Festival of Smog

The Supreme Court’s decision to permit the sale and use of “green crackers” in Delhi this Diwali reflects a difficult balancing act between individual freedoms and collective well-being, It seeks to temper a cultural impulse with environmental restraint, even as it puts the seal of judicial approval on an activity earlier deemed impermissible.

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In practice, the ruling risks prolonging the capital’s annual public health emergency under the veneer of compromise.

Each winter, Delhi becomes a cautionary tale for urban civilisation, a metropolis that chokes on its own progress. The air turns dense, the skyline dissolves, and breathing becomes laboured. This year, even before Diwali, the city’s air quality had plummeted to levels 25 to 30 times worse than what is deemed safe by global health standards. In such conditions, even a marginal rise in particulate emissions can mean the difference between discomfort and danger.