When crackers speak louder than laws, what’s the Gen Z doing?

“Delhi’s air is thick with tradition… and a government’s lack of ambition.”

 Another rant on post-Diwali pollution on the internet! I know you have had enough, and so have I.  

On Thursday night, sitting on my terrace, I was watching fireworks and saw a fog of broken promises and burned paper. 

For many, Diwali is all about light, family and celebration. But for people like me, who struggle for a clean breath in this city, it was a sleepless night.

My generation, the so-called ‘Gen-Z’, was raised with an eco-consciousness mindset. But now, we simply watch each festival multiplying as a countdown to climate catastrophe.

Let’s not skip the numbers.

On the morning of November 1, a day after Diwali, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 359. On the night, it was recorded around 500, according to the real-time data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). 

In 2023, Delhi’s AQI was recorded as high as 301 on Diwali, according to the data published by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

While growing up, I was taught Diwali is a “festival of lights,” but being born and brought up in Delhi, it’s more a “Festival of Frights” for me.  Every year, I witness my neighbourhood erupting with crackers and turning homes into gas chambers. 

“Nothing Hindu-Muslim in ban on firecrackers in Delhi,” said the chief of Delhi’s ruling party Arvind Kejriwal on October 30, six years after the Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on all conventional crackers in Delhi-NCR. 

He said the so-called ban on crackers was necessary for protecting people from pollution and that there was no ‘Hindu-Muslim’ angle to it.

Kejriwal urged the people of Delhi to celebrate Diwali by lighting diya (Earthen lamps), instead of bursting firecrackers that cause pollution.

But, after making headlines on national and international levels, did the ruling party cross-check if the instructions were being followed? 

No, they certainly didn’t. There was no patrol, no checks, only the silence of those in power. It’s not hard for one to feel that the ban was for the optics, just for the international media so they can defend themselves saying they “tried.”

But let’s be honest: a ban without enforcement is just another noise. 

The government’s policies lack teeth, and the reality couldn’t be more obvious. A report by the Times of India published on October 27 revealed that buying a packet of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR is as easy as buying a packet of milk. 

My generation knows what’s at stake. We see the data on pollution, and we see the “severe” AQIs, every year. 

We grew up learning lessons on recycling, eating eco-friendly food. But we are powerless, in front of a culture that’s reluctant to change and a government that refuses to enforce its own rules. 

What’s stopping us from not giving a single thought about an entire population suffering because of something we do “just for fun?” Tradition or habit? No idea! Because when it comes to inhaling toxic air, that distinction doesn’t matter.

It’s easy to play the blame game. After all, tradition is a powerful thing. But we are those who claim to be the generation of change. If we don’t stand up, if we don’t speak up, who will? 

I am not asking people to forgo Diwali traditions. But what impact will it create if we opt for alternatives that don’t fill our lungs with soot? I think, huge. 

Mohandas Pai, the former CFO of Infosys and the chairman of Aarin Capital Partners in an interview with Wion, suggested that opting for green crackers could be a solution to post-Diwali pollution. 

But are “green crackers” feasible?

The Times of India report said the green firecrackers, which are produced without barium, are almost impossible to distinguish from normal ones. One can have the hardest time identifying them and can be easily misled.

How about simply celebrating the festival without explosions? How about celebrating Diwali the actual way it was celebrated for the first time in Ayodhya? Let’s stick to the tradition. Let’s speak up loud enough to be heard over the blasts of ignorance.

Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.