OW Deepavali, the festival of lights, has also become India’s festival of firecrackers burnt by the billions, it turns out, is the result of brilliant marketing strategy that rivals De Beers’ successful association of diamonds with love, engagement and wedding.
It began in 1923 by two business geniuses, brothers from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu — Ayya Nadar and Shanmuga Nadar.
Crackers were added to the hitherto sedate celebrations after the British-Indian authorities relaxed laws governing the use of explosive substances. The industry they started has grown manyfold since, making India the world’s second largest maker of fireworks.
As a child, I remember my father bringing home a big packet of firecrackers, spending all of half-a-dollar by today’s currency rate, for the extended Deepavali celebrations. We exploded them for five mornings and evenings, and like sweets, distributed among cousins. Alas, those days of environmental innocence, or ignorance, are long past. Festivities now generate fear. There is little doubt about firecrackers’ perilous impact on the environment.
Since the last two decades-plus, awareness is inculcated among school students, against the use of crackers. Spend that money better and save the environment, they are told. But, students are the worst victims now. Schools are closed even 10 days after Deepavali.
Going by the social media, the smog (smoke-caused fog) made many people very angry a day after Deepavali this year. The hashtag #smog was a trending topic on Twitter in India.
“Good show last night, Delhi. Now choke!” read one angry tweet. Delhi is currently “in ICU”. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar) of India’s Earth Sciences Ministry had forecast severe pollution levels on Oct 30 that got worse on Deepevali day.
Chief scientist Gufran Beig said: “Almost 60 to 70 per cent of the smoke came from firecrackers.”
Firecrackers are big business. At US$900 million (RM3.9 billion) annually, India is the world’s second largest maker of fireworks, next only to China. Half-a-million people live on it, mostly in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu state.
There is an anxious India-China paradox. With its huge domestic market, India conducts no exports, but imports Chinese crackers both legally and illegally. While China’s overall exports are falling, those to India rose by 40 per cent this year. US$450 million was estimated to have been spent on fireworks this year, mostly during Deepavali.
Why are fireworks so popular in India? They get linked to religion and to a twisted sense of festivity. For some, they help show off wealth. Business families spend millions to buy fireworks, which are then used in a single night or two.
Rows of “bombs” exploding from one end of the street to the other do make a dazzling sight. But besides noise pollution, they are also a health hazard for all, especially infants, the elderly and animals.
Traditionalists protest, “Why single out crackers and Deepavali?” and ask: “What about the other 363 days of the year?”
Use of fireworks at marriage processions and other festive occasions is also cited. They find resonance in domestic cracker-makers and traders who want to protect their business.
Facing the Chinese onslaught, the locals this year played on “Make in India” sentiment currently in vogue courtesy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But, patriotism lost out to business.
Using a variation of the conventional gunpowder and iron fillings to present day ones like potassium nitrate, barium and strontium nitrates, aluminium and magnesium powder and sulphur, Indians lost out to the Chinese crackers that use potassium chlorate. It makes Chinese products 20 to 30 per cent cheaper and, hence, more popular, but many times more hazardous.
This colour-inducing chemical was a major ingredient used in India before the government banned it in 1992. When mixed with sulphur, an important ingredient for manufacture, potassium chlorate becomes extremely reactive. Sadly, the ban has encouraged imports of Chinese firecrackers. The authorities woke up rather late.
However, there is the risk of missing the woods for the trees in harping exclusively on firecrackers that are not the sole reason for what Times of India newspaper has called “airpocalypse again”.
When it comes to pollution, India is not alone, but that is hardly a consolation. A new study by the United Nations Children’s Fund last week said nearly one in seven children in the world breathes outdoor air at least six times dirtier than international guidelines recommend. Most of them live in South Asian cities, many in northern India.
Delhi, a city of 16 million people, is the world’s 11th most polluted city, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in May. In parts of Delhi concentrations of 10 particulate matter (pm) neared 1,600 per cent of the safe level. After late evening revelry on Deepavali, in the wee hours, 2.5 pm averaged over 1,000 per cent of the safe level.
The capital city’s problem is compounded by authorities at the federal, state and municipal levels passing the buck with none assuming responsibility. National Green Tribunal, the national watchdog on environment, has warned that they were giving the children “a terrible future”.
Delhi authorities have tried to address the issue by measures, including banning old trucks from entering the city and briefly trying out a scheme that limited private vehicle usage to alternate days. But, experts say such measures have done little to reduce pollution.
Air pollution is a leading cause of premature death in India, with about 620,000 people dying every year, says WHO. During the winter months, northern India’s pollution is aggravated by the poor burning rubbish at night to stay warm.
Agricultural waste is also set on fire across the farmlands to clear cropland, which burns for days on end.
Pollution causes, such as traffic, pass-through commercial vehicles, construction dust, industry, humidity and almost stagnant pre-winter air, are deeply entrenched problems that have no easy solutions.
While thinking global, India needs to act local. Energetically pushing the Paris climate deal, it must also push the pedal on common sense domestic solutions for cleaning the air.