institute of Technology suggests that if the current rate of pollution continues, respiratory and heart diseases in India could increase by more than 50% by 2050. The air quality is deteriorating and due to this, the high life expectancy achieved over 75 years of hard work could now go down. According to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), on an average, air pollution in India reduces life expectancy by 5.3 years. In cities like Delhi, this reduction can be up to 11.9 years. Isn’t that scary?
