Lindsay Pereira: So much for a land of godliness

We are fast becoming a nation of bigots, dragging our religious beliefs into every discussion, often to our own detriment

One of the saddest things I recently stumbled upon on Twitter - once an impartial platform for open communication, now a hotbed of anger and bigotry - was the response of a young man to a woman's statement. 'My child is on her way to the doctor because of asthma,' she tweeted. 'Thanks Delhi.' The response (edited for comprehension, because most of these respo­n­ses make little sense) was: 'I hope your child dies. We can control the population in the same way a ban on fireworks can control pollution.'

Delhi residents protest the ban on firecrackers ahead of Diwali. I struggle to comprehend how people living there took a SC ruling aimed at bettering their lives as an attack on their religious freedom. File pic

What shocked me most about the response was not the hate directed towards a stranger's child. After all, we have now grown used to political leaders who compare murdered Indians to puppies coming under the wheels of a car. The shock was how a statement directed at pollution - which, according to a new report published by environmentalists a week ago, kills more people around the world than war and infectious diseases - was misconstrued and twisted by a man who thought his religious beliefs were under attack. There were thousands like him on social media platforms for weeks, attacking the Supreme Court for daring to stop the sale of fireworks because they believed it infringed upon their right to light fireworks all day and night, for no real reason.

A few hundred sane men and women tried their best to point out, via blogs, opinion pieces, Facebook posts and the like, that fireworks have almost nothing to do with how we traditionally celebrate our festivals. These well-meaning folk were subjected to abuse of the worst kind, reminded of other religious festivals and rituals that supposedly caused all kinds of environmental and other damage, and asked to do what every Indian nationalist now thinks is the solution to all our problems: Go to Pakistan.

I don't live in Delhi, which is one of the things I am thankful for on a daily basis, but I struggle to comprehend how people living there took a Supreme Court ruling aimed at bettering their lives as an attack on their religious freedom. It boggled the mind that their own health mattered so little to them, when the devastation caused by pollution was so blatantly obvious. The spokesperson of a political party went to the extent of distributing firecrackers to children living in slums, saying he wanted them to enjoy the festival. Naturally, he didn't distribute them among children of the well-heeled, who would have promptly shunned them and educated him about the dangers the crackers pose. It's interesting how so many children tend to make sensible choices that are promptly overturned by parents who ought to know better.

It is now impossible for any of us to question things that are dangerous, if they involve a religious belief. We can't attack loudspeakers, must stand respectfully aside while our streets are taken over by illegal structures during festivals, close our windows when trucks carrying inebriated men dancing to item numbers crawl past, and only pray that our children, grandparents and pets will survive the after-effects of noise and air pollution. To question anything is now an act of treason, encouraged by politicians who gain the most by watching us turn on each other instead of working together towards a common good.

No one chose to focus on the fact that the Supreme Court didn't just come down hard on firecrackers, because that didn't help with chest-beating. It also ordered the shutting down of diesel generators and a power plant to try and grapple with Delhi's crippling problem with pollution. Brick kilns were also asked to close, but the only thing that mattered to some people was how the court was supposedly banning them from something that only harmed them and those closest to them.

The saddest thing about the times we live in is how anything that threatens the status quo - even if it has no place in civilised society - must be examined under the lens of a bigoted few, who choose to decide whether or not some Indians are qualified to comment on things based on their religious or political beliefs. This wasn't always the case, unless I am allowing nostalgia and immaturity to cloud my assessment of our shared past.

Maybe we have always looked at our country through the prism of religion, rather than common sense. And if we haven't figured that out in seven decades as an independent nation, I suppose the future isn't as bright as some of our elected representatives would have us believe.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com