ce
Supreme
Court finally showed some mercy on the Delhi denizens by restoring the ban on the
sale of fire-crackers. Taking note of
the prevailing atmospheric conditions and the degrading air quality, the
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 the Twitter and Facebook with
anguished remarks. Among the opponents, Chetan Bhagat, a well known author,
took to twitter saying, ‘Can I just ask on cracker ban. Why only guts to do
this for Hindu festivals? Banning goat sacrifice and Muharram bloodshed soon
too?”
Also,
Producer cum Director, 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, thereby up -
levelling 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 manmade 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.
