Do farmers deserve to be blamed for Delhi air-pollution?

About a week back on #NDTV panel discussion where I was one of the panelists, a lady belonging to #MyRightToBreathe said that farmers need to understand that their children’s lungs too will be affected because of air pollution, courtesy all the stubble burning.

Patronising the farmers by starting the sentence with, ‘we are not blaming the farmers’ doesn’t help such a condescending remark. I belong to a farming family. I know the ground reality a lot more than such air-conditioned air-purified drawing room air-pollution crusaders.

I don’t hear them talk about the farmers now. Hats off to you Faye D’Souza from #MirrorNow for bringing it up.

As for Runners, we missed an opportunity to join together and be heard on behalf of ourselves and all the poor farmers too. As has been Indian tradition over centuries, we all ‘educated’ folks got into an ego tussle amongst ourselves, rather than being heard addressing a far bigger cause. But then again how would have Mughals & British conquered India had we been missing this trait!

I’m so glad I simply don’t fit into this so-sigh-tea.

Disclaimer: I was rusticated, luckily so, in probably less than 48 hours from the above hashtag for using inappropriate language on my Facebook page 🙂 . I was a very celebrated ‘invited member’ for the time that I lasted there. Ironical that it’s only ‘their’ right to breathe. Not mine. No one else’s.