Deepavali: let's celebrate the significance of light
Crackers have made a lot of noise in the supreme court as the festival of lights came close. Supreme Court has taken a tough stance against crackers this time. It has banned full time bursting of crackers by putting a time cap on this. And in cities like Delhi, crackers are totally banned. Air pollution in Delhi has reached alarming levels. Crackers have contributed to rising levels of air and noise pollution in the country per se. No sooner did the SC give it's verdict on this issue based on environmental concerns, Sangh Parivar and some political parties are making sounds louder than the crackers. They are deeming this as an attack on hindu dharma! They are carrying a message to people that there is a close link between crackers and festivals. Indian festivals share close bonds with nature and its cycles. Common people have been responding to the changing rhythms of nature by celebrating festivals. Agriculture is the main focus behind these festivals and they are celebrated accordingly.
Festivals are about worshipping air, water, river, soil, land, agriculture and basically everything that keeps the life going. With the interference of vaidika approach, these simple celebrations turned into traditions and turned against the spirit of nature. Let's take the case of rivers and lakes. They are the lifeline of the agrarian class. Hence they called them as mothers and goddesses. But the priestly class turned folklore into traditions. There is a difference between agraians calling the water bodies as gods and priestly class's inference as thus. Priests linked mythological stories to rivers such as Ganga and called her a goddess. They made people believe the dead would attain salvation of their bodies were disposed off in river Ganga. As a result of that, Ganga river is so polluted today that even if one spends thousands of crores the river cannot be cleaned up. The water cannot be consumed. Chauti is a festival celebrated by agrarian community who'd put together all the crop they had grown into the shape of Ganesha and worship it before it was consumed. This was their way of respecting the nature and expressing their gratitude for her gift of bounty.
Ganeshotsava today has been hugely politicised. It is now a public festival. Just one look at our lakes and rivers after Ganeshotsava can reveal where the celebrations have landed us. In the past, festivals taught us to respect the nature and be grateful for what we have received from her. But today, the same festivals are pushing us to abuse the nature. If authorities tell people not to immerse the idols in lakes, politicians instigate people telling them this is an assault on their religious freedom. They hide the fact that protecting and respecting water bodies is very much part of Indian tradition as much as celebrating a festival is. The name Deepavali itself is self descriptive. The festival is about celebrating the light and not the cantankerous sound. Mythology yields to Deepavali celebrated by the priestly class. But the folklore has different tradition to its rendering of the festival. Their festival does not come from mythology but from agriculture. They worship the harvest by placing lit lamps before them. This is the time when darkness has to end in the celebration of light. Prosperity enters home as a rich harvest.
The small live lamps heighten the spirit of Deepavali. Crackers only make noise. Much like our politicians and religious leaders’ speeches. Sound cannot eradicate the darkness inside our souls. It burns to make loud noises. That brightness never lasts long. After a cracker has died, the things that remain are darkness, dust and bad smell. None of them represent the Deepavali that we know, instead they represent whatever the festival seems to abhorr. For the same reason, it is important to light lamps than burst crackers on the occasion. That is like upholding the spirit of the festival.
There is also a practice of welcoming the prosperity and fruits of labour by lighting lamps. But when we burst crackers, we'd be reducing the prosperity to dust. Instead of sharing our richness with the poor in our neighborhood, we would be reducing money to nothing but ashes. We would be insulting goddess of wealth by doing this. And in the meantime, we'd also be polluting water, air and the environment around us. More than 200 children lose eyesight every year in our state alone, owing to crackers. Our festivals should end the darkness and fill our hearts with light. But owing to crackers, a lot of lives are being filled with permanent darkness. No one can blame the festival for this darkness that affects their lives forever. It has turned into a curse because we have chosen crackers over lamps.
Manufacturing crackers is a big business and a mega industry. People who make explosives are also part of this business. Miscreants are very much part of this racket. Which is why politicians and miscreants need these explosive manufacturing facilities to remain in existence. They need the front of Deepavali to run their businesses. This is exactly why we need to understand the spirit of the decision given by the Supreme Court and celebrate Deepavali more meaningfully to brighten up our homes and hearts.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
