Choker Delhi

November. Winter is coming. And what better indicator of this than the worsening Air Quality Index of Delhi ? It is that time of the year again, when the animals trying to survive in India's capital city have to struggle more to breath in the thick, smog layered atmosphere, which the citizens themselves helped destroy.

It is painful just reading the news in the air. Air quality generally deteriorates as winter sets in because of a combination of agricultural crop burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana, dust from roads and construction sites, industry, coal power plants and vehicular emissions. The level of carcinogenic pollutants, which increases risk of stroke, heart disease and lung cancer, in New Delhi’s air was almost six times the reading in Beijing, where air quality has seen a considerable improvement over the past years.

India, home to 10 cities with the world’s worst air quality, has been struggling to contain this annual catastrophe that killed an estimated 1.24 million citizens in 2017. Governments have pledged millions of dollars and deployed extra teams to enforce existing laws that include a ban on farmers burning stubble after harvest. But the sheer size of India makes rapid progress difficult.

For the past few years, farm stubble burning — a tradition to clear fields after harvest for the new sowing season — along with festive firecrackers, vehicular and construction emissions have been turning the South Asian nation’s air deadly around October-November. The huge number of crackers burst to celebrate the hindu festival of diwali in october makes matters worse. One of the many ways religion helps kill people.

The government, or at least its PR wing, is back in action planning 'plans' to control the pollution. And this is coming from the same people who have tried to 'correct' the slowdown in the nation’s economy for months now.

What a fascinating time to live in Delhi.

Why no protests ?

Its been months now, since the Indian media first started reporting of an apparent slowdown in the country's economy. After bigger media houses, economists and investors picked up and magnified the story, external rating agencies have downgraded the country's prospects. Nobel prize winning laureates double checked, and confirmed. Banks are shutting down, and companies are downsizing.

After all of this, the question that is troubling me is: why isn't anyone protesting ?

In a country known to protest the slightest increase in fuel prices, it is ironical that Indians have not put forward an organized effort to call the government's bluff. All those people now unemployed, where are their protests ? The industries affected, why are their stocks still up ?

The severe lack of protests in the world's largest democracy is chilling. There is no validation for the reported slowdown. Has this democracy lost its voice ?