Supreme Court finally showed mercy on the Delhi denizens by restoring the ban on sale of fire-crackers.  Taking note of the prevailing atmospheric conditions and degrading air quality, majority of the population took a sigh of relief after the ban. But another section came up vigorously to oppose the ban, giving it a communal angle.

Calling it an attack on Indian tradition, people flooded Twitter and Facebook with anguished remarks. Among the opponents, Chetan Bhagat, a well known author, took to Twitter saying, ‘If you care turn off electricity in your house for a week and don’t use cars? On what basis are you imposing a ban on someone’s traditions?”

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Also, filmmaker, Vivek Agnihotri tweeted: Anyone saying Diwali is a festival of light and not of fire-crackers is a result of screwed up history books written to demoralise Hindus.

Who can forget the scene witnessed by Delhi last year, when darkness took over the light of dawn and a dense blanket of smog encircled the city, levelling up the concentration of cancer causing pollutants.

Countering back such irrational arguments in the name of religion, Karan Oberoi, a familiar face of Indian television came on the front to appreciate the Apex court’s decision. “I really don’t understand why such a federal case is being made out to the ban of firecrackers! It is a decision that has been made keeping in mind the general health of the public! And why are we trying to give a religious or fanatical hue to everything that is going around us!  People who understand the true essence of religious scriptures won’t be hung up on man made rituals to celebrate HIM!” he said.

Expressing his perception about religion, he further adds, “Religion was created by man to keep in check the primal instinct of man to be violent, for the formation of a peaceful society!  Not for it to be used as a tool to create fear, submission, differences, and conformity! Every religious text, which is supposed to be a guideline for healthy co existence points to it, yet the so called custodians of religion perpetuate an entirely different narrative!

The verdict might provide a bit of relief from the episodic air pollution spikes in the capital, though forcefully, people certainly need to understand that at the end of the day, court’s decision is in their favour and hence needs to be respected whole heartedly.